doozer question

[furryfriends]

ok i just got done watching the jim henson documentary and i was amazed by the dozers how did they get those gloves to control it do you need to be a genuis to pull that off if not could somone please explain for me thanks

[Eight's King]

Yes and No,

There are a lot of different ways to create animatronic figures and some are more difficult than others.

I have worked with some that are very complex and leave me scratching my head for hours before I figure them out. And others where I find myself laughing at how simple they are.

Faz Fazakas is definately on the genious side of this equation with most of his controls being fairly complex and proprietary.

You could make simple animatronics with RC modeling parts from a hobby store. This is the simplest way.

Or you can use equipment from companies like Guilderfluke who make interfaces and controls for many different types of actuators. This can be fairly complicated and very costly. There are many companies with similar products.

Lastly you could make your own from the ground up which takes a lot of knowledge of electronics and programming. This of course usually gets you exactly what you are looking for. Most large scale production houses have someone on staff with these skills and capabilities to create their designs.

If you need more specifics, feel free to ask and I'll do my best to help! :confused:

[furryfriends]

can you give me a web site thats good for parts and recomend a good controller or how to controll it this is a brand new thing but it facinates me thanks for your help

[Eight's King]

Sure, send me a private message letting me know what you want to accomplish and maybe I can point you in the right direction. I won't be on until later tonight!!!

[Puppet crazy]

When you say animatronic do you mean radio controlled or just cable
control?

Making cable control puppets aren’t too difficult, you just rid up each mech to a fishing line, thread it through small tubes or through curtain wire. I find curtain wire works better because there is less friction. (It's like a hollow spring) Then the other end of the string is connected to the levers. I'm curious to know what you mean by glove.

I wouldn’t have a clue how to use remote control though. I’ve thought about pulling apart a remote control car just to control eyes on full body puppet. You'd need 2 people though to operate it though.

[furryfriends]

i mean radio controlled waldos

[Kimp the Shrimp]

i always thought they where small puppets moved by sticks

[gfarkwort]

There was a waldo system for sale on ebay along with an animatronic head, It was really intersting looking,
This year I also plan on getting into animatronics, but cable first....cuz i'm cheap and not mechanically savy