Finger Puppets

Finger theater: a ninja cat and a little demon from one sheet. Each character is drawn with markers, cut out with a white margin, and stands in a paper ring.

• Easy
• 2 finger puppets
• 4 pieces
• 1 Letter sheet

Make it with your phone cameraLesson code: 2739

On VanGami the template appears over your sheet through your phone camera — no printer needed. Trace it, cut, fold and glue. Below are all the steps in text.

What you’ll need

• 2 Letter sheets — office paper, 80 gsm (20 lb)
• Markers
• Pencil — and eraser
• Scissors — small
• Glue stick — or PVA glue
• Glass — phone stand

Steps

Trace

1. Sturdy sheet from two. Apply glue stick over the whole surface of a sheet of printer paper, press a second sheet onto it, and smooth with your palm from the middle to the edges. You'll get a thick sheet — work on that one. Put it back in the same spot, edge to edge; don't move the phone.
2. Ninja cat: outlines. Trace the cat with a solid line — in one outline, including the stand tab at the bottom — and the strip on the right, ¾ × 3 in. You’ll cut along these lines.
3. Ninja cat: drawing. Copy in thin lines: the hood with ears, the face, the scarf, the star in the hand. Across the stand tab, a line; on the strip, a line ⅜ in from the top edge.
4. Little demon: outlines. Same as before: trace the little demon with his stand tab, and the strip to his right, with a solid line.
5. Little demon: drawing. Copy in thin lines: the hair spikes and horns, the face with a fang, the shorts with a zigzag edge, and the club. The line on the stand tab and the line on the strip are the same as on the cat.

Color

6. Color: ninja cat. Hood, suit and strip in dark gray, scarf in yellow, star and belt in gray, bangs in brown, face and palms in skin tone, inner ears and blush in pink. The stand tab and the area on the strip up to the line stay white; outline the eyes, face, scarf and star in black — the dark parts need no outline.
7. Color: little demon. Skin and strip in red, horns and shorts in yellow, club in brown, mouth in black; the hair, fang, stand tab and the area on the strip stay white. Outline the contours, eyes and the stripes on the shorts and horns in black.

Cut

8. Cut out: ninja cat and strip — 2 pcs. Cut out the figure along the outer line: it runs with some room around the drawing, so you don’t need to cut into the corners. Cut the strip straight, along the straight lines.
9. Cut out: little demon and strip — 2 pcs. Cut with scissors along the solid line. Turn the sheet, not the scissors — the cut will come out neater.

Glue

10. Strip onto the stand tab. Fold the strip in half and unfold it: the fold is its middle. Apply glue to the cat’s white stand tab and press the strip on it colored side up — the fold over the middle of the tab, the top edge along the line.
11. Make the ring. Flip it face down, wrap the strip around your finger, and apply glue to the white area. Put the colored end onto it and hold for 20–30 seconds; the ring should slide off easily.
12. Little demon — same way. Fold and unfold the second strip, put glue on the figure’s stand tab, and press the strip on with the fold at the tab’s middle. Then turn it over and glue the ring to fit your finger: glue on the white area, hold for 20–30 seconds.

Play

13. Put them on your fingers. Put the rings on your index fingers: the character faces the audience and your finger is hidden behind it. Bend your finger and the puppet takes a bow.

Done. Both puppets are done — put them on your fingers and act out a little scene. Want your own character? Draw it with a stand tab at the bottom and glue it to the same kind of ¾ × 3 in strip.

Make it with your phone camera

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