KNOBBI
Puppet Fabrication
Knobbi is a hand puppet of a talking garlic bulb - made primarily from foam with a fleece covering. His head includes mechanisms for raising the brow and looking side to side, and his arms are controlled with wooden arm rods.
The Process
The puppet was made from several foam ‘cloves’ that were made using a similar template process used for Paul and then glued together. Holes were then cut for the mouth and eyes. The mouth plate was made from plastic and has elastic hoops inside for the puppeteer’s fingers.
The work in progress eye mechanism. At this stage it features ping pong ball eyes on wire swivels, a plastic base for the mechanism, and a lever that allows the brow to be moved up and down. Afterward, an additional mechanism was added allowing the eyes to move side to side.
The hands were made of foam covered with a red dyed nylon fleece. Wire armatures allow the fingers to be posed.
The puppet was covered in a nylon fleece, coloured using alcohol based inks. Small strips of fleece were added to the brow to look like a monobrow.
Knobbi is finished !