What is a puppetmask?
It is a puppet, that you wear on your head to put it simply. The masks can have blinking eyes, moving ears, moving jaw, moving upper lip, and whatever else I figure out how to make move in the future. Most of this movement is achieved through strings that attach to the different features and you just pull to activate. No motors, no electronics involved, though I would love to learn how to build such things. At this moment though, it's all old school strings and puppeteering.
What are they like?
They are NOT like a regular fursuit head where you just slip them on and go. They CAN be worn as a regular head though since the strings are removable. They'll just be heavier than normal. But if you want to emote with the moving face, practice is needed. They'll feel strange to wear at first, you'll want to fight them because you're pulling on your own head and it feels weird but like with everything, you'll adapt. Also to make the eyes blink there are strings that will be in front of your face and they might touch your face at times but shouldn't rub your face raw or anything like that. Practice. Can't stress that enough. Practice and you'll get a feel for everything. I recommend having a mirror, or filming yourself in the mask to judge the pressure needed to have for example, the eyes either fully close, or squint, or be half-lidded. Different movements can also help with puppeting the head.
How do they work?
Strings my friend. Strings. Said strings attach to rings which attach up inside the mask to different features. Each feature has it's own string and my most complex mask, can have up to five strings to deal with. Simplest mask, only two strings(just for moving eyelids). The strings go down under your sleeves/fursuit and loop around different fingers under your gloves/paws. Different hand motions/arm motions activate different features. Sometimes I will include a harness with certain masks that you wear beneath your costume/clothes to help situate the strings that go down your back. Other times, your sleeves should be good enough.
Do I really want one?
If you have any sort of neck problem I would not recommend a puppetmask. Otherwise, it's up to you to decide if it's worth it. I personally enjoy my puppetmask but I'm also it's creator and use to it. There is a learning curve but it's not impossible, and I believe anyone can do it with practice and I'm here to help if needed. Not trying to be discouraging, just being honest. I would hate for someone to get a puppetmask made and then find out it's not what they had in mind as far as being easy to puppeteer. There is the option though, if at any time you tire of puppeting, to take the strings off and just wear the head as is. Or if you don't care about making ears move or snarling at people but want to still blink, each string is an individual and can be taken off.
How are they made?
In order to have moving features, the head his not fully constructed out of foam. The main frame of the heads are made from wire that I shape into a "skull". Moving eyelids and other features are built onto the frame with the help springs and then foam is applied to flesh out everything. The inside of the mask is covered in spandex to hide wires, and the top of the head is a hand made hat sewn to the frame. To make the mouth move, and fit different faces, the jaw is adjustable on the inside with a chin strap but the crown of the head is measured to fit the buyer upon construction. No bare wire touches the face and all wires involved are curved and blunted at the ends for safety.
