Brief: Design and build an original stop frame animatable character that could easily inhabit the world of Aardman’s ‘Shaun the Sheep’.
Wendy and Graham enjoying a spot of golf in Mossy Bottom. Male puppet created by Jennifer Dingwall and images edited onto Aardman's Mossy Bottom set.
To create this puppet, I spent a lot of time working on the character design. Using my digital tablet, I created many designs for Wendy and made a character profile of what traits and quirks I wanted this little character to have.
Using a scale drawing I had drawn, I then made a 3D maquette of Wendy in plasticine. This was crucial in helping me visualise her body in 3D form.
The next step was to create a mould of her hands, legs, and head from the plasticine maquette. These items would then be cast out in silicon (hands and legs) or fibreglass (head).
Every part of the puppet-making process has to be carefully thought out in regards to the puppet's movement and durability.
Other techniques demonstrated:
-Animatable magnetic eyes
Airbrush and silicon painting
-Creating Balsa wood grip blocks
-Snip Foam fabrication
-Pattern and costume making
