About Puppet Hacks
I've been building puppets since 2004
Not professionally at first. Badly, mostly, in a spare room, with the wrong foam and a hot glue gun I should not have been trusted with. I ruined a lot of material learning things that somebody could have told me in ninety seconds. > > That's what this is.
Puppet Hacks is puppet building taught the way it actually works in a shop… foamFoam is the structural material most soft puppets are built … More carving, mouth plates, fleeceFleece is the knit fabric used as the outer skin on most mod… More and fur, patterns, arms, eyes, and the specific shortcuts that separate a puppet that holds up from one that comes apart the third time someone opens its mouth.
What's a "Hack?"
A hack isn’t a shortcut around the work. It’s the thing you figure out on your fortieth puppet that would have saved you three hours and half a yard of fleece on your first. Somebody had to waste that fleece. Around here it’s usually me.
Who this is for?
Beginners, mostly. If you’ve never built anything and you own a pair of scissorsScissors and shears are the primary cutting tools in puppet … More, you’re in the right place. If you’re a few puppets in and you’re stuck on hands, or your mouth plates keep going crooked, or you can’t figure out what fleece everyone’s using — that’s most of what I make.
What we do here
Build videos every week. Full builds, real time, including the parts that go wrong.
Patterns you can print at home, drafted from puppets I actually built.
A materials guide so you stop guessing at the fabricFabric is the outer surface of a puppet — the skin, the cl… More store.
[4 Foam Fingers](/4-foam-fingers/) — four questions with builders from across the puppet world. It’s been running since long before this site got serious, and it’s the best thing here.
Free program kits for libraries, schools, and community groups. No catch. Just ask.
What we don't do
Commission work. I tried it. I was miserable and so was everyone else as a byproduct of my just not enjoying that process. There are excellent builders who love it and I’ll happily point you at them.
Let’s hack this together.
-Steve