Puppet Making, Building & Behind the Scenes
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Puppet Making, Building & Behind the Scenes 〰️
Learn about puppet making from professional puppet maker and fabricator Sam Carter, creator of Boopos Blanks.
Here Sam shares puppet-building techniques, materials, character design, fabrication tips, professional projects, DIY puppet ideas, and a behind-the-scenes look at how puppets are designed and built.
Throw Spaghetti at the Wall: A Puppet Maker’s Case for Saying Yes to Weird Ideas
Since this is the first Boopos Blanks blog post, I figured I’d start with one of the philosophies that has shaped a surprising amount of my creative career:
Throw spaghetti at the wall.
I don’t mean saying yes to everything.
I mean putting yourself out there. Applying for something even when you don’t know if you’ll get it. Pitching the strange project. Trying a new material. Building something you haven't built before. Saying, “Sure, why not?” and seeing what sticks.
That approach has led me to some pretty interesting places throughout my career as a puppet maker and fabricator.
Dad’ll Fix It: What My Daughters Taught Me About Making, Learning & Trust
There’s a phrase my daughters have heard from me for most of their lives:
“Dad’ll fix it. You can help.”
I started saying it when they were little.
At the time, I wasn't trying to teach some grand lesson about parenting or creativity. I was just a dad with two little girls, a workshop full of tools, and a tendency to believe that most broken things were at least worth trying to fix.
But looking back now, I realize those five words became one of the most important things I ever taught them.
The Best Advice I Ever Received on a Movie Set: “Don’t Run”
Before I worked in a puppet shop and before I started Boopos Blanks, I spent about two decades working in the film and television industry.
Twenty years on movie sets will teach you a lot.
I learned how to build things, solve problems under pressure, work with talented craftspeople, adapt when plans changed, and figure out how to get something done when there didn't seem to be nearly enough time to do it.
But one of the best pieces of professional advice I ever received had nothing to do with tools, fabrication, set decoration, or making things.