Stop-Motion Puppet Sculpting: A Manual of Foam Injection, Build-Up and Finishing Techniques

Rating:
Summary: Adequate description of stop-motion puppets but overpriced
Review: As the title of the manual suggests, the book is a primer of learning the fundamentals of foam injection and build-up techniques, material which is (especially the unique process of build-up technique) difficult to find when wishing to create realistic Ray Harryhausen/Willis O'Brien-type animation puppets (as outlined in the build-up chapter of the manual).

The book is called "A Manual of Foam Injection, Build-Up, and Finishing Techniques", not "The Manual...", and therefore one would assume before purchasing it that is yet another text on creating stop-motion puppets, and would be a viable addition to one's stop-motion library. The copy at the back the manual (as well as in web advertisements) indicates that this manual also covers the creation of replacement models for animation. This topic was discontinued by the author for a later manual that he is writing on stop-motion animation, lighting and cinematography. Prior to going to press, the author contacted the published to edit the replacement models topic out of the advertisements, but they did not do so.

If would behoove web/book advertisers of this manual (or any book/manual) to include the page count of a given manuscript, so that consumers can know the size of the book in question.

The cost of this manual is, in my opinion, overpriced, but the pricing was the decision of the publisher, not the author. The manual is also printed on substandard paper stock.

Other stop-motion books currently on the market do not cover build-up technique as detailed as this manual, especially as it pertains to a machined armature. Virtually all stop-motion books on the market cover sculpted puppets using only wire armatures.

The manual adequately explains what it set out to do, namely to explain the process of foam injection and foam buildup techniques. A chapter is devoted to basic sculpting techniques to initiate a beginner in the amenities of muscle structure and its importance to the creation of more realistic stop-motion models. This was, however, not the crux of the manual per se, which is why only one chapter was devoted to sculpting.

The primarily complaints seem to be in its cost and the quality of the paper stock and images, as well as absence of more material to make the book more "saleable". However, further detail explanations of other types of anatomies (i.e. quadrupeds, fantasy creatures, etc.), would have driven the cost of the manual up exponentially. The manual is overpriced as it is.

An entire chapter is devoted to the foam injection technique, and is explained in a simple and concise easy-to-follow explanation. As such, the manual has been geared to people interested in the art form, but who do not have advanced skill levels in sculpting, mold making, and foam injection.

Regrettably, the publisher chose to use black and white photographs, and at low resolution. As such, the images suffer. It would have been preferable to use higher resolution images, and in color.

If a kitchen oven cannot be used for foam injection in one's home, one might try to be resourceful enough to not give up and think of an alternative solution; namely, to use a kiln oven in a garage or other room that is out of harms way. It is common knowledge in the visual effects/stop-motion community that hot foam can be difficult and toxic to work with. The manual only confirms this.

Given the subject matter and material covered within the manual, it should be less expensive, given what one gets for their investment. One should consider contacting the publisher if they feel that the manual is overpriced, or at the very least return the item if they are not satisfied.


Rating:
Summary: Inappropriate for younger audiences
Review: I was pretty disappointed with this book for several reasons.

Probably the main one was the inappropriate images used for examples. I was purchasing this book to work with my children on developing some stop motion puppets, but I will likely have to cut out a whole chapter or more before I will let them read the material.

Also, the photographs in the book are generally low quality with varying degrees of pixelation.

Pay attention to the page length, this is a rather short book.

Rating:
Summary: Overpriced - Not Comprehensive
Review: I would probably be more forgiving if this book were less than half the price it is, but since this is nearly a $50 investment I have slightly higher expectations.

As an earlier reviewer noted, this book is 74 pages in length (including an index and glossary). If it weren't bound, this book could have been stapled together. I don't have a problem with a short book if it is packed with unique, focused insight into a topic, but unfortunately in my opinion this book only achieves this on a shallow level.

This is a book focusing on a specialized technique by an industry professional. I would expect it to contain a wealth of insight reinforced by a number of examples outlining different levels of complexity and various challenges facing foam puppet builders. Instead this book offers one simplistic example of sculpting a figure on a wire armature. It then takes the reader through a single example of the steps to create a foam injection puppet and an example of the foam build up technique. In about 25 pages the author covers sculpting, mold making, foam mixing, injecting, baking, removing the cast and painting. It feels more like an instruction pamphlet than a resource on the topic. I would have liked to see multiple examples illustrating varying levels of complexity. How would the author have dealt with a 4-legged puppet?

After reading this book (in about an evening) I'm left with many basic questions, such as materials appropriate or to be avoided in armatures for foam injection, issues surrounding undercuts in puppet sculptures, poses puppet sculptures need to be in for an injection mold, and there's practically nothing on feet anchors, a topic I believe there must be enough information out there to fill a few pages. I also completely agree with a complaint from a previous reviewer. Most of the illustrative photos in the book are low resolution, pixilated and muddy. Nowhere near the quality of the beautiful colour photo on the cover. In my opinion there is no excuse for this in a published book, especially at this price.

For the price of this book you could get a number of books focused on various aspects touched on in this book. For mold making I recommend The Prop Builder's Molding & Casting Handbook, by Thurston James ($13.59). I also recommend Stop Motion: Craft Skills for Model Animation (Focal Press Visual Effects and Animation) by Susannah Shaw ($23.07 )which looks at foam injection puppets (in almost as much depth) plus other puppet building techniques along with information on lighting, animation and set building, for less than half of this book's price.

Also, a word of warning for those of us who thought we could create foam injection puppets at home. The author states that standard ovens in our kitchen don't generate a consistent enough heat and special curing ovens that have fans to circulate heat are required to bake foam. He also notes that curing foam releases toxic fumes, something you probably don't want in your kitchen. So homemade foam injection puppets seem to be out of the question.


Rating:
Summary: Stop-Motion Puppet Fabrication
Review: This book details the processes of foam injection and build-up technique for stop-motion animation; techniques that are very difficult to find in other publications. Because of the advanced technical nature of the two processes, one should assume that puppets fabricated using these techniques are beyond the interest and scope of most children. More easy to understand publications for pre-teen children (as well as adults) on how to build more simple "cartoony" characters would be Craft Skills for Stop-Motion, by Susannah Shaw, and Creating 3D Animation, By Peter Lord. Both of these publications are outstanding sources of stop-motion material.

A consumer might find some of the manual's material "inappropriate". Chapter 2 of Stop-Motion Puppet Fabrication is devoted to anatomical sculpting, which details the clay rendering of a female nude in a dance pose. I suggest that before anyone criticizes such art through prejudicial censorship, they should well note that such innocuous anatomical nude figure studies can be found in centuries-old masterpieces: (Michelangelo's David, and the genius of Auguste Rodin [Lovers, etc.]. The general public (including children) are exposed to such masterful works of art on a daily basis, either in books or at museums. I champion the ideal that the human form is a natural sculpture of beauty and should be regarded as such. The best source of studying human anatomy for the pursuit and study of fine art is to go to the source; the human form. There is nothing distasteful or inappropriate about it, unless it becomes [...], which I do not personally advocate in my own work.

Chapter 5 outlines the rather difficult process of foam build-up. This technique enables the modeler/animator the ability to create very realistic models in the vein of the models of Ray Harryhausen, Willis O'Brien, Ladislaw Starevitch, et. al, if that is their aim. As very few, if any, publications have been devoted to realistic buildup technique, the aim of Stop-Motion Puppet Fabrication was to do just that. The puppet study detailed in Chapter 5 is of the minotaur, from classical Greek mythology. The sculpture is realistic, but in a classical stylized fashion.

The book is printed on low-quality paper, which I found rather disappointing, but this was the choice of the publisher. For the rarity of the subject matter (foam injection and build-up techniques), the manual is, in my opinion, appropriately the length it needs to be, though it may be a bit overpriced for such length.


Rating:
Summary: Foam build up at last.
Review: This book has one of the best explainations of the foam build up technique for puppet fabrication that I have seen. Lots of photos and a good section on material suppliers. The book also covers the foam injection method in the same detail with lots of photos. If you are building stop motion puppets, this book is a must for your collection.