The Puppets

All of the puppets in my animation, Klaus, are made of paper and assembled using paper or wire joints.  I use BFK Rives printmaking papers and Sobo Glue to joint the characters.  All of the puppets are painted in gouache.

One of the simplest puppets is the one of Klaus facing the viewer.  He is painted with gouache on paper.  His eyebrows move and he has eyelids that go over the eyes to simulate blinking.   He also has two different mustaches.

The two Klaus puppets that are in profile were much more difficult.  All of the pieces were cut and painted.  This puppet has replaceable hands, mustaches, and a movable eyebrow.  Once that was done I jointed them.  I used paper joints for the larger puppets because it holds well and is easy to replace if there is a problem.  Below you can see the joints on the back of the puppet.

Finally, I had to make two small puppets.  They can fit in the palm of my hand.  Since these puppets were so small I needed to be jointed with wire.