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| Stop-Motion Puppet Sculpting: A Manual of Foam Injection, Build-Up and Finishing Techniques |  | Author: Tom Brierton
Publisher: McFarland & Company
Category: Book
List Price: $49.95
Buy New: $42.70
as of 9/9/2010 02:46 CDT details
You Save: $7.25 (15%)
New (8) Used (9) from $42.70
Seller: backpack_books
Rating:  8 reviews
Sales Rank: 975,592
Media: Paperback
Edition: illustrated edition
Pages: 73
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 10.9 x 8.3 x 0.3
ISBN: 0786418737
Dewey Decimal Number: 791.4334
EAN: 9780786418732
ASIN: 0786418737
Publication Date: July 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Stop-motion puppet animation is one of the most unusual and demanding art forms in the world. It uses a variety of skills, including design, sculpting, metal work, mold making and casting, taxidermy, filmmaking, storytelling and acting, and can be seen in the simplest commercial spots on television to more complex animated shorts and science fiction and fantasy feature films. This work explains research and design of puppets, and details the fabrication of stop-motion puppets around a metal armature skeleton using the build up and foam injection processes. The former technique uses pre-cut blocks of foam formed with a pair of scissors or other instrument into the shape desired and attaching them to the armature. In the latter technique, the character is sculpted in clay over the armature. This clay sculpture is then replaced with foam by using a plaster mold and injection gun techniques. Finishing techniques described include the making of hair, eyes, eyelids, teeth, horns, nails, and chitinous (insect-shell-like) surfaces. The manual also covers the process of creating replacement heads using rubber molds (such as RTV) and urethane castings. A glossary and bibliography complete the extensively illustrated work.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 8
 Great book July 3, 2006
Penelope M. Dash (Cypress, CA)
1 out of 6 found this review helpful
Book came very quickly and in great shape. That's all I ask. Thanks so much.
 Foam build up at last. September 1, 2004
Mark Fullerton (San Diego)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
This book has one of the best explainations of the foam build up technique for puppet fabrication that I have seen. Lots of photos and a good section on material suppliers. The book also covers the foam injection method in the same detail with lots of photos. If you are building stop motion puppets, this book is a must for your collection.
Adequate description of stop-motion puppets but overpriced January 9, 2005
Susan E. Zinner (USA)
13 out of 13 found this review helpful
As the title of the manual suggests, the book is a primer of learning the fundamentals of foam injection and build-up techniques, material which is (especially the unique process of build-up technique) difficult to find when wishing to create realistic Ray Harryhausen/Willis O'Brien-type animation puppets (as outlined in the build-up chapter of the manual).
The book is called "A Manual of Foam Injection, Build-Up, and Finishing Techniques", not "The Manual...", and therefore one would assume before purchasing it that is yet another text on creating stop-motion puppets, and would be a viable addition to one's stop-motion library. The copy at the back the manual (as well as in web advertisements) indicates that this manual also covers the creation of replacement models for animation. This topic was discontinued by the author for a later manual that he is writing on stop-motion animation, lighting and cinematography. Prior to going to press, the author contacted the published to edit the replacement models topic out of the advertisements, but they did not do so.
If would behoove web/book advertisers of this manual (or any book/manual) to include the page count of a given manuscript, so that consumers can know the size of the book in question.
The cost of this manual is, in my opinion, overpriced, but the pricing was the decision of the publisher, not the author. The manual is also printed on substandard paper stock.
Other stop-motion books currently on the market do not cover build-up technique as detailed as this manual, especially as it pertains to a machined armature. Virtually all stop-motion books on the market cover sculpted puppets using only wire armatures.
The manual adequately explains what it set out to do, namely to explain the process of foam injection and foam buildup techniques. A chapter is devoted to basic sculpting techniques to initiate a beginner in the amenities of muscle structure and its importance to the creation of more realistic stop-motion models. This was, however, not the crux of the manual per se, which is why only one chapter was devoted to sculpting.
The primarily complaints seem to be in its cost and the quality of the paper stock and images, as well as absence of more material to make the book more "saleable". However, further detail explanations of other types of anatomies (i.e. quadrupeds, fantasy creatures, etc.), would have driven the cost of the manual up exponentially. The manual is overpriced as it is.
An entire chapter is devoted to the foam injection technique, and is explained in a simple and concise easy-to-follow explanation. As such, the manual has been geared to people interested in the art form, but who do not have advanced skill levels in sculpting, mold making, and foam injection.
Regrettably, the publisher chose to use black and white photographs, and at low resolution. As such, the images suffer. It would have been preferable to use higher resolution images, and in color.
If a kitchen oven cannot be used for foam injection in one's home, one might try to be resourceful enough to not give up and think of an alternative solution; namely, to use a kiln oven in a garage or other room that is out of harms way. It is common knowledge in the visual effects/stop-motion community that hot foam can be difficult and toxic to work with. The manual only confirms this.
Given the subject matter and material covered within the manual, it should be less expensive, given what one gets for their investment. One should consider contacting the publisher if they feel that the manual is overpriced, or at the very least return the item if they are not satisfied.
Stop-Motion Puppet Fabrication December 26, 2004
T. H. Brierton (USA)
12 out of 13 found this review helpful
This book details the processes of foam injection and build-up technique for stop-motion animation; techniques that are very difficult to find in other publications. Because of the advanced technical nature of the two processes, one should assume that puppets fabricated using these techniques are beyond the interest and scope of most children. More easy to understand publications for pre-teen children (as well as adults) on how to build more simple "cartoony" characters would be Craft Skills for Stop-Motion, by Susannah Shaw, and Creating 3D Animation, By Peter Lord. Both of these publications are outstanding sources of stop-motion material.
A consumer might find some of the manual's material "inappropriate". Chapter 2 of Stop-Motion Puppet Fabrication is devoted to anatomical sculpting, which details the clay rendering of a female nude in a dance pose. I suggest that before anyone criticizes such art through prejudicial censorship, they should well note that such innocuous anatomical nude figure studies can be found in centuries-old masterpieces: (Michelangelo's David, and the genius of Auguste Rodin [Lovers, etc.]. The general public (including children) are exposed to such masterful works of art on a daily basis, either in books or at museums. I champion the ideal that the human form is a natural sculpture of beauty and should be regarded as such. The best source of studying human anatomy for the pursuit and study of fine art is to go to the source; the human form. There is nothing distasteful or inappropriate about it, unless it becomes [...], which I do not personally advocate in my own work.
Chapter 5 outlines the rather difficult process of foam build-up. This technique enables the modeler/animator the ability to create very realistic models in the vein of the models of Ray Harryhausen, Willis O'Brien, Ladislaw Starevitch, et. al, if that is their aim. As very few, if any, publications have been devoted to realistic buildup technique, the aim of Stop-Motion Puppet Fabrication was to do just that. The puppet study detailed in Chapter 5 is of the minotaur, from classical Greek mythology. The sculpture is realistic, but in a classical stylized fashion.
The book is printed on low-quality paper, which I found rather disappointing, but this was the choice of the publisher. For the rarity of the subject matter (foam injection and build-up techniques), the manual is, in my opinion, appropriately the length it needs to be, though it may be a bit overpriced for such length.
For completists only! September 27, 2006
J. B. Ramirez (Chicago)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I am not sorry I purchased this book but I must agree with several other reviewers that the information contained in this book is rather shallow and the poor quality (printed on cheap paper, muddy b/w photos, etc...) only underscore the problem. The same info can be had in a number of superior quality books that also feature sections on other aspects of stopmotion filmmaking (storyboarding, lighting, camera work, etc...) for a lesser price. Also I must say aside from the poor photo reproductions featured the actual work on display is less than inspiring. The majority of books available on the subject feature cartoony characters this book attempts to present a more balanced example by demonstrating the construction of a fantasy monster creature unfortunately the results reveal a distinct lack of artistic ability in reproducing lifelike dynamic anatomy and detail.Also the chapter on sculpting employs a TERRIBLE and bizzare nude female character that seems inapropriate for the purposes of casting a workable model, this assessment is borne out by the fact that no model derived from this poorly done sculpture is demonstrated.Buy this only if you wish to fill out your book collection on the subject.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 8
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