Constructing El Esqueleto

Making the Skeleton

 

Materials needed

 

  1. Cardboard, tag board, poster board or paper in the size of the skeleton you wish to make.
  2. Pencils, pens, colored markers.
  3. Scissors
  4. Needle and thread
  5. Three bamboo or balloon sticks (or some sort of sticks) each measuring twice the length of the main body of the skeleton (from the head to the end of the torso)
  6. Glue

 

Directions: Find samples of skeletons on websites or use one of your own creations, use these to create a skeleton puppet by following the instructions below:

 

  1. Choose how large of a skeleton that you would like to make.
  2. Draw a sketch of the skeleton on a scratch sheet of paper. The skeleton, when completed will be in nine pieces (a main body with a head, an upper and a lower section for each arm, and an upper and lower section for each leg). Don’t forget to add accessories to the skeleton (a hat, a dress, jewelry, a guitar, etc)
  3. Transfer the sketch to thicker paper or cardboard by drawing each of the parts separately. Be sure to choose paper that is large enough. Draw the torso and head first to get an idea of how large the arm and leg parts should be. Be sure to include all the accessories.
  4. Color the skeleton parts
  5. Cut out the skeleton.
  6. Using a needle and thread, join the arms and legs to the main body of the skeleton. Arms through be attached at the shoulder and the elbows; legs at the hips and knees. Attach by making a double knot at the end of the thread. After the needle and thread are drawn through to the front surface of the skeleton, cut the thread and tie a knot on the other side of the skeleton. Repeat this process for arms, the two elbows joints and the two hip and knee joints.