Stop Motion  The Fox 

Role: Puppet Fabricator & Production Designer
Techniques: Needle Felting, Wire Armature Building, Sculpting, Costume Crafting

The Fox is a stop motion short film created at ASU, centered around a handcrafted aesthetic and tactile storytelling. I designed and built all of the puppets used in the film, with a focus on needle felting to create expressive, textured characters that read beautifully on camera.

✦ My Contributions:

• Needle-Felted Puppets: Sculpted each puppet’s body and features using wool roving and felting needles to create detailed, durable textures
  
  

• Armature Construction: Built flexible wire armatures to allow for dynamic posing during animation
  
  

• Handcrafted Costuming: Designed and assembled miniature outfits, using natural fibers and fabric scraps to match the film’s organic visual style
  
  

• Durability & Repairs: Maintained puppet structure and appearance throughout filming, making on-set repairs as needed
  
  

• Visual Cohesion: Ensured that all characters matched the film’s tone and design language, from scale and color palette to materials and proportions

• Layered wool over padded foam to build form, expression, and fur texture
  
  

• Used felting needles to sculpt facial features, tails, and fine details like paws and ears
  
  

• Blended roving colors for shading and natural texture variation

• Designed and hand-stitched miniature clothing and fabric elements
  
  

• Incorporated mixed media—like twine, buttons, and scrap fabric—for a handmade feel
  
  

• Ensured all accessories were lightweight and moveable for frame-by-frame adjustments

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• Performed motion tests to check flexibility and range of expression
  
  

• Adjusted joints, padding, and exterior felting for smoother animation and continuity
  
  

• Finalized characters based on how they photographed under controlled set lighting