ANIMATOR - FABRICATOR - MODELER
PUPPETS
Morana is the sheep and the harbinger of death for The Wolf in my short animation, A Sheep in Wolf's Clothing. In designing her, I wanted to portray a character who gives off a soft, gentle demeanor while carrying a subtle sense of unease. At first glance, her body appears human, but the unnatural bend in her legs quietly breaks the illusion. Her face leans more sheep than human, dainty and sleek in structure, yet her sheep eyes feel slightly disconnected and sinister.
This rabbit puppet is constructed on a wire armature that serves as the internal skeleton, including the hands. The body was built up by needle-felting wool directly onto the armature. For the hands, wool fibers were secured with glue onto the wire to form defined fingers. The feet were made from flat pieces of cardboard, reinforced and weighted with hot glue for stability.
Mini me was a venture to make a puppet version of myself. She is styled to look just like me in one of my favorite outfits and signature glasses. I started with a simple wire armature and created a felt lining around it to act as the base of the armature. I then proceeded to buff up and sculpt the puppet with stuffing by needle-feting the figure. After bulking, I needle-felted the outfit and details such as the face and hair. I also sewed a small but strong magnet into a pouch, which I then sewed onto the bottom of both her feet to allow her to stand on metal surfaces for posing. Final details, such as embroidered seams and pockets on the trousers, along with sewn-on buttons, were added to enhance the doll's intricacy. Finally, I made a tiny pair of glasses with wire and painted them with acrylic to match my own.
The Wolf is the second puppet in my short animation, Sheep in Wolf's Clothing. The puppet began with sculpting the individual components out of Apoxie Sculpt. This included the skull, hands, feet, and eleven exposed bones, such as rib and leg bones, that would later be revealed through damage. The hands and feet feature articulated nails, and the rest of the body is supported by a wire armature. The armature itself is fairly simple, as The Wolf functions primarily as a lifeless body within the animation rather than a fully poseable character. Like Morana, the rest of the puppet is constructed through needle felting. Wool is layered over the armature and compressed to build out the form and texture of the body. Once the base puppet was complete, I distressed it to reflect its role in the narrative. I cut open the stomach, removed a foot, and broke an arm. The sculpted bones were then inserted into these damaged areas. The internal organs were created using yarn and additional needle felting. Finally, the puppet was splattered with watered-down red acrylic paint, the same treatment as Morana.
As The Tale of Búkolla is a preexisting story set in Iceland, I wanted to draw inspiration from classic depictions of the culture. The sketch and recreation of my trolls are directly based on the amazing imagination of Brian Pilkington and his interpretation of trolls which has become the most recognizable version in media. The Boy, who features as the main character, wears traditional Icelandic clothing such as tail-cap or skotthúfa, and Búkolla is based on Ãslenskur nautgripur, Icelandic cattle.
My short animation, The Little Witch Trip, is a tribute to my favorite art mediums, each brought to life in a unique style. One of them is stop motion, where I crafted a puppet. The puppet is made from a wire armature for allowed posablility including the hands. The face and feet are sculpted with Sculpy clay and painted with acrylic. The extra expressions, such as the mouth, were paper cutouts.