Puppet Making Course access details

October 2021 - further edits 13 February 2023 - Edited March 2026 - new ISSUU link

Online Puppet making course with Artist and Puppet Designer Corina Duyn. After more than 50 years of learning and three decades of teaching, Corina is no longer able to create puppets, or teach. However she made the decision to share all the very detailed course instructions publicly via 2.5 hours of Youtube videos.  In march 2016 a newly compiled book with in total 85 pages with step-by-step written and photographic instructions books has been published on her ISSUU channel.

See https://issuu.com/littlewings/docs/puppet_making_with_corina_duyn

These are for both basic and more advanced puppets. Learn how to sculpt a clay head, hands and feet for a puppet with DAS self hardening clay. How to make a wooden or cloth puppet body, assembling instructions, and suggestions on painting, and dressing/hair.  As well as two cross samples, how to string up your puppet and animate it. Sculpting instruction also applicable to create a doll, or bust. 

Please note that all the material was created during a time Corina was still teaching, so any comments to ‘get in touch’ is no longer applicable. It course is for your personal use only. Having followed this course does not mean you can teach this course using my material. Thank you for your understanding.

 I hope you will enjoy embarking on this creative adventure. When your puppet is complete I love to see images of it. With every best creative wish.

Corina Duyn 2019/2023/2026 Corina Duyn © 2019 www.corinaduyn.com 

Course access made public October 2021 - further edits February 2023.

For links to more of my work in puppetry see: Puppetry webpage, or explore the many articles and images on this blog, including: 50 minute video lecture on the Power of the Puppet  is available on HERE And See summary of my work in “23 year long creative history of living with M.E.” 

Website www.corinaduyn.com

Blog www.corinaduyn.blogspot.ie

Youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/user/flyingonlittlewings

Instagram www.instagram.com/corinaduyn

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/corina.duyn.7

‘The Girls’ © Corina Duyn 2017

COURSE DETAILS General Overview: ISUUU books   And YouTube videos 

In detail: 

Introduction and general information for your course:

• Please read: Introduction and general guidelines in the newly compiles course document on ISSUU: 

https://issuu.com/littlewings/docs/puppet_making_with_corina_duyn

• For a glimpse into my [previous] Little Wings Studio: https://youtu.be/s7Oa8-0lKgk (1.47)
• Important Sanding instructions: https://youtu.be/yke3zQgZ3d8 (2.04)

In my course I recommend the use of white DAS air drying clay as other brands have different drying properties and may shrink too much which causes problems. DAS is very strong and can be used to sculpt very fine details. 

https://www.corinaduyn.com/site/puppet-making-course/

March 2026 - all sections of the course are now in the one document: https://issuu.com/littlewings/docs/puppet_making_with_corina_duyn

Sculpting the Head

The videos and ISSUU documents are interchangeable between using glass eyes and creating sculpted eyes. I suggest you watch, and read both at each step of the sculpting process. The (2.04) indicate length of the videos Please make sure to watch the Youtube videos in HD

• Introduction; creating the base; sculpting the features; sculpted eyes; and alternative suggestion to add the head to a bust (in stead of making it into a puppet),

• Starting the base of Head https://youtu.be/YUlf1zsD6X0 (10.08)
• Building up the face- (glass eyes) https://youtu.be/EvZbDlTKzHA (8.04)
• Building up the face- (sculpted eyes) https://youtu.be/R6FltP40F8w (7.26)
• Nose, lips (and eyebrows for puppet with glass eyes) https://youtu.be/b782Lj-t9TI (13.57)
• Sculpted eyes, and adding cheeks: https://youtu.be/zJ8-EYmFJek (11.05)
• Adding features & ears: https://youtu.be/5WlXQAozgzE (15.57)
• Finishing the head and neck: https://youtu.be/CYGp2X4jdKU (3.10)

Hands and Feet: 

The videos and ISSUU books are interchangeable I suggest you watch, and read both at each step of the sculpting process. The (2.04) indicate length of the videos. Please make sure to watch the Youtube videos in HD. For a master class on these, please contact my mentor and teacher Marlaine Verhelst.

• Introduction and instructions on sculpting Hands and Feet
• Sculpting “Easy Hands”: https://youtu.be/ElKWN_IOCjs (4.42)
• Sculpting Detailed Hands (1) base/fingers: https://youtu.be/wq9dH_cYKYs (17.3)
• Sculpting Detailed Hands (2) detailing: https://youtu.be/ANHqP5-ncRM (9.22)
• Sculpting the base for Feet/shoes: https://youtu.be/kGmY-hwtw-8 3.41

Body and Cross

• Introduction and instruction on wooden puppet body and cross, and how to animate your puppet
• See design of body used in the course below
• Assembling the wooden body https://youtu.be/ALjK0WxLnIM (8.14)
• Assembling puppet and cross, adding strings, and stringing up https://youtu.be/vOV235Tu4q8  (15.31)
• Animating your puppet https://youtu.be/cby6fJ9N6es (5.50)
• Alternative cross https://youtu.be/fg5p77Aa_ZY  (1.08)

Painting and clothing/hair suggestions:

• Introduction to painting the clay parts, and some suggestions on clothing and hair styles; 
• Painting:  https://youtu.be/RE4VdXNVWXI  (21.08)
• Painting sculpted in eyes: https://youtu.be/qdHc-rZR7Ok  (10.24)

Puppets on national television

Every three months, for just one minute, the Life Outside the Box puppets 

are to be seen on Irish National television, during the People's Angelus:

The one minute daily reflective Angelus broadcast on RTÉ One is one of Ireland's longest-running programmes, having been aired daily at 6.00pm since the inception of RTÉ television in 1962.

Ireland has changed enormously over that time and the nature of the broadcasts has changed with it. 

They are now changing again. Since October 2015 New commissioned films create a reflective space for all in the peak-time schedule…  In addition to these commissioned professional films, RTÉ One has designated one slot per week, on Fridays at 6pm, as The People’s Angelus slot.

Still from the Life Outside the Box film

A year on from the project and I am still in awe with the responses to the project and film from the general public, the media, and anyone remotely interested in puppetry, disability, healing arts, creativity, or just a good story.

Thank you all!!

As you can read on the Puppet Blog, the Life Outside the Box project, which I facilitated with my then fellow members of the Irish Wheelchair Association, has been screened in Canada, in our local cinema, and will be screened during the Together! Festival in London on the 9th December. (2:45pm)

It also has also been the catalyst to give talks, and be invited to give future talks at puppet symposium (Cork), conference (Calgary, Canada) and festival (Nottingham).
It brought me back to teaching in my studio and via distant learning, and has been instrumental to the development of my own creative work, like the Reflection Project.

What a journey I am on, and what amazing company I have met along the way.

Johnny Dwyer, the Puppet Reporter of the Life Outside the Box Crew 

• The TV version specially edited for the Angelus can also be seen here
• See the full film (4 minutes) on the  Puppet BLOG

Two puppets, made by my students, portraying huge individuality.

Well, Louise and Pascale finished their puppets!

(Jackie, was unable to join us, so images of her puppet later).

Dedication!

The two puppet makers were in my studio for over 6 hours,

to work on the final stages of their puppets.

Adding hair, hat, paint, strings, and hang on crosses.

Both these puppets came together in the end through team effort.

Beautiful.

I was in the studio on and off, and felt like a proud "Granny"

to see both puppets being walked into my house.

Their first steps into our world.

The finished puppets by
Louise Clarke and Pascale De Coninck

Both will add more to their work.

Louise's tree-lady, will be accompanied by a tree, of which the branches will move the puppet. Hopefully another collaboration with artist Dominic Fee.

Pascale's Puppet will be holding - and using- a bow and arrow. The mechanism to make this work, will have to be figured out after the bow and arrow are made.

But for now, these puppets are sharing their beauty, their individuality with us all.

What an amazing journey it was!

Thank you Louise, Pascale and Jackie for allowing me to be your guide.

I will write another post when the puppets are fully finished, as well as updates on Jackie's and Greg's Puppets. 

The distant learning class is continuing, and alway open to new students. Contact me to hear more about this. And the next studio class is starting at the end of November. Fully booked, but if you are interested in a course during 2018. Please contact me.

So beautiful!

Proud Mammies

Final touches

Beauty does not come without pain...

This is how my studio looked when I left for a rest

My amazing students cleared up the studio
after finishing their class. What a lovely surprise.

Both proud mammies brought in their 'newborns'
(as Anne Palmer called them.
Anne made a Japanese Dancer in my studio)
to show me, while I rested on the couch.

On another exciting note:

• The Life Outside the Box puppet film will be screened at the Together! Festival of Disability Arts in London on the 9th December. Read about it HERE
• And I have been invited to give a talk, and be part of a panel about puppetry, disability and health, at the Nottingham Puppetry Festival, in March of next year. And at the Puppet Power festival in Calgary, Canada in June.  Who knows!

Painting puppet heads

From left to right - puppet heads by:
Corina, Jackie, Pascale, Louise
They all have their story to tell!
Although we all started in the same way-
with a stick and strip of cotton -
the heads are taking on their individual character,
every single step of the process.

It was a day of painting at the studio last week.
One more step to bring the puppets - created by my students - alive

heads-hands-feet-shoes...

I am looking forward to see them all assembled and dressed and moving like puppets. Last class next Monday. So proud of what has been created.

In the meantime, Greg - my distant learning student - is working away of Johnny Toes, and even took up painting again, and baking, and playing music. Read his story HERE 

Further reading:

• More about the Puppet making workshop, see HERE
• More about my own puppets, see HERE