Hiroko the Marionette

This was my final project in my 8th grade Advanced Art class, back in Junior High. We were to design and create marionettes.

We used sawed-off and sanded wooden dowels for the limbs, Styrofoam balls for the head and/or feet, yarn for hair, a special clay to cover the head (and create the hands), fishing wire for the strings, pieces of old metal hangers for the hooks in the limbs and the “skeleton” under the clothes to attached the limbs to, and just whatever cloth we could get our hands on to make the clothes (and cotton to stuff the clothes as well). The only thing I didn’t make were the shoes, which were a pair of toddler shoes I found at a swapmeet and that I painted over in certain areas pink.

Funny story about this: I hadn’t originally intended on making my marionette, well, based on a Sonic fancharacter. Thing is, when my art teacher, Mr. Hatch, had been giving us instructions on the project, I was doodling a redesign for my character, “Hiroko the Hedgehog.”

In fact, the first drawing on my dA was that very design: [link]

Anyway, he happened to notice me drawing while he was talking, and he took the drawing from me and held it up to the class, telling them all, “Now see? She has the right idea, she’s already designing her marionette!”

Haaaah, it was kinda embarrassing, especially given that, for the most part, he meant it; the majority of the class was being rowdy and talkative, barely paying attention about the project and were more concerned about holding their own conversations. So…one can only imagine how awkward it was to be stared/glared at for making them look bad because I was “already designing my marionette while they were wasting time talking” and stuff.

Afterwards, I told him what it really was, and even then, he encouraged me to go along with it, seeing how he thought it looked cute and all. So…that was fun. XD;

But yeah. This thing sits on top of a drawer in my room now, and has been sitting there for…five years now. Same amount of time I’ve been on dA, come to think of it. I think…I joined dA around the same time I was in the process of making it, too, so…I guess there’s a connection there, between that marionette and my dA account. '-'

Anyway, that’s about it. Hope you enjoy finally taking a peek at my marionette project from five years ago.


Hiroko Marionette belongs to me,
Sonic the Hedgehog belongs to Sega and Sonic Team.