I am a big fan of practical effects in television and also of live theater. This has led me to a love for puppets. Due to this I have made multiple puppets in my lifetime. I have on multiple occasions tried to make a shoulder puppet that I would be happy with. Through trial and error I decided the next logical method would be to design and print my own puppet base then work on it from there. So that is what I did. I had to choose what creature I would make into a puppet and I decided on a silkie chicken because I like them. In the end I don't know how well the chicken comes across but I still think it is a very cute and fun puppet.
I spent a number of days working on a rough prototype and getting all the important measurements needed as well as figuring out how I would create a beak that I could open with a separate string. With the majority of the kinks worked out in the planning stage I began designing the actual base dusting off old CAD skills and learning a new design program. I spent multiple weeks in the design phase making sure the base of the puppet fit the specifications I needed in Fusion. Even with my tedious measuring and remeasuring I assumed that this print may take me a couple tries to get right at least with certain parts such as the beak. Once I got to the design lab it was as simple as getting it sent to the printer and then waiting. The print worked out fantastically and then all I had to do was a lot of finishing work and some final details to get a functional puppet. I still need to design the actual mount for the puppet so that it is more usable but that will call for another design process.
The puppet skeleton.