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This is a post about general puppet design. If you are looking to make a specific puppet type, then please select one of the appropriate categories on the right - there are more how-to's there on a range of puppet types.

Continuing on from my post about the basics of puppet design, I thought it would be good to do a more in-depth explanation of how to create a puppet 'character'. There is a difference between design and character - to me, design refers to the mechanics of the puppet, how it works, and what type of puppet it is. Character refers more to the emotional context, expression, or general look and style of the puppet. For instance, a muppet-type is one design; but a muppet-type can have a range of characters, from young girls to monsters and animals. A marionette is another design; but again, it can have a range of characters.

So how do we design a character? First, go back to the basics of puppet design. Follow the steps up until number 8. Consider: the script and what the puppet has to do; what type of puppet you wish to use and the basic design of the puppet; consider the mechanics; consider the materials - although this may be done at a later stage, since the materials have a lot to do with the character design; maybe skip considering the budget for now; and lastly, create some sketches.

Character is really about the emotion and expression of the puppet, the symbolicism within the shape and features of the puppet that help us to know what kind of a 'thing' the puppet is - whether the character is happy, sad, wealthy, healthy, human, etc. Here's some things to think about when creating a character:

Human vs. Non-human

Human characters will be different from non-human characters.

With human characters, you will need to consider whether you want to make them realistic, or whether you want to make them cartoonish. The thing about puppets is that - depending on the type of puppet - it may turn out slightly cartoonish anyway. That's just the nature of the puppet; nothing is quite as realistic as the real thing!

With non-human characters, you will need to consider whether it is an abstract character or creature, a 'monster', or an animal. Using the following, you will be able to decide what the non-human character will look like, and what kind of character it is emotionally. Lions are usually depicted as brave characters, for example. But in The Wizard of Oz, the lion is cowardly and ends up brave. So how do you create a lion puppet character that portrays both braveness and cowardliness? Or do you just convey one emotion? It's up to you...

Shape

Consider the shapes of all of the puppet parts; the head, the body and the limbs. You may be creating a puppet that is somewhat abstract, or monster-ish; so shape can greatly affect the character design. Is the head round, square, or oblong? Does the jaw have an overbite? Is the head pointy? What about the neck - is it short or long? Continue with the body and limbs - short, long, round, square?

A great example of the character design questions asked here is in The Nightmare Before Christmas movie. The Oogie-Boogie creature is fat, representing his greed and his power over the local community. The sack material is ideal for the later revelation that he is made up of bugs; and that he is really nothing more than a roach within that community. (Incidentally, he is a great example of blacklight puppetry) On the other hand, you have Sally, who is thin and pieced together with stitches. Her character itself is skittish and shy, a perfect complement with her pieced-together body. Why is she skinny? Because of course, her role as servant to the evil scientist means she probably doesn't get to eat - since she is badly treated and ignored by one and all. And then Jack is also skinny - but he has long limbs, which suggests a sort of spidery character, one that is adept at spinning tales and playing jokes, and the wide gait helps confirm the idea that he is master of ceremonies for Halloween.

You see, shape is a great way to design a character!

Age

Naturally, the age of the puppet will also impact on the character design. Is it a young puppet, or a middle-aged puppet, or an old puppet? Is it ancient (ie. several hundred years old), versus about 70? Or a baby, versus a toddler?

Age can be reflected not just by the type of material - saggy, baggy material for older puppets, for example - but also by the expression in the eyes, the shape of the facial features, the posture of the body or head, etc.

Gender

Here we can ask: is the puppet male, female, or androgynous? Eyelashes on a puppet's eyes can make it look like a woman; remove them and you'll see the puppet seems more 'manly'.

Social status

This can include a wide range of puppet character options - a wealthy character might wear glasses, or fancy clothes, or nicely done hair. A poor character might have little or ragged clothing. A typical bunraku technique for 'mad' or distressed characters is to have the puppet's clothes mishapen and falling out, and for the puppet's hair to have come undone from its nice bun (usually it's the women who are 'mad' in the bunraku plays).

Expression

The facial features of a puppet can transform a character. Consider each area of the face. Does the puppet have a nose? A pointy one will make the puppet look haughty - while a small one will make it look dainty. Does the puppet have eyes? Are they round or almond-shaped? Are they cat-like?

Adding eyebrows can change the expression greatly. It can make a soft-faced puppet suddenly look angry or concerned. What about ears? Or lips? Adding lips may turn a male puppet into a female one. Thick hair makes a puppet youthful, and thin hair makes a puppet look old... The list goes on. This is a good time to get out your sketch book and pencil, and draw some things on your puppet design sketches; erase anything you don't like, keep what you do!

Accessories

As mentioned above, accessories can also change the puppet character - this includes both clothing and other items. A boa on any puppet will suddenly make it seem flighty or extravagant. Some glasses can make the puppet appear intelligent or thoughtful. A flower in the puppet's hair will change the puppet's character to a more soft, feminine one.

Materials

Once you have decided on the above, and other character designs, you can then think about materials. Choose materials that suit the character: in texture, colour, weight, shininess, etc.

Final thoughts

Ultimately, the KISS principle applies. Keep it simple stupid. Do you really need huge eyes, huge eyebrows, lips, big ears, and a huge nose? On a puppet, a lot of big features may overcomplicate the character design. Think of it this way - is the character sad? Or is it angry? Or happy?

Pick the most important expression to the character, or the storyline, and then design features around that. For instance: recently I had to design a character that was a bit of a joker. I decided to give the puppet a tongue, that would flop around inside the puppet's mouth. This was the main feature of the puppet; eyes, ears and nose were small and blended in with the rest of the puppet's face. It wasn't necessary to also add extravagantly shaped features, because the tongue made the puppet's character already.

Go back through the above questions - you may find that some of the thoughts may not apply to your puppet design, or that you don't particularly care one way or the other about something. You may also find that a whole range of other questions pop up, specific to your ideas and puppet build.

And you may find that much of it is counter-intuitive. I personally make characters as I go, not drawing or sketching them first, but by having a basic idea of the puppet shape and emotion/expression first. Then once I have the head made, I decide on the features, perhaps by placing paper nose or ear patterns on the head as I go. This may seem odd to more visual artist- or graphic design-type people, but for me this is more comfortable. But both methods are just as good - one is more structured and planned, the other more improvised and free-flowing.

I hope these tips help; sometimes by going through each feature and puppet design step-by-step, you can consider a wider range of options for characters than you would if you just plow into a puppet build without thought for expression and characterisation. As you can see from the above, there is no end to the options for your puppet designs, and even one small change in the puppet's features will greatly affect the way the puppet appears to the audience, the type of emotion the puppet expresses and the emotional connect it has with the audience. So design your puppet character to your needs, and remember to simplify the features where possible.

Now go back to the original puppet design post - and combine the information given there with the above. Please leave a comment if anything is unclear, or if you think I've missed something in the puppet character design concepts. Be sure to check out the rest of the FAQ to find explanations and tutorials on making specific puppet types. You should also check out my post on what makes a puppet 'professional'. And now you can also read my post on making a set of puppets.

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