Customer Reviews

The Foam Book : An Easy Guide to Building Polyfoam Puppets

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Most puppet books do not really go into detail about creating professional looking puppets (i.e. The Muppets Make Puppets); however, since purchasing this book, I have found that it gives a basic foundation for creating the kind of puppets I use on a regular basis. For the puppeteer with a basic general knowledge of puppet building, this book is a wonderful foundation for creating professional foam puppets. I have already utilized much of the covered material and would highly recommend it.

Having been in the field of puppetry for the past 25 years, I have seen just about every puppetry book on the market. The Foam Book is one of the best books on construction that I've seen yet. It's well-written and takes the mystery out of building foam puppets. The wonderful "Real Yellowed Pages" in the back list not only provide a glossary of terms but also addresses for suppliers. This is so helpful for beginners and/or folks who don't live in big cities and have trouble finding all the materials they need. I highly recommend this book for puppet builders of all skill levels. Whether you're new to puppet making or an expert, you'll surely learn something new.

This book was worth the money. The author's text was fun to read, and witty. I enjoyed the book very much! The book gives ideas on basic/simple puppet construction, but warns that the sky is the limit! After you get the basics in the back of your head, it's amazing how many ideas start to build off of them! I used the book to help repair an old Church puppet that had seen better days. 'She' looks great with her new face-lift, now her 'brothers & sisters' are in line for repair! The great concepts & ideas from the book really helped the process. I only regret that I didn't have any extra foam lying around the house when I first opened this book! --but then again, those sofa cushions are getting kinda old...

I just got this book - and have already read it cover to cover - and as a beginning puppet-builder it's likely to become the most important book in my collection. It's written in a straightforward manner, and de-mystifies the mechanics of foam puppet making. I can't wait to try out some of the authors' ideas. The source guide at the end is incredibly useful, especially for those of us who haven't a lot of time to source materials but still want/need to keep our costs down! If you're just getting started like me, by all means start with this book - I can't see how anyone would not find it helpful.

I am writing from the Caribbean and recently formed a childrens entertainment company which specializes in Puppet Theatre. The Foam Book has been extremely helpful in gaining a better understanding of how to construct simple to elaborate puppets - step by step. It is well written, easy to follow and very informative. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in learning how to create your own characters - quickly and simply.

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.

This book demonstrates 2 complete systems for building a foam puppet. I have built other styles but the workings, flexibility, and allowance for creativity make this style of puppet the best. Though not the easiest or quickest means of puppetmaking, it is by far the most expressive. If you have the time, this is the way to do it. If you can afford it, buy their videos too!

I'm a professional costumer and prop maker who is interested in learning how to make puppets (one more good thing on my resume), and one of my puppeteer friends suggested this book.

It's very insighful, concise and clearly laid out. The lists of materials and quick reference for vendors is a great feature that, sadly, many books of this sort don't offer. The only drawback that I can see is that it seems aimed at the beginner (which I admit I am) and tends to land on the elementary side. It almost reads like a children's book. I was hoping that along with the basic how-to's there would be a more advanced section with more details and higer techniques.

It seems that most books like this one are either for the beginner and are useless once you figure out the very basics, or are so advanced that you can understand them only after you've reached a level where you really don't need them anyway. It would be nice to find a book that lands in the middle.

As I said, I think this book is a great find for anyone who is curioius about how these interesting creatures are made or the beginner wanting to launch into a new form of art. However, I don't think it would take long to advance past the lessons provided.

I like to use this book as a quick reference guide alongside the 3-peice-head and Nip&Tuck videos...as I find actually seeing these ideas implemented on video is a much more rewarding experience. That being said, it's great to have the book handy when you're working on your own creation and need some quick info. However, this book is great on its own and is filled with a lot of great ideas and information (including where to find materials, as well as a glossary of terms).

My only real complaint is the construction of the book. While I don't mind the binder style of the book itself, I don't understand the thinking behind the cover. It's basically cardboard and the way it's connected, it's bound to wear out and fall off after repeated use. Plus, it kind of gets in the way.

Still, this is a good book if you're seriously considering building a puppet (though I'd still recommend the videos, lol).

I bought the foam book at an early stage in my puppet making, I'd made two puppets by that point and thought I'd learn a lot from this book.

In particular I'd hoped for a lot of info on creating foam patterns for head shapes. This area in the book is really not very good. It only briefly touches on the three piece head patterns and the examples they give don't even work in practice without some serious adjustment. Though if you're at a very early stage you find some info useful.

The rest of the book has a lot of interesting ideas that could work well in practice. The authors are not the best designers so none of the puppets featured in the book are particularly pretty to look at. But the techniques could easily be applied to a better puppet design.

I'd say that a lot of people will be a bit past this book to be honest. There are better tutorials on the internet for free. But there are some things to be learned from this book.