Meet Bruce

Prototypes and assembling the final shark

Posted by   Lisa Brunet  at Sunday, March 15, 2015 2:39:48 AM

My TA liked the shark puppet the most, so I had fun making a prototype out of some soft muslin.

Here are all the pieces of the pattern I worked out, and the pieces of the final shark; the prototype felt a little short, so I lengthened the pattern for the final.

In the end, I decided to make an ordinary shark, not a lawyer, and I put a special surprise in the shark's mouth: a chip that can record and play back 12 seconds of sound. I asked one of the students in my dorm to record a goofy Jaws theme on it to start the new owner out, and painted a little triangle "play" and a circle "record" symbol over the buttons.

• Attached Files:
• 508_3_brunet,lisa_prototypehand.JPG(208.1kb)
• 508_3_brunet,lisa_prototypetop.JPG(192.9kb)
• 508_3_brunet,lisa_FinalPaperPattern.jpg(172.4kb)
• 508_3_brunet,lisa_PiecesSharkskin.jpg(133.5kb)
• 508_3_brunet,lisa_PiecesMuslinLining.jpg(167.5kb)
• 508_3_brunet,lisa_researchInsideSharkMouth.jpg(73.6kb)
• 508_3_brunet,lisa_PiecesMouth.JPG(237.5kb)
• 508_3_brunet,lisa_AssemblingFinal.jpg(214.7kb)

Bruce will eat you up.

Posted by   Lisa Brunet  at Sunday, March 15, 2015 2:54:31 AM

• Attached Files:
• 508_3_brunet,lisa_FinalSharkPuppet.jpg(211.1kb)
• 508_3_brunet,lisa_FinalSharkPuppetSide.JPG(188.5kb)
• 508_3_brunet,lisa_FinalSharkPuppetHand.JPG(204.6kb)

Meet Bruce.

Posted by   Lisa Brunet  at Sunday, March 15, 2015 2:52:33 AM

Meet Bruce. Press the play button under the black triangle in his mouth to make him talk, or hold down the black dot on the other side of his mouth to put words in it.

Five things I'm proud of, and five things I'd like to improve:

1. I'm thrilled with the voice recorder, and loved listening to classmates record different goofy things for the shark to say.

2. I'm proud of using seams that looked like shark gills to create the shape of the head.

3. The little side fins give Bruce a T-Rex feel: awkward and adorable.

4. The colors worked together nicely, and stiff gray linen was perfect for sharkskin.

5. A puppet really invited user interaction, and sharks lured people into playing.

Things I'd like to improve in the next shark:

1. Mark the record and play buttons better by putting stickers on them for the buyer to remove. They may have trouble figuring it out with just a note. (I can fix this Monday.)

2. Since the final fabric was stiffer than muslin, the gill pleats made his head lumpy. Make thinner pleats or taper them more at the top.

3. Joining the inside hand pocket to the outside sharkskin created some folds at the base of the shark. These don't look intentional.

4. Lumpy stuffing and loosely woven fabric make him look lumpy; consider lining him with muslin.

5. Paint the teeth and mouth after sewing canvas mouth pieces together. Acrylic does make the fabric nice and stiff, but it's very difficult to sew through.