Making A Balinese Shadow Puppet (Test)

Draw your design on a sheet of rawhide, accounting for the negative space that will be visible when this puppet is used to caste a shadow.

To learn more about designing for shadows, see [en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayang|this site]

Any moving pieces — such as limbs, gears, etc. — should be designed as separate pieces.

Cut out each piece of rawhide in a rough way so you can work on each piece individually.

Do not try to cut the exact outline with your knife. This outline will be cut to the right shape with a chisel.

Remember to do this too!

Set up your rawhide so you can use a chisel to cut out the design. Place the rawhide on a block of wood (what kind of wood?) and pin in place.

Careful not to pin your rawhide in a place that leave a hole in your puppet as this will cast a shadow.

Using a hammer, chisels and a paraffin wax, start to chisel out your designs.

Details on how to chisel traditional designs can be found [here].