The Mind Creative March 2014
A puppet is defined traditionally as an inanimate object or figure
that is created to represent a character or object that can be
animated or manipulated by a person called the puppeteer.
Traditionally, puppets can be categorised into the following major
types: Glove puppets, Rod puppets, Human Arm puppets, Shadow
puppets and Marionettes,
The Glove Puppet
As the name suggests, the
puppet is worn like a glove on
the hand where the middle and
the index fingers are used to
usually manipulate the head.
The combination of the 3rd and
4th fingers controls one hand
while the other hand is
manipulated with the thumb. As
the diagram shows (courtesy
The Ballard Institute & Museum
of Puppetry)
The Rod Puppet
This puppet’s body is built
around a rod passing through
the body of the puppet. The
hands
are
controlled
by
controlling
separate
rods
attached to them and the head
is usually attached to the central
rod and usually allows some
controls
over
the
head
movements.
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