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The Puppet Building Blog - Animatronics and Puppet Mechanics

The killer Robots of Terminator Salvation are brought to life using a hodge podge of visual effects techniques, including make-up, computer graphics and, yes, goold ol' fashioned puppetry courtesy of Legacy Effects (the former studio of Stan Winston). We've got a nice round-up of behind-the-scenes videos and photos from Legacy Effects' work on Terminator Salvation ready for you after the the jump...

Read more: Terminator Salvation Animatronics

The Puppet Building Blog - Puppet Crafts

You can make your own pair of these "Oobi-style" puppet practice eyes using a few basic supplies like ping pong balls, elastic, and a needle and thread. They're great for practicing basic puppetry techniques like lip sync, eye focus, etc. Learn how to make them step-by-step after the jump...

Read more: Make Your Own Puppet Practice Eyes

The Puppet Building Blog - Marionettes

If you're eager to learn about marionette making, this is a great first project to try!

Chances are you've probably seen bird marionettes like the one in this video for sale in one place or another. Why buy one when it's much more fun to make your own? Instructables has an eight step tutorial explaining how to make your own bird marionette from a feather boa, Styrofoam, and fishing line.

The Puppet Building Blog - Hand and Rod Puppets

Jay Tyson built a great-looking puppet of David Tennant (the actor who plays The 10th Doctor in the long-running sci-fi series Dr. Who) for this Dr. Who puppet fan film The Doctor's Destiny and several installments of Jay's puppet web series 99 Acre Wood. Jay is an incredibly talented puppet builder and what's great about this project is that he's put together a detailed series of step-by-step video tutorials demonstrating how he built the David Tennant puppet and made them available online.

Each installment covers a different aspect of the process of building a hand and rod foam puppet. You can download each one for just $5 each, or order them as a complete set on DVD for $65.85 US (including shipping). Jay also offers other video tutorials on subjects like flocking and building eye mechanisms for puppets. The full list of video tutorials can be found here and at just $5 each they're an incredible bargain.

The Puppet Building Blog - Giant Puppets

Hands In Art - a puppetry company run by John Kennedy (author of Puppet Mania! and Puppet Planet) was approached last year to build a giant animatronic Panda costume for Ace Ventura Junior: Pet Detective. As is usually the case for film and TV projects like this, the build had to be completed in a hurry so John and his team used an interesting, somewhat unconventional approach to the build.

Lots more photos of the giant panda suit can be found on the Hands In Art web site.

The Puppet Building Blog - Puppet Crafts

Craft Jr. has a tutorial explaining how to make a Giraffe sock puppet. They've suggested it as a "recycled craft activity" for Earth Day, but it looks like a fun project for kids to do any time of the year!

Via Neat-O-Rama.

The Puppet Building Blog - Animatronics and Puppet Mechanics

Jigsaw is a popular puppet video podcast about a robot named Milton and a mad scientist named Dr. Kranium. In this "behind-the-scenes" episode, Jigsaw creator Ben Jones explains how he created Regibor, a simple rod puppet with a straight-drop mouth for the show. Ben walks you through the process of making Regibor from start to finish. He also offers advice on proper eye placement, working with Sculpty and Super Sculpty and the importance of not driving X-acto knives in to your leg.