chapter 5

coat hangers for armatures – making your own model

I really admire all Ray Harryhausen's work. I did try to emulate him when I started with my own home movies. In the attic – I remember making a model dinosaur, which was bendable – wire coat hangers as armatures – I didn't know anything about the right wire or the right rubber, materials or anything. I used foam rubber on the body – but I didn't know what to cover it with – what would make leathery skin – so I used my mum's old nylon tights and spray painted it. I never got to make that movie – I had big plans for it: Live Action/Animation movie – but it never came off.

Nick Park

Practice and experience lead you to your own favourite materials. I hope to give the beginner a basic route toward making their own puppets and some idea of the choices. The puppet used in this book is a relatively cheap example of a professional puppet. It is strong, flexible and versatile and should require a minimum of maintenance. A variety of techniques have been used in making the puppet. There are many simpler ways of making an armature and covering, however, for the purposes of this book, I feel that a naturalistic looking puppet with a natural movement of limbs will be generally more helpful to the beginner.

character design

I very much liked making the puppets for The Pied Piper (Cosgrove Hall Films) which was a film that we tried to do in the style of a Jiri Trnka film. The style of the puppets was very simple, but they had highly articulated armatures, so they could do an enormous range of movements. It had been done in the past, in Czechoslovakia and in Russia, but it was not something that had been seen on British television. For animation at its best, the one character I would choose from all the puppets I've worked on is the Pied Piper himself. He was very light, had a lot of articulation, the spine curved, but the look was very simple. A similar, more recently made puppet that had those qualities was the Periwig Maker from the film of the same name.

Peter Saunders

Figure 5.1 The Periwig Maker. Courtesy Mackinnon & Saunders. © Ideal Standard Film

Just a few tips on character design – as with everything: keep it simple. Don't be constrained in your ideas by technical considerations, but when you are designing your characters, think about how they will relate to each other in size and style. Only when you have your ideas on paper and you start thinking about materials and structure, might you need to modify them. If you are designing and building your own model, you will need to draw it to scale on graph paper and it is always a good idea to get some advice on feasibility, materials and costs from a professional model making company.

You will need to think of how your character will communicate: is there to be dialogue? If there is how do you intend to animate that? Chapter 8 deals with lip sync (mouth movements in dialogue). You need to decide whether to have a Plasticine head, a head with replacement parts (a removable mouth), or a head armature (skull) incorporating a moveable mouth. Or no mouth at all!

It's very difficult to say what makes a good character. Keep it simple – you can make it as simple as you like – as long as you put eyes in! You do need eyes. Having said that, of course in the Polo ads (commercials made at Aardman), there weren't even eyes! Just polo mints bobbing around – but with a lot of emotion …!

Luis Cook, animation director, Aardman

Nick Park developed a wonderful character design with both Wallace and Gromit – with the brow being the device to portray the emotion. Sure, Wallace's mouth is undeniable as a huge part of his face, but the eyes and the brows seem to do all the expressing, and in Gromit's case, being a silent character, they do it all (Figure 5.2).

Figure 5.2 Wallace and Gromit. © Aardman/W&G Ltd 1989

The voice you use for your character is as important as the look. Of course, you might choose to work without dialogue and use only sound effects and music, but if you are thinking of a voice, take some time to choose the right one. The voices you choose will help shape your character even more.

You have an idea of the look of your characters, but what of their size, proportions and weight? The scale needs to be decided on for the set at the same time – all the props need to be to scale. What materials would you be making them from? If you go for the cheaper materials, the general rule is that it will be harder to animate. The more expensive the armature, the more responsive the model, the better your animation. Puppets can be made with a combination of materials: wire, clay, foam latex, silicone, wood, resin, leather, fabric, insulation board, polystyrene (styrofoam), fibreglass.

You will want to take the following into account when designing your puppet/model:

1.How much does it need to bend?

This will dictate how strong your armature needs to be; what to make it out of and where the weak points may be.

2.What's a reasonable scale to work with?

The scale for a human figure of average size seems to be about 20–25 cm, although puppets can range from 15–35 cm. If you need to go to close-up it would be worth making something on a bigger scale so that textures look good on camera.

3.How subtle will the movements need to be?

You may need to make or have made a ball and socket armature.

4.How robust does it need to be?

Do you intend to use it for a long film? A series? Will you need to make copies?

5.How will it stay fixed to the floor for each shot?

Do you need tie-downs (screw the foot to the floor to stop it falling over) or magnets and therefore need a perforated steel base for your set? Or are the puppets light enough to just need double-sided sticky tape?

6.Do all parts need to move?

Maybe certain parts of the body could be made with hard materials. Take this into account when preparing moulds.

If you have the funds, you can take your designs to a model making company. If you decide to make your own models it will be a process of trial and error, there are certain rules, but there are just as many new ways to try out and compromises to make. You need common sense, creativity, adaptability, but above all – patience. And by doing it yourself, you will learn a lot more about the animation process.

working with modelling clays

I tended to steer away from techniques that needed a lot of process – a lot of materials. I think that's ultimately why I went for Plasticine – because there's always room for improvisation, no matter how much you plan it. You've got to have your puppet, you've got to know roughly what'll happen because you need your props and the set. But once you're on that stage you can improvize and change your mind a lot. Some forms of animation demand a lot more planning and then you've got to stick to it. It's like living on the edge – once you've started a shot you've got to keep going to the end. You can't say ‘Oh I'll add a few frames there afterwards to slow it down or speed it up.’ You've got to be on your toes the whole time.

Nick Park

The earliest use of modelling clay for animation dates from a few years after the invention of motion pictures with James Stuart Blackton's sequence ‘Chew Chew Land or The adventures of Dollie and Jim’ 1910. In the UK, in the late nineteenth century, William Harbutt invented Plasticine, a modelling clay that didn't dry out, but that couldn't melt either. The original recipe disappeared when the Harbutt's factory closed down a century later, but a similar clay is still manufactured in England.

Creating your character from modelling clay alone is probably the cheapest route for model making, but don't be mistaken into thinking because it's cheap it's simple. It demands skilled handling. Working with clay can certainly give you freedom, but this would have to be balanced by the amount of time needed to re-sculpt, and return to your original shape. It means you have the ability to stretch and distort your figure, unhampered by any armature, but the other side of the coin is the uncontrollability of it. When you are new to the craft it's very easy to lose shape; joints, elbows and knees for instance, can move about disconcertingly. So a character that isn't dependent on sharp edges or definition may be a candidate for clay. Aardman Animation's Morph (Figure 5.3) is made with Plasticine and, as new animators find when they come to attempt animating him, nowhere near as simple as he looks.

Figure 5.3 Morph. © Aardman Animations Ltd 1995

Plasticine models can be made in a mould. Gumby, Art Clokey's 3D character was originally made with Plasticine rolled out flat and cut-out. From the 1950s onwards they started making moulds, into which they poured melted clay. Now he also has a wire armature (Figure 5.4).

Figure 5.4 Anthony Scott animating Gumby. © Art Clokey

For Plasticine animation there are really very few clays that will do the job. The popular ‘English’ clay is Lewis’ Newplast. These clays have a good colour range, don't melt (which means they handle well under lights), and have a firm sculpting consistency. Van Aken, the US equivalent, has a brighter colour range and will melt and is therefore very useful for moulds, but can get soft under lights. Richard Goleszowski's Rex The Runt, a semi-flat character, is made in a press mould using English clay (see the section on moulds further on in this chapter). This is a relatively fast way of making a replacement character. Rex was filmed against a 45° glass pane, with the background behind, allowing a greater freedom of movement for the characters, a degree of squash and stretch not before seen, and no rigging problems!

Figure 5.5 Range of modelling clays. Back left: Lewis Newplast (‘English’ clay), in front left: Sculpey, back right: Van Aken, middle right: Plastalina, front right: Lewis’ Uro, front centre: Fimo. Photo © Susannah Shaw. (See glossary, pp. 83–84.)

I prefer to animate foam puppets with either replacement faces or mechanical heads. I love the look and feel of clay animation, but the amount of time spent on clean up and smoothing takes away from the flow of the performance.

Trey Thomas, animated James and the Giant Peach and Sally in
Nightmare Before Christmas

Modelling clay is notoriously difficult to keep clean. Always ensure your hands are clean before handling the material, using wet wipes – make sure you get a wipe that is not too fibrous and lanolin free. Keep your hands clean by rolling the same coloured clay in them, this removes dust and dirt and coats your fingers at the same time. Avoid wearing clothes that ‘shed’, like mohair.

In hot, sweaty conditions have some talcum powder available, both for your hands and to keep the Plasticine dry. Never try to soften the clay with spirit-based liquids or you'll end up with a sticky, slimy puddle. You can hold it nearer the lights to warm up. Or if the Plasticine is too dry, it can be softened with a little liquid paraffin. You need to be very careful about diluting the clay's intrinsic properties.

A useful way to keep the volume of your model accurate is to have a record of its weight, so that if you are adding or subtracting clay, you are always aware of what it should be.

Don't try sticking arms/legs/tails on to a torso. This will always be a weak point. Your model will be stronger if you tease your shape out of one piece of clay.

making your own puppet

The best way of controlling the model's shape and movement is to give it a skeleton, or armature. A basic armature can be made reasonably cheaply, with wire. The best wire to use is aluminium, which comes in several thicknesses. Twisting two or three strands together in a slow drill can prolong its use. If you can't afford aluminium wire, you could use tin wire, but tin is more springy (has more memory) than aluminium, and will therefore make animation much harder. There are many ways you could choose to design your armature.

If you are making an armature for your puppet, it is best to keep it to the sizes mentioned above. Anything with an armature cannot be made much bigger or smaller because of the sizes of the parts you will be using. Plan your armature by drawing it out. The model described below has been designed with low cost in mind – it's the same model we've used throughout for the animated sequences, so her flexibility is demonstrated. She is made with a variety of materials each dependent on a different model making process. This puppet should cost between £150–£200 to make. In chapter 6 I go into more detail of professional processes; it may be worth referring forward.

Figure 5.6 Model in relaxed pose. Courtesy ScaryCat Studio

Figure 5.7 Drawing of armature. Courtesy ScaryCat Studio

Figure 5.8 Armature. Courtesy ScaryCat Studio

First of all get three lengths of 1.5mm wire twisted together by holding them in a drill running on slow (Figure 5.9), to make the limbs and the spine and a single strand of 1mm wire for the wrists, looped round a washer for the palm, and twisted. If an armature for Plasticine is too strong, when trying to animate the puppet you will simply poke the wire through. Because of this our puppet only has wire in the wrist and not the fingers. It makes animating the hands a lot easier and less restrictive.

It's always a good idea to be able to remove head, hands and feet, as they often need extra work – so glue on a section of square brass sleeving K&S of sizes that will slot into each other for arms and hands, and head and neck. K&S is square brass tubing that you can buy in any model shop. It comes in different sizes allowing a smaller size to fit into a larger, giving a firm, well-located joint. (K&S is only available in imperial sizes.) An M3 nut is soldered onto the larger piece of K&S at the wrist, neck and ankles. This allows the grub screw to be used to hold the smaller size of K&S in place. This in turn holds the wire in place. The strands of wire are then epoxy glued into the relevant pieces of K&S to form the armature. Washers are epoxy glued to the wrist wire to form the palm of the hand.

Figure 5.9 Twisting wire in drill. Courtesy ScaryCat Studio

Figure 5.10 Glueing wire armature. Courtesy ScaryCat Studio

To keep definition of the elbows and knees, strengthen the upper and lower arms, and the thighs and calves of the figure by feeding the twisted aluminium through a short length of brass sleeving. Leave enough space for the wire to bend so that the strain is not always on exactly the same spot. Too small a gap between them will make it easier to break.

Steel plate cut with a junior hacksaw is soldered to the three pieces of K&S on chest piece using silver solder.

Figure 5.11 Finishing wire armature. Courtesy ScaryCat Studio

head

For the head, it is useful to be able to remove the head and hands for sculpting, leaving the figure in position. It also means less wear and tear to the puppet. So neck joints should have K&S to slot into the head, i.e. on the neck and in the head. If you are using a clay head, always model the head with a lightweight core to the rear, to allow for eye sockets and a recessed mouth. Too much clay will make the head heavy. This head core is made with textured Milliput, to help the Plasticine ‘key’ to it. Inside the Milliput head is a piece of K&S for the neck and a piece of K&S for the hair. The head can be removed, as can the hairpiece.

Figure 5.12 Mixing Plasticine. Courtesy ScaryCat Studio

Figure 5.13 Sculpting Plasticine head. Courtesy ScaryCat Studio

If you are making an animal you might want to add a moveable wire snout and ears to the head core. And if the animal is on all fours, you will need to design it a little differently.

hair

Resin cast hair is useful especially for series work, because the constant removing of the puppet's head to animate its mouth would mess up Plasticine sculpted or theatrical or doll's hair. Our puppet's hair has been made with Milliput, with a Plasticine-covered wire attached for the pony tail (Figures 5.14 and 5.15).

eyes

The easiest way to make eyes is using white glass beads, using the hole as a pupil that can be manipulated with a toothpick. Be careful if you're using a pin or paperclip, as it could scratch off any paint on the eyeball. Painting the irises can be done with a toothpick holding the bead, held by a slowly rotating drill – hold your brush steady and fill in the colour around the hole (Figure 5.16). You can also buy eyes from specialist manufacturers (very expensive) or cast them yourself out of resin.

hands

Hands can be just made with Plasticine on its own, or, if you want to make it stronger, over an armature of fine aluminium twisted wire fingers stuck in a resin ‘palm’. Plasticine will allow a fist to bend convincingly, and a firm connection with an object. However, endlessly having to resculpt and clean fingers is a drawback. An easier alternative may be silicone; however, that can be springy in comparison to Plasticine.

Figure 5.14 Sculpting Milliput hair. Courtesy ScaryCat Studio

Figure 5.15 Painting hair. Courtesy ScaryCat Studio

A square brass K&S tube joint is glued or soldered onto the wrist to fit into a tube on the arm. Spare hands are also useful as during filming hands invariably become worn and grubby and if they do have wires, they often break.

Figure 5.16 Painting an eye. Courtesy ScaryCat Studio

feet

Feet can be made with flat metal plates, or aluminium blocks. It is best to make feet with two plates as a convincing walk is very hard to achieve with a solid, flat foot. Hinged metal plates for your feet can be made with holes drilled in so that the feet can be screwed down to the floor and locked with a wing nut on the under side, or pinned down. This is a slow but reliable method known as ‘tie-down’. A more flexible and quicker way of holding feet in place is to use a thin perforated steel table-top with rare-earth magnets under each foot to hold your puppet steady. These magnets are expensive, but very powerful and should be treated with care – they can give you a nasty pinch! Make sure the magnets are kept well away from your computer and video equipment as they can interfere with their magnetic fields.

Figure 5.17 Tie-down screws and wing nuts for feet. © John Wright Modelmaking

British animators are, on the whole, more used to working with magnets, while American animators tend to be more used to the tie-down method. Their armatures are made with tighter armature joints making it harder to keep the rest of the puppet still while you move one leg, unless it's firmly tied down.

The shoes for this model are made with silicone: the shoe is first sculpted in a hard Plastiline. To smooth the Plastiline you can use lighter fuel – because Plastiline is much harder than other modelling clays it doesn't get slimy. The sculpt is set into a bed of ordinary potter's clay which will come half way up the boot. The Lego blocks make a wall around the sculpt so that plaster can be poured in and left to set. This will make the top half of the mould.

Figure 5.18 Sculpting boots. Courtesy ScaryCat Studio

Figure 5.19 Moulding shoes. Courtesy ScaryCat Studio

Figure 5.20 Foot armature in mould. Courtesy ScaryCat Studio

The process is then repeated, making a mould for the other half of the boot. Then you will have two halves of a mould into which you can place the foot armature. (See section on mould making for more details about the process.)

Once the two halves of the mould are clamped together, you can pour in the silicone (see chapter 6, section on casting silicone). In this case the model makers have used a coloured silicone. Once the silicone has cured, or set, it can be removed from the mould. There will be a little excess silicone around the joins of the mould – these are called ‘flashlines’ and will need trimming, either with fine nail scissors, or fine sandpaper (Figure 5.21).

Figure 5.21 Trimming silicone flash. Courtesy ScaryCat Studio

To cover the body, we have chosen snip foam. Other choices could be to cover her fully in Plasticine – a heavy choice; or with foam latex, a process explained in chapter 6. Snip foam is cheap, easily shaped and light. It is basically upholstery foam, snipped into shape and glued on with a contact adhesive.

Figure 5.22 Snipping foam. Courtesy ScaryCat Studio

Clothing her involves a hunt for fine-textured fabric that will nevertheless be robust with constant handling. Cat Russ used a fine jersey for her jumper and cotton for her jeans. Once covered with fabric, you have an individual, highly expressive looking puppet.

Figure 5.23 Clothes: jumper made with fine jersey cotton, jeans made with fine weave cotton. Courtesy ScaryCat Studio

Figure 5.24 Sewing clothing. Courtesy ScaryCat Studio

Figure 5.25 Cat Russ sewing. Courtesy ScaryCat Studio

Figure 5.26 Gary Jackson with lively model. Courtesy ScaryCat Studio

list of materials used to make this model

armature

K&S (square brass tubing, comes in different sizes; we used of square brass K&S tube)
aluminium wire; we used 1.5mm and 1mm thicknesses

epoxy glue	grub screws
steel plate	Milliput
nuts	vice
washers for palms	soldering equipment
jewellery saw

hands and head

English Plasticine mixed	latex gloves
sculpting tools

eyes

white beads	paint brushes
enamel paint

hair

Milliput	paint brushes
acrylic paint	sculpting tools
Plasticine for ponytail	wire for ponytail

shoes

Plastiline	Lego bricks
K&S	paint brushes
clay	Vaseline
plaster	casting silicone
sculpting tools	silicone paint base
silicone pigments

snip foam

upholstery foam	scissors
Evostick glue	pins

clothes

fabric	sewing equipment
fabric dyes	iron/ironing board
wonder web for pockets	patterns

This puppet would be strong enough to last for a short film. There are many cheaper, and easier ways of making puppets. But in order to practise subtle, naturalistic movement, you will need a puppet at least this strong and flexible.