HOLLY GRACE DESIGN

Plastazote Patterning and Construction, by Nick Barnes Puppets
 
I attended the 2022 course by nick Barnes Puppets, learning how to pattern a bear head to be constructed using plastazote. The course started with the basic principals of working with plastazote before we set off pattering from a form of a bears head. The first step was to cover the form with layers of masking tape before plotting out the pattern. This involved marking the contours of the face and noting where more definition would be needed to replicate the shape. This took the most time as some areas, like the back of the head, have less obvious shapes to pick out. Once the shapes are plotted it was important to make notes on each piece where it met another, how any curves lined up and what angle cut would be needed to let the thicker plastazote capture the harsher angles of the face. This was especially important around the eyes and the nose area where lots of smaller pieces come together. This pattern as then cut off, enlarged, traced onto plastazote including all balance marks and cut out before being put together using contact adhesive.