Modelling Minimus, part 1

I have been trying to make a three-dimensional Minimus since the early days of the project. This is the first version, made of wire, newspaper and card. I used papier mache pulp for the surface. Minimus' nose is far too long, and doesn't turn up, but I was pleased with the eyebrows! I've found it difficult to represent Minimus' mouth properly - just painting it on doesn't look quite right.

 

This was version two, which I made for an animation project. Minimus needed to have movable arms, tail and eyes. The inner armature is wire again, padded with cotton wool. The outer layers are made from a very fine, loose-weave cotton scrim, cut into bandages. I wrapped and sewed the layers on, and then painted it with silk paints. The mouth is fixed with double sided tape, and the eyes are made entirely separate - the black pupils are long map pins. 

 

Here's the felt finger puppet - ideal for practising "quis es?" with a class. The pattern is available from the Minimus website here, and it isn't very difficult to make. I did have to make his arms a bit wide, so he could have a full set of fingers!

 I'll write about the new model Minimus  - and all his accessories - in the next post.