Puppet Designs

        The first stage in designing my puppet was to work on some silhouettes of stags. This enabled me to study their movement, through strong and dynamic poses, and also concentrate on the shape of the animal. Strong silhouettes are important across all areas of animation, but perhaps even more so for a theatre puppet, as some of the audience will have to view it from afar, and its nature must be immediately apparent, even the materials from which it is constructed are not deer-like.

        The shapes which I was drawn to the most are those which are slightly exaggerated, with a large, barrel chest, shaggy neck, and more elegant hind quarters. This build is more masculine, indicating a stag, rather than just a deer. This is a shape which has been used before: Bambi's father, The Great Prince of the Forest, flaunted such a figure, yet still moved in a graceful and elegant figure. Another point about this shape is that, if built on a large scale, it will accommodate a puppeteer standing behind the shoulders, neck and head, operating in a hands-on style, without detracting from the subtle performance of these features.

        In spite of erring towards a more muscular figure, I still associate deer with beauty, with large, expressive eyes and velvety muzzle and ears. These were the features I wished to incorporate in the face of my stag, Rannoch (the name of the heroic stag in Firebringer). Although the hero of the story, and large, 'royal' beast, Rannoch is presented as being thoughtful and sensitive, so it would make sense if his face incorporated these features. While some of these designs came across more doe and fawn-like, I think I have found the appropriate balance, in the lower three designs.

        Having settled on both a head and body shape, it was time to consider the construction of the puppets, both theatrical and stop motion. Throughout the course of my research I have discovered that it is often the mechanism of the puppet that takes precedence over the surface design. As mentioned earlier, some of the audience will only see the puppet from afar and will not get to appreciate any surface details. What they will see, aside from the broad shape, is the movement, the performance. In all likelihood the design of my puppet will undergo some changes throughout the duration of the project, as I learn and discover new inspirations, or due to the results of material tests.

        So from these rough deigns, which focus on the strong silhouette and shape of the stag, I traced out the various components which would make up my theatrical puppet. Inspired by Handspring Puppet Company's Hyena from Faustus in Africa, as well as War Horse, I aimed to construct my puppet from a series of bulkheads, which would provide the form of the animal, but keep the wight down, as it will not be a solid object. as I envisage the puppet being quite large (two or three feet tall), weight is a key consideration, not only for the performers, but so that the puppet does not buckle under its own weight.