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The Foam Book : An Easy Guide to Building Polyfoam Puppets Plastic Comb – February 17, 1997

by Donald Devet (Author), Drew Allison (Author)
4.1 out of 5 stars 75 ratings
Whether you're a beginner to the world of puppet making or an experienced professional puppeteer, The Foam Book was written with you in mind. This easy guide to designing and building your own polyfoam puppets will take you step-by-step through the creative process.

Along the way you'll pick up tips and tricks to make the puppet building experience as carefree as possible.

The Foam Book is not just a guide to puppet construction but a useful resource of suppliers of hard to find puppet-making materials.

Inside you'll find:
* Two sure-fire methods for making a puppet head.
* A grocery list of features to consider for your character.
* Detailed descriptions for making any body parts imaginable.
* Special sections on creating animals and fantastic creatures.
* Suggestions for materials and coverings.
* Over 100 photos and drawings.

Previous slide of product details
  1. Print length
    115 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Grey Seal Puppets, Inc.
  4. Publication date
    February 17, 1997
  5. ISBN-10
    0967857503
  6. ISBN-13
    978-0967857503
Next slide of product details
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Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now

Editorial Reviews

Review

With expanded information and many helpful hits, this book is sure to be a great help to all who use foam in the construction of their puppets. --The Puppetry Journal

About the Author

Drew Allison is the founder and president of Grey Seal Puppets. He is involved in all phases of production including writing, building, designing and performing.

For over twenty years, Drew has performed regularly on television and stage including such venues as The Center for Puppetry Arts, The Smithsonian Institution, The Detroit Institute of Art and The Philadephia Museum of Art.

In 1994 Drew was awarded the President's Award by The Puppeteers of America for outstanding achievement in the art of puppetry. In 1998, his original production of BATHTUB PIRATES was awarded the prestigious UNIMA Citation of Excellence. He has also served on the Board of Trustees of The Puppeteers of America.

Donald Devet is a web producer and freelance writer, producer and performer in New York City.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Grey Seal Puppets, Inc. (February 17, 1997)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Plastic Comb ‏ : ‎ 115 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0967857503
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0967857503
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.4 ounces
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 out of 5 stars 75 ratings

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
75 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book provides useful tips and explains how to build Muppet-style puppets. Moreover, the instructions are easy to follow, and customers consider it excellent value for money. However, the design receives mixed feedback, with one customer noting it lacks patterns for use or copying.

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18 customers mention "Information quality"15 positive3 negative

Customers find the book informative and useful for puppet builders of all skill levels, explaining how to build Muppet-style puppets and providing several different techniques.

"...This book literally saved my production and was so helpful. I recommend it to anyone who wants to make some neat puppets...." Read more

"Useful as a starting point. Puppets are a bit crude. Would prefer more finished look." Read more

"...An all-around excellent book that gives a fantastic basis for creating your own characters that have a polished, professional look." Read more

"...The book is also filled with useful information and pictures about how to add eyes and the most brillant thing is that at the back of the book is a..." Read more

8 customers mention "Ease of use"6 positive2 negative

Customers find the book easy to follow, with one mentioning that it clearly explains the process of creating a puppet.

"...The foam book was a life saver. It gave easy, step-by-step instructions on how to create and build your own puppets...." Read more

"Wow...this book makes it easy to understand the process of creating a puppet, without steifling creativity by giving patterns...." Read more

"...It doesn't. In fact, many of the illustrations/examples are missing or have been cut out...." Read more

"...bodies as well as building joints, arms, legs and the all important control rod assembly...." Read more

8 customers mention "Value for money"6 positive2 negative

Customers find the book excellent and consider it good value for money.

"...It turned out well and was an enjoyable project. I bought this book as an added resource to continue our puppet journey...." Read more

"...Smart! An all-around excellent book that gives a fantastic basis for creating your own characters that have a polished, professional look." Read more

"...This book is not worth it. If you don't, you will find this book very confusing. VERY DISAPPOINTED!!!!!!" Read more

"FANTASTIC book. I made 4 amazing puppets with the 3 piece head technique. These were all my first puppets, and they have been incredibly popular...." Read more

8 customers mention "Design"3 positive5 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the design of the puppets in the book, with some appreciating their professional appearance while others find them crude.

"Useful as a starting point. Puppets are a bit crude. Would prefer more finished look." Read more

"...gives a fantastic basis for creating your own characters that have a polished, professional look." Read more

"...The writers claim they are not good at drawing illustrations yet have plenty of photos of puppets that are totally complete...." Read more

"This is a great book , but as many have said before it lacks patterns to be used or copied...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Katy Dorfschmidt
    5.0 out of 5 stars Puppet Power!
    Reviewed in the United States on June 25, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    When the small engineering school I attend decided to perform Avenue Q for a spring production, I was thrilled. However, as the director, I was also terrified. With no drama department to speak of, merely a club with hardly any budget, I had no way to rent puppets to use in the production. I decided that I would make my own puppets for the production in order to save the day. Most people thought I was crazy (and frankly, so did I) but this book saved my booty.

    The book was recommended to me by my brother and sister-in-law who had used the book at the school they taught at to make puppets. I needed all the help I could get, so I ordered the book.

    The foam book was a life saver. It gave easy, step-by-step instructions on how to create and build your own puppets. Although I occasionally wished that there were patterns to follow in the book, I think it became more fun just trying new designs than it would have been to copy some out of a book.

    I also had a few problems finding supplies, as many of the dealers and supplies they used in the book were not available locally, or affordably. I did manage to improvise a little, and in the end, I ended up spending about $150 on puppets rather than the $2000 it would have cost to rent them.

    This book literally saved my production and was so helpful. I recommend it to anyone who wants to make some neat puppets. Whether you're a professional puppeteer or a complete beginner, the book makes building an amazing puppet totally achievable.
    9 people found this helpful
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  • Donald L. Paisley
    4.0 out of 5 stars Useful starting point.
    Reviewed in the United States on September 4, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    Useful as a starting point. Puppets are a bit crude. Would prefer more finished look.
    Helpful
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  • emitchell
    3.0 out of 5 stars A good stepping of point,but vague.
    Reviewed in the United States on June 6, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    My son and I built a Muppet style puppet for the third grade festival of learning. I was hooked. We built our puppet with a pattern purchased from puppetproject.com and YouTube. It turned out well and was an enjoyable project. I bought this book as an added resource to continue our puppet journey. It has some good tips, but pictures are not color or of great quality. Many things are a bit vague. All in all, I do not regret this purchase, wish it would have been more in depth.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Donnaleigh
    5.0 out of 5 stars The Foam Book: Bravo!
    Reviewed in the United States on October 7, 2005
    Verified Purchase
    Wow...this book makes it easy to understand the process of creating a puppet, without steifling creativity by giving patterns. Their "nip and tuck" method includes ad libbing during the process of designing. Tips are included as to where to obtain materials (including where you might find them for free or at a substantial discount). The puppets pictured in black and white in the book are incredible (think a la muppets) and provide strong inspiration for ideas. The narrative of the book is light and funny, much in the spirit of the world of puppetry.

    They even thought of making it a plastic spiral bound binding like a recipe book: easy to lay flat on the table while you're creating! Smart!

    An all-around excellent book that gives a fantastic basis for creating your own characters that have a polished, professional look.
    11 people found this helpful
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  • K Hannaford
    5.0 out of 5 stars A fabulous way to build really easy puppets/muppets
    Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2007
    Verified Purchase
    The Foam book explains how to build muppet style puppets. There is an explanation on how to build 3 piece puppet heads as well as nip and tuck muppet heads. It also explains how to build straight tube bodies, rounded panel bodies as well as building joints, arms, legs and the all important control rod assembly.

    The book is also filled with useful information and pictures about how to add eyes and the most brillant thing is that at the back of the book is a list of suppliers in the USA that can provide everything you ever needed to build these puppets.

    I also bought the DVD edition (separately) of the Foam book and it is a video version of the book and it really helped clarify some points of building puppets made from foam.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Glen C. Mcknight
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, will have you making muppets!
    Reviewed in the United States on April 30, 2009
    Verified Purchase
    FANTASTIC book. I made 4 amazing puppets with the 3 piece head technique. These were all my first puppets, and they have been incredibly popular. People cant believe how good they look. They really look like Muppets which was really my dream.

    The books binding is a little flimsy(its spiral bound) but it does help it lay flat when your working and looking at the diagrams.

    Now if your one who wants measurements and dimensions, this might annoy you a bit, but I think it ended up forcing me to be more creative, I think numbers would have kicked my math side into high gear.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • 10KOb2
    2.0 out of 5 stars A waste of your hard earned money.
    Reviewed in the United States on December 17, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    I bought this book because I thought it would help me correct some of the problems I've had with building moving mouth puppets. It doesn't. In fact, many of the illustrations/examples are missing or have been cut out. There are other places in the book where they need to illustrate/photograph what they are talking about. The writers claim they are not good at drawing illustrations yet have plenty of photos of puppets that are totally complete. If they can photograph the complete puppets, then why can they not photograph the steps to completing them. If you already know how to build foam puppets, then save your money. This book is not worth it. If you don't, you will find this book very confusing. VERY DISAPPOINTED!!!!!!
    5 people found this helpful
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  • Silvia Paruccini
    4.0 out of 5 stars I like it
    Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    This item is a step by step one, very useful. I'd like to see some pictures of the work in progress but it's ok.
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Ella Quent
    1.0 out of 5 stars A compendium of vagueness
    Reviewed in Canada on August 30, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Missing diagrams, vague directions, book looks like amateurs wrote it
    Report
  • juan mario
    5.0 out of 5 stars Me encantó grasias
    Reviewed in Mexico on March 27, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    Me gustó este libro en particular ya que te enseña desde aeropuerto asta lo más complejo
    Report
  • Amazon Customer
    4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
    Reviewed in Australia on November 2, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    This Ebook is great BUT bring back the paper back! Old school puppetry should be in old school format.
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  • Kent
    1.0 out of 5 stars Fehlende Bilder in der Kindle-Version
    Reviewed in Germany on December 16, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    Leider fehlen in der Kindle-Version viele Abbilgungen.
    So ist das Buch nur bedingt zu gebrauchen. Viel Vorstellungskraft erforderlich :/
    Hatte mir davon einiges mehr erwartet. Gerade wenn es ins Detail geht fehlen die Bilder.
    Report
  • Amazon Customer
    2.0 out of 5 stars not aimed at kids, not great, just okay ish
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 29, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    This book is okay but very much at adults in the complexity of the writing style. The images are not great. There are lots better sources for creative people to get insperation and ideas about making this type of thing, my ten year old daughter that this book was very boring and hard to follow and she was the reason w bought it.
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