Introduction: Devil Puppet / Workshop Friend?

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About: I'm a creative guy making my weird and wonderful ideas reality

I made a workshop companion called "Hank". Yes I know how this sounds! A 38 year old man, made a "doll." to keep him company in the garage, but why?

If you're like me and get excited when a new tool catalog comes out and you spend your time building random ideas that come in your head. Chances are, you're a bit of a loner like me. Perhaps even a hermit in your garage.

Now I like to think of myself as a friendly guy that has lots of friends but, the truth be told I spend a lot of time with Me, Myself and I. It would be really cool to have someone to hang out with me in the garage but the reality of that, looks dark. After all most guys that like doing what I do are also in their garages and workshops alone.

So, rather than going out into the cold empty depths socialization to make friends. I thought why not just "Make" a friend. So, in this Instructable I'm going to show you how I made my garage friend “Hank”.

Supplies

Materials:

Now, I like to generally hunt for my materials in nature and find things in the garbage, but for this project I didn't want Hank smelling like Oscar the grouch. So, I had to buy some things. Here's a list of materials needed to build your version of Hank.

  • 1.5m - Foam 1/2 in
  • 2m - Fleece
  • Thread
  • Contacted adhesive
  • Plaster of Paris
  • Large Doll eyes
  • Acrylic paint
  • Beads (5mm)
  • Wood off-cut
  • 4 mm plywood
  • 1mm Leather strip
  • Patience and fortitude


Tools:

As for tools, you could build this, so many different ways. For example, you could sew it by hand like I did because my wife's stupid sewing machine kept getting jammed, or you could actually get a decent sewing machine that wasn't found in a dumpster. Point is, you can do this any way you want but here's the basic tools you'll need.

  • Needle and thread
  • Fabric scissors
  • Hand saw
  • Hole saw
  • Drill
  • Knife
  • Paint brushes
  • Marker pen

Step 1: Inspiration

So how was I gonna make myself a friend for my garage? Well the first idea I had was AI. A kind of chat GPT robot. However, when I started doing my research. All I found were weird guys making "Adult" robots. I didn't want to be that kind of weirdo. So I thought I'd make a puppet instead and be as cool as Barnaby Dixon.

However, if I was going to make a puppet. He couldn't just be some friendly fluffy guy. We all know those guys get girlfriends and we never see them again. No, he would have to be fun to be around. Be a bad*** like "Hellboy" and a little crazy like "The Animal".

With those two guys as inspiration it was time to get to work.

Step 2: Head & Body

Now... here is the truth, I had never made a puppet before. So I just began the process by gently crumbling up some thick paper and then slowly shaping Hanks head with tape. I then used the same process for his body. Once I was satisfied with the shapes. I layered masking tape to over the top. This was to make the templates for the foam. But, before we go any further, I would like to just add a disclaimer here. I in no way or form, purposely shaped Hank's body to look like.... well you know.

Moving on. Once you have cut out all your pieces you'll have to glue the pieces of foam together, using contact adhesive. Now! My glue said to use in a well ventilated area. Problem was my garage has no windows, that I can actually open. Nevertheless, it didn't seem to have any adverse effects at all?? In fact I think it even helped my work as I woke up on the floor the next day with everything glued together perfectly.

Step 3: Mouth

After you wake up from your glue induced coma. It's time to make the mouth.

Fold a piece of paper and place it fold first into the mouth of your puppet. Using a sharpie, mark the shape of the upper and lower lips. Transfer these shapes onto some thin plywood and cut them out using whatever saw scares you the most. It is important to make sure it is the saw that scares you the most. As the adrenaline released will help clear the brain fog and headaches caused by the glue earlier.

Cut some thin leather if you have it or perhaps the thin woven strap you stole from your mates trailer last week. Using contact adhesive again and some shallow staples. Fix the straps to the upper and lower mouth shapes so that your middle finger is free and your index and ring finger control the upper lip. Leaving your thumb to control the lower.

Apply contact adhesive to the upper and lower lips and glue in place. Once dried, play with the head. Trying different voices and accents until your wife peeks in the door and gives you that look of disgust.

Step 4: Skin

The first thing you'll need to do is to go hunting for fabric. Now, when I go hunting for materials. I like to get back to nature. Like I said earlier. If you're lucky like me, you'll conveniently find the red fleece you placed out in the forest earlier for a stupid joke in your video. Otherwise most fabric stores will sell a wide range of colors.

A word of warning. The skin is the most painstaking and time consuming part of this build. It is at this stage you will have doubts about your own sanity. Just remember this is all part of the creative process, and you are most probably insane as you are making a puppet to keep you company. There is no point in turning back now.

Make sure the stretch of the fabric is in the correct direction according to the shape you are trying to cover. Start by wrapping your fabric around the head and body to find the natural places where the fabric folds. Pin these folds and cut them off with a pair of scissors This will leave you with your template to which you can add a 5mm seam allowance. Trace the templates onto the fabric then cut them out.

As I mentioned before my wife's sewing machine is garbage and kept on jamming. Strawberry jam is delicious but it really doesn't help the project. With full disclosure I probably didn't help the poor machine by using it to sew together a plastic canoe earlier this year. https://www.instructables.com/Swimming-Pool-Canoe/

Nevertheless, if you are poor and pathetic like me, or you are a sucker for punishment, hand sewing will be your go to method for sewing together your puppet. From my experience hand sewing will take a long time. So you may be forced to multitask if your under pressure to get your puppet finished.

(Warning! Sewing and driving is dangerous. Do not attempt no matter how much strife you wife gives you about men not being able to multitask.)

Sew your seams together, making sure you sew the inside of the seam only. Be sure to leave an opening somewhere. For example at the back of the head and body. So that you can turn the skin inside out and squeeze the body and head through. Adjust the skin so that it sits nicely over the foam. However. do not sew the openings close yet. If you are like me, you most probably screwed up and you'll have to take it off several time in the build process before you are happy.

Step 5: Eyes

The eyes I think are one of the most important parts of your puppet. Eyes allow you to see into the soul. So if you want your puppet to see into your soul and solve your loneliness. Then you'll need to make some eyes with some depth.

Now... What did I say in the last step?? Oh yeah I screwed up. Yes as you can see from the second picture I had to remove his skin from his head to cut some eye sockets. Before you do that however. You'll need to decide on the shape of the eyes. I did this by cutting different shapes in paper and placing them on his face to see which one I liked.

Once you know your eye shape. Pin the paper eyes into place using a handful of pins. Carefully peel back his face like in a horror movie, until you see the pins. Then using a sharpie mark the shape of the eye by following the pins. Then use a sharp razor to gouge out his eye sockets. Be sure not to mutter undistinguishable words like psychopath as you do this. From my experience this may lead to further loneliness. Once you are happy with your eye gouging, roll the skin back over the face. Now, with surgical precision cut the skin so that it follows the contour of the eye socket. Then glue into place.

Next up! Head to your local hobby store and buy some teddy bear plastic eyes. Be sure to flirt with the cute girl behind the counter. However do not tell her that you are making a doll for yourself. Instead, blatantly lie and tell her you are making teddys for kids with cancer. Under no circumstances give her your business card and tell her about your YouTube channel.

Moving on.

With some acrylic paint, apply it to the back of the plastic eye to create color and texture. I used yellow and blue. Applying it with a dry paint brush to give me the texture I wanted. Whilst that dries. Sneak into the kitchen and find the large cooking spoon, that your wife loves. Then drill a hole in it. (Insert evil laughing).

Position the hole where you want the iris to sit. Making sure the hole is slightly smaller that the plastic eye. Clamp the plastic eye in place. Mix up a small amount of plaster of Paris. Level the spoon and pour the plaster into the spoon. Allow the plaster to set and dry, then remove from your spoon mold. Using the paper templates. Trace the shape of the eye on the flat side of the plaster. Use a sander to then remove the excess plaster and shape the eye to how you like.

To finish I applied some red paint with a dry brush to make the eyes look blood shot. I then mixed up some epoxy resin to pour over the eye to give it that glossy, shinny look. The epoxy also makes them hard and durable compared to just leaving them as plaster eyes. Let the resin cure then sand off any drips on the back side of the eye.

When you are satisfied glue the eyes into place.

Step 6: Eyebrow

To give your puppet a little more character and movement in its face. A moving eyebrow is a easy and nice addition. This sounds complicated but is literally some bent wire.

Start by making a ring with the wire. This will be for your middle finger. It most probably, will not have powers but it is perfectly normal to whisper "My Precious". Once you have got all the Lord of the Rings quotes out of the way. Create a T shape like shown in the picture. Then make 2 U shaped pieces. Create small loops at the ends of the T and a small loop on one of the ends of the U shapes. Connect the loops using some thin wire or cable ties to act as pivot hinges in the mechanism.

Next find yourself a once high preforming foreign currency that has now slumped into the depths Mordor. For example my home currency, the Norwegian Krone! The 1 Krone coin was worth something back in the day but now it seems it is perfect for making a puppet. The 1 Krone coin is perfect for this application because it has a hole in it. Which I've used in a previous project as a bearing on my home made Sushi Train ( https://www.instructables.com/Lazy-Susan-20-Sushi-Train/ )

Sorry..... Where was I? .... Yes, use the coin as a support for the eyebrow wire. Peel back the skin again, then simply superglue them in position. Position them on both the inner and outer side of the foam.

From the inside of the head. Peirce the free end of both U shapes through the coins and through the skin.

Proceed to the bathroom where your wife is doing her hair and steal one of her foam hair doohickeys. Remove the wire from inside the doohickey and cut to size. Cut a small piece of fleece to cover it and sew together. Last, slide the fleece covered doohickey onto the eyebrow wire on each side. You should now have a moving eyebrow.

Step 7: Horns

Being that part of my inspiration was Hellboy I thought it to be very fitting to give the puppet some sawn off horns.

Start with a wood off cut, from one of your many failed projects. (just assuming sorry) Remove the center drill from your hole saw so that you will not have a hole in the middle of your horn. Because you have removed the center drill. The hole saw is very difficult to steer and keep in position. It therefore not recommended to use a hand drill as you may end up with either a wood off cut in your face, or worse a hole saw chewing up your arm. So, please use a drill press and securely fasten your wood to it.

Using the hole saw of your choosing, cut 2 horns in the end grain. Then using a hand saw or a band saw, cut the horns free. Add texture to them by getting your best chisel set and use them inappropriately. For this process you could of course use a knife but then you would have the problem of not being able to justify the expense, of owning a set of expensive chisels you never use.

Apply a base coat of red acrylic paint then let them dry. Once dry use some black spray paint to lightly spray over the top. Before it dries get a cloth and wipe the excess off. Leaving the black paint in all the grooves and texture you created with your expensive chisels.

To finish create a thin fleece ring for the base of each horn and glue in position using either contact adhesive or a hot glue gun.

Step 8: Ears

I wasn't going to give him ears but after realizing that I not only needed someone to talk to, but actually needed someone to listen. I deemed them necessary.

His ears are basically folded triangles of fleece. Rather than sewing, which I had become very tired of. I ran a bead of hot glue down the seam edge and then folded it over. Only mildly burning my fingers when pressing the edges together. If you want to avoid burnt fingers and like bleeding fingers instead , feel free to sew them. Fold the triangle in half making an obtuse triangle and glue or sew the bottom edge of his ear.

Finally glue in position with hot glue. Applying glue only to the bottom half so that the top half remains floppy.

Now you can be satisfied that you are one step closer to having a friend that will listen to all your problems.

Step 9: Feet & Legs

I couldn't decide what type of foot to make for this guy. So, I decided to take some inspiration from my own horrid hobbit feet. If you do not have horrid hobbit feet, then feel free to use mine in the picture for inspiration but only at your own risk of mouth vomiting.

I will not go into great detail here as there is a video made by Puppet Nerd that explains this way better that I ever could. So please go check out his video. Check the link here: youtube.com/watch?v=Oxk5KM8tvAA

However you are probably not reading this for technical insight but most probably to make yourself feel about your own life. As clearly my life is in shambles. Anyway the gist of making the legs and feet are as follows.

Sketch out some foot designs on paper. Make a paper template to transfer your design to a piece of foam, then use the same template to transfer your design to a piece of fleece. Begin to sew the foot up leaving the back of the heel open.

Using some paper. Roll it into the rough shape of the leg. Cut a small diamond in the back of the knee. This is what will allow the knee to bend. Cut down the length of the back of the leg and this is your leg template. Using the template mark and cut some foam and fleece for the leg. Glue the edges of the foam together using contact adhesive again.

If you end up on the floor once more after inhaling the glue fumes you may want to book yourself into an AA meeting and find yourself a therapist. As by this stage you may have an addiction problem, rooted in some sort of childhood trauma you have been suppressing for decades. After your AA meeting it's time to get the glue out again. This is providing your sponsor John approves. Let's be honest here there was a reason why this puppet build took so long to build. "Someone" didn't trust me with glue, and that someone's name might rhyme with "Swan". Sorry I got sidetracked again.

Glue the foam to the bottom of the foot. After the glue has dried, turn the fleece right side out and using a pokey thing or pencil, push the toes out. Once you have turned the fleece and everything is looking good. Celebrate by sniffing glllll....."flowers" yes that is what I mean to say.

You should now just have an opening at the back of the heel to sew up. To do this, use what they call a ladder stitch. Now, I have no idea why standing on a ladder stitching has anything to do with anything. Nevertheless, we all know what you read on the internet must be true?

Now you have a your legs and all you have to do is to climb up that ladder again and sew the legs on using the ladder stitch again.

Step 10: Hands & Arms

Again there is a way better tutorial by Puppet Nerd on how to make hands and arms. Nevertheless this was my misguided way of doing it.

From conception, I wanted my puppet to hold things and be able to give inappropriate hand gestures. So with that in mind I set out to make some wire armatures. I did this by twisting wire for each finger, then bending and joining each finger together. If you have done it right then you should feel the need to strap a washing basket to your back and pretend to be Raphael from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. If not scrap your work and try again.

Cut out your hand shape from foam. Using a knife, split the foam down the middle so they appear to be two hand shaped slices of bread. With John's permission, glue them back together, with the wire armature sandwiched in-between. Do not do what I did here and forget to connect the control rod for his hand. Otherwise you will be like me conducting micro surgery like one of those pretend doctors on Greys Anatomy.

Cut fleece for each side of the hand and sew them together, leaving a big enough opening to fit the hand through. Turn the fleece right side out and again using a pokey thing or pencil help push the fingers through to the ends. At this stage it is obligatory to test all inappropriate hand gestures.

After doing some research. It turned out the best thing to make his arms from was, what I'll just call "Adult Beads". I couldn't use them. People already thought I was some kind of weirdo making a "puppet" and I didn't need that stigma.

However the problem solved itself on a coffee break in the kitchen. When I found some beads my daughter "wasn't using at all". Telling her I was just going to "borrow" them. I snuck down to the garage and pondered hard how to use them best. In the end, rather than stringing them up like "adult beads" I just decided to sew the arms up and fill the inside with 100's of small beads. In hindsight I should have just used "Adult Beads" The range of motion was limited with my solution.

Step 11: Finishing Touches

You are almost there. Only a few last finishing touches and you too will have a friend in your garage or workshop.

Since the puppet was a clear representation of everything I was not. I felt it necessary to over compensate. Starting by using a dark red marker to add a six pack and muscle definition. Adding detail and shadow to his face and torso, to rival a young virile Brad Pitt.

The last things I did was to, add a tooth and a tongue.

Hank was finished!

However as I slid my hand up into him, contorting my arm and hand around into position. I suddenly came to the realization that I had just spent 100's of hour in the workshop, multiple therapy sessions and months of AA meetings making a ......"Puppet"

If you are lonely remember most of us men are too and we just have to get out of our comfort zone and go meet those people, wherever they are.

Thanks for reading

Much love

Garage Avenger