The drill is a very easy way of doing it. But I use straight aluminum wires nowadays. It works just as well :)

+Antonio Panarello I know that some scrapbooking shops sell Friendly Plastic thermoplastic, but do a Google search, and I'm sure you'll find an online store. I buy it online here in Sweden. Try to get the plastic strips, not the pellets. You can melt the strips with a heat gun, while you must boil the pellets. I would actually recommend you to go for the aluminum wire instead. It'll hold much longer, and the brass can affect both latex and ployurethane foam with emissions that'll make those materials deteriorate prematurely. Both some hobby shops, and most art/sculpture shops have aluminum wires. I actually bought aluminum wires from a flower shop that used it for decorations, so ask there too.

+ImagineerToys Glad I could help out :) I use Friendly Plastic thermoplastic, but it might be easier for you to find a quick-setting plumber's epoxy.

Thanks! Dumpster diving, garage sales and just asking friends and relatives what they have stashed away gets me what I need for my monster making :)

Most puppet builders in the US apply plumber's epoxy the way I use thermoplastic. I simply couldn't find that epoxy in my native Sweden, but I already had experience with using thermoplastics, so I got started making my armatures with plastic. I did notice one thing which tips me in favor of the thermoplastic.Where the aluminum wires goes into the bonding material (plastic or epoxy) the wire will eventually experience fatigue and may break. The edge of the epoxy where it meets the aluminum wire is hard and might accelerate this fatigue, while the plastic will have a softer edge that won't affect the wire as much. I'd say that's now my best reason for using the plastic.

@@TheLoneAnimator Great info and much appreciated!

Using the measurements we have here in Sweden, the thickness of the aluminum wire is 1 millimetre. 2-3 wires of that variety are braided together. But I also use a 2,5 mm wire, two pieces braided together, for part of the puppet that sometimes needs to be sturdier, like the spine or the legs. For bigger puppets I just use one really thick aluminum wire (can't remember exact thickness) for all joints. This actually holds up better, and jiggles less. The copper wire is maybe 0,5 millimetre. I only use this copper wire because it's encased in plastic. Raw copper will deteriorate the latex fast.

It's called Return To Forever, and I've bought it from Audionetwork.com. I can send it to you if you contact me at loneanimator@gmail.com.

If you look through my other instructional videos on my channel, you'll find the answers to your questions. But in short I cover the armature with soft polyuretane foam cut from cushions and foam matresses. I then paint latex into plaster skin molds, let the latex dry, pull it out and glue those patches of skin over the foam using liquid latex as a glue. To make a low-budget animation studio, you don't need much, really. If you can get a whole room, then that's perfect. You should be able to close it off from daylight and other light sources. Then I'd go for one good light in the ceiling, like those big ball-shaped paper lamps, plus a couple of good lights, easy to move, for lighting the actual puppet. I use photo soft boxes, but you can make it work with simple desk office lamps as well. There are a few good free animation software out there, but if you can invest in StopMotionPro or Dragonframe. You can do the animation with a good web cam (and many do) or use an iPad. I invested in a Nikon photographic camera, and never regretted it.

bluworm what is a plaster skin mold?

If your puppet won't be covered by clothes or fur it needs a latex skin, preferably with some kind of organic texture. On a flat piece of clay I make a sculpture of the kind of skin texture I'm interested in, for example crocodile scales. I then cover this texture sculpture with plaster. When the plaster has set, I remove the clay and I can now cast latex skins into this plaster skin mold. But you can also put plaster on surfaces you find interesting, like fruit skins, old leather, plastic or rubber toys nad even car dash boards. You can find interesting textures everywhere. Be careful when you use plaster, as it gets hot when it sets up, and use some kind of release agen on the surface, like Vaseline (petroleum jelly).

Great! :)

The thermo plastic is pretty rigid, but the good thing is that, unlike the putty, it stays soft enough where the aluminum wires go into the material to not rub against the wire and eat away at it. In short, thermo plastic armatures don't break as often as putty armatures.

You're very welcome :)

+bluworm You did an excellent job!

+bluworm What kind of friendly plastic did you use? And where did you get it?

I use really thick aluminum wires sectioned off by friendly plastic covering the "bone" part of the puppet skeletons. That gives me tight joints that don't bounce, and the aluminum wire will not break as easy as, say, steel wire. How thick the wire should be is a matter of personal preference. Most people in the US actually use plumber's epoxy instead of thermoplastic. I'm afraid I don't know any brand names, but go to a hardware store and look for a fast-setting plumber's epoxy.

Oh okay, thanks for ur suggestion. I'll try :)

eun minnie bluworm Plastimake maybe? www.plastimake.com/ Just bought some not long ago. It's surprisingly strong.

SEdwardsAni I haven't used Plastimake, but it seems very similar to Friendly Plastic. s long as it's light enough, it should work very well for your wire armatures.

+persona dos Google "Friendly Plastic". It's used for scrapbooking, among other things. Try to find the plastic strips. This material can be bought as pellets, but you need to boil those in water to use them. I buy my plastic from a vendor here in Sweden, but hopefully you can find a shop in your country.

I like shroom music :)

+Godzillajustice 2004 It's about 10 inches, but I've made bigger aluminum wire armatures -I'm working on one now which is a foot and a half.

+bluworm Is there any way I can commission a stop motion armature? At around 12 inch scale? If so, for how much?

+eng.student ma Glad you enjoyed it. Thank you :)

I use different wire gauges, from 1 mm up to 3 mm depending on what the joints need to do, like be very soft or very tough for carrying the weight of the puppet. I don't use epoxy, but something called Polymorph thermoplastic. If you look through my videos you'll find one detailing how I use that material.

@@TheLoneAnimator : ok ill look into that type of bond, i'd have a better idea but most Stop motion animators, don't respond back and leaves one wondering and you go for the next best bonding material, I man I forgot I ordered I ag of that material , from this person that made I wired aperture using it, but they just used it for making to feet or boots, ill try it for the other parts of my apature,.

@@ThisOLmaan I haven't used it myself, but lots of animators like plumber's epoxy for holding together their armature bits. I find that epoxy gets very hard, and can actually help break off aluminum wires where they're joined with the epoxy. Here's my video about Polymorph: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/m7ZlkstznN-qaH0.html

Yes, that's mostly good enough. But you can have a bowl of water nearby too, of course.