You will need a little less than 1 pound of the cheapest and toughest material: a fine-mesh foam core (1″ x 1″ x 0.1″ to be exact). If you are using the larger foam core, just find a square of foam at the craft store and cut it to the right size. Assemble the core with strips of cloth tape between the layers to act as the feet.
After the core is attached to what will eventually be the body of your puppet, you should cover it with another soft-foam mat of about 0.6″ mesh. This will keep the base of the puppet from sliding around as it is moving to the other places on the puppet.
Next you’ll want to cover the eyes, mouth, and nose. I prefer using a foam mask because the mask is a much better fit and it does not interfere with the shape. I put small squares of tissue paper and cut lines on the face and mouth. The mask does not interfere with the eyes or the mouth, except for the eyes if you are using the white mask. To create the nose, simply fold a strip of cloth over the nose and make it the shape of the mouth.
After you have covered the eyes, mouth, and nose with the mask, it is time to add the limbs! You don’t have to use fabric and can omit it if you so prefer, but it would be a good idea to make sure that the glue doesn’t break (I usually just remove the glue) and it will look more realistic and natural. Use an open or closed face. Once you’ve covered all the limbs and you’ve attached the head to the body, you should add the eyes and mouth to the head.
To help ensure some balance and shape, cut a piece (or two with foam) of fabric to a length of about 2″ and fold it up into a point. Once you have done this, fold the point out as if it holds the arms in place and wrap it around the head. This will cause the eyes and nose to stick out even further into the body. It should look something like this:
Next is the head. I have been told that using plastic spray paint on acrylic paint will not work and that it looks cheap. Since the head is the only part that is made using cardboard or some sort of other material, I went with this method: spray the face with a bright orange liquid; use the same mixture to paint the foam core;
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