Finger Puppets: I’ll be back… After maternity leave.
I’m really sliding in at the last minute with this post. I actually just finished this dude two days ago. On top of that, I had to make a couple of minor repairs this morning and just took the final pictures of my partner wearing him less than an hour ago.
While his construction may not have been as involved as the Ripley Loader, I think this might be my best work yet. For those unfamiliar, this is the T-800 from the 1984 sci-fi movie “The Terminator.” Most people are pretty familiar with the sunglasses and black leather jacket, but the skit idea I came up with involves Arnold’s appearance in the first half of the movie.
I’ve been planning this one for a while, but due to issues with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, acquiring Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and general exhaustion associated with being 9 months pregnant, I kept putting it off. I think I’ve had the supplies for him for at least a couple months now, so it was about time I buckled down and pulled this together.
It’s worth noting that when sizing this head for my partner’s big ol’ fingers, the base’s edges cracked a bit. To keep the cracks from spreading and getting worse, I simply filled them with white Elmers glue and planned to put the face on the opposite side. I have another package of Bisque Model Magic, so I’m debating on whether or not to go ahead and make a separate batch of heads to fit his index finger better (since I need him to play some of the larger characters).
This project also gave me a chance to document how I make the puppets’ hair. On some, I use yarn (usually when I want curly hair). However, for straight hair, I try to use embroidery thread. Because it is thinner than yarn, it takes a bit longer, but I think it looks better in the end. I embed the hairline and part sections much like the process of adding hair to a doll. I poke small holes along the head where the roots would show, and, using glue and fine tweezers, I insert a small piece of embroidery thread at the center into the hole. This leaves two strands sticking out from each hole. Once the hair line is thick enough, I simply use hot glue to fill in the rest of the scalp.
At this point, every puppet looks like a shaggy hippie. So, once all the glue has dried, I will give the little dude a haircut. Since it’s very difficult to shape such shorts pieces of embroidery thread, I use water to style it. The final step is to add diluted glue to hold the style in place once it is dry.
Since I already have a post dedicated to how I sew basic wardrobe items, I won’t go into detail here. That being said, this outfit was much more complicated than Kevin’s basic t-shirt. For the undershirt, I used white-out and Flair pens to create the 80s pattern. Once I had all the pieces ready to go, I sewed them together much like I did Kevin’s shirt. To get the baggy effect on the sleeves, I intentionally made them a bit too long and hot glued the cuffs to the puppet’s wrists.
To add the final touches to the jacket, I used fabric paint to add the black leather sections and studs. I also used the same fabric paint to create his little leather riding gloves. A small piece of jewelry chain was cut and hot glued it to the sleeve and diluted black ink was blotted all around to make the jacket look dirty.
All and all, I’m pretty proud of this little guy. I think he is a good note to go out on. No, I’m not leaving forever, but I am having a baby next week, so I’m going to have my hands full for a while. I expect to continue with throwback, sketchbook, and comic book posts until I can begin working on my puppets again. That being said, I’m not sure how long it will be before I can get back to a regular schedule.
I genuinely hope you will bear with while I adjust to motherhood. I have really grown to love this community and want to do everything I can to remain a part of it. Thank you all so much for sticking with me this far and I look forward to coming back with even more content inspired by my new life little Ripley
Until next time!
I love feedback, so if you have any questions, ideas, or requests, make sure to leave a comment below. And, if you need more fun stuff to shove into your eyeballs, hop over and check out my YouTube channel, Chimp Skipper, or my online portfolio.
#art #crafts #movies #videos #terminator #t-800 #scifi #sciencefiction #toys #diy #puppets #fingerpuppet #creative #creativity #80s