Hey folks...I'm just wondering if there are any animators out there that can help me out with some of their experience. I'm into stop-motion animation, but I don't have a large number of projects under my belt. This is how I've BEEN building puppets, few as they are: I've constructed an endoskeleton with steel wire, then all the limbs of the body can be stiffened with an application of hardened skulpey, leaving elbows, knees hips etc. free to move (I think some guys solder metal bars to the wire to construct joints, but hey). I then apply non-hardening clay on top of this for the flesh of the puppet. The problem is, this non-hardening clay makes for a pretty heavy puppet, and in order to get them to stand upright on their own I have to extend the steel wire of the legs downward so I can push it down like a tack into the set. This, of course, isn't very good for a guy's setup, and it requires more forethought when the endoskeleton is being built. I'm thinking a plastic, hollow puppet, much like an action figure or something, with more sophisticated joints would work like a charm. A lightweight puppet could hold itself up easily with just an application of poster putty on the feet. Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuutttttttttttt I'm not an experienced sculptor, so I'm a little squeamish about building casts. Are there any experienced scultpors or animators out there with some pointers?