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From time to time we get questions about the different types of puppets on the market. Even though most of you are very familiar with the differences, we thought that maybe it would be good to cover this for some people who might not know and are embarrassed to ask. Recently I answered just such a question. I have removed the identification information from the person writing, but that was not important anyway. Here is the main context of the topic. Enjoy.
There are three basic styles of puppets in todays world of Ventriloquism.
The oldest and most widely known is the hard figure. Usually hand carved from wood with a variety of control features in it, the hard figure does not have the ability to be as flexible in movement as its other counter parts. It is usually the most heavy and cumbersome to operate. It is also the one most closely associated with being scary to small children and some adults.
Next on the list is the “latex” puppet. Usually made of rubber, poured into a mold and then painted in various colors to suit its maker. Latex has a limited life span. Usually after about seven years, the latex will break down and become gummy to the touch. There are some folks who swear buy the latex puppet and don’t mind replacing them periodically.
Finally, we have the soft sculpture puppet. An artist takes the time to take many pieces of foam and sculpt them into the shape that he/she desires. It is then covered with fabric. Most commonly we use “Antron” (also known as “muppet fleece”). Using a variety of techniques, the artist finishes the sculpt on the puppet and then finishes by painting the eyes and adding color as needed.
In a moderate climate, the advantages lean mainly in favor of soft sculpture. Latex has the habit of making the hand of the operator sweat inside the puppet. Soft sculpture comes with sweat absorbing features built into the puppet to remove that sweat factor. By merely using your hand/wrist movements in the puppet, it is much easier to make the soft puppet take on the appearance of being alive.
If you will go to https://www.youtube.com/user/TheDummyShoppe/videos, we have about 50 videos of soft sculptured puppets doing various things. Of all the styles of puppets, the thing that most makes the puppet work well is the skill of the ventriloquist.
Let me know if you have other questions that I can help you with.
I hope this will be of some help to someone. We will talk again next week.
Steve and JET