A few weeks ago, I decided that I really wanted a marionette of Verti, because 1) I loved puppets, 2) especially marionettes, and 3) Verti. Because clearly having a BJD isn't enough, I need to have a funny little dude on strings to play with.
At first I thought "I could buy a marionette blank and then decorate that"! Buuuuut then I saw that they were all like 80+ CAD for wooden ones that I would need to resculpt the faces of.
And then I thought: wait, if I have to resculpt the face anyways, why don't I just try to make one out of clay? I'm not that great with clay yet, but I don't really need something perfect.
I also realized that I didn't actually know enough about marionette controllers or how people usually make them... So it was time for research!
Public libraries
This one wasn't actually related to marionette research initially - I initially looked at public libraries to see if any of the ones near me had sewing machines or embroidery machines, or maybe any fun classes to take.
(The answer is yes, an hour away from my workplace. I would need to register for classes there to use it, so that's a future me problem.)
And then I noticed the library that's very close to my workplace... has a section specifically dedicated to puppets! I haven't actually used a public library in over a decade, but I decided that this was a good reason to finally get a library card -- which I did get!
Unfortunately, I also remembered that I really hate touching books. Also all of the staff were busy and I couldn't find the puppetry books-- the books were probably in a restricted section, since it was a special collection. So I shelved the idea of looking for physical books for the moment.
But the library card did give me access to the library catalogue, ebooks, and other things!
(Other things... like recordings of plays which I had been tempted to get subscriptions to watch. And also scripts and costume bibles for performances, which are super interesting to look at.)
I sort of forgot just how helpful public library catalogues were, though. Google and search engines in general sort of suck now, so looking things in ye olde fashioned way has been really refreshing!
In combination with digital resources, I've managed to work around my "don't want to touch things" state by looking for books of interest, and then trying to find digital editions. This doesn't always work, particularly for rarer books, but it's helped enough!
Marionettes, masks and shadows
In particular, I saw a book titled "Marionettes, masks and shadows" which... is essentially a bunch of Verti's themes, so I decided to take a look. And it has a section about "Making Your Marionette", with rough measurements and diagrams!
I really needed a diagram for controllers (control bars, as I call them... thanks Mabinogi), so I'm glad they had this!!
And they also had this diagram!! It numbers things well enough for me to figure it out!
I want a simple marionette with just a horizontal controller, and I don't really know if I even need the foot strings first... but now I have a rough idea of what I need to do. ♪(´▽｀)
This book also has a bunch of stuff on shadow puppetry, which I also really like... I don't know if I'll actually make them, but I would like to read it eventually!
The plan!
I don't have a completely solid plan just yet, but I do have a rough idea. I know that I want my first marionette to be fairly small. I haven't decided on a scale yet, but less than 20cm tall most likely. That way it's smaller than my BJD and a little easier to bake the individual parts for.
I wondered how to do the joints for a while, but the book had this diagram:
To describe taking apart a child's doll to make a marionette and using tape for the joints... which is simple, but honestly? That makes sense!
I don't really want to use tape, so instead my idea is to make the limbs and to leave holes at the ends. I can tie string there, so it's still flexible - and that way, I don't need any additional materials!
This means I need to make the limbs and body out of clay, with the head and face being the main part.
I'll need to figure out clothes, since the marionette will be too small to use my BJD's clothes... but generally, doll clothes or just making something small should be doable.
That's a problem for me after I get the body of the doll figured out.
As for the controller: I have a laser cutter! I'm going to just try to figure out how to make it with that, and then laser cut it and figure things out from there.
Making the marionette
... will happen in the future! I have a list of other projects I need to finish first, so I'm putting off the actual making-of until I have more mental energy.
But I have a plan! And I have string! I do need to buy wood to laser cut, but I'll probably buy that at the same time as other things.
And I probably need a lot more white clay.
I might not get around to this for a long while, but... we'll get there eventually! And I will probably try to read marionette-related literature for a while when I'm bored.
Research is fun! Public libraries are useful! Hooray library catalogues!
(... I need to buy gloves eventually so I can actually touch things without constantly feelings like I need to wash my hands.)