Wooden Marionettes: Making Puppets from Scratch

A course by Luděk Burian , Wood Carver and Marionette Maker

Wood Carver and Marionette Maker. Tabor, Czechia.
Joined May 2022

Learn sculpting and woodcarving techniques to design, build, and paint characterful marionettes

100% positive reviews (123)
5,346 students
Audio: English
English · Spanish · Portuguese · German · French · Italian · Polish · Dutch

Learn sculpting and woodcarving techniques to design, build, and paint characterful marionettes

“A marionette can accompany you for a lifetime. And one day, a child may inherit it, knowing their grandparents made it. Only a few toys can compete with that.”

Luděk Burian is a wood carver specializing in marionettes. For him, a wooden puppet can be a toy, a piece of decorative art, or even a storytelling tool. He showcases his work in exhibitions and via social media as well as creating custom pieces for private clients.

In this online course, Luděk teaches you carpentry and carving techniques to build a puppet from scratch. Learn how to transform a block of wood into a human character full of life. Discover the wonderful world of marionettes and create puppets that inspire stories for generations to come.

Read more ↓

What will you learn in this online course?

19 lessons & 14 downloads

Tools and Materials
7 minutes, 11 seconds
From Sketch to Wood
13 minutes, 38 seconds
Rough Shapes
9 minutes, 38 seconds
Painting 1
13 minutes, 10 seconds
  • 100% positive reviews (123)
  • 5,346 students
  • 19 lessons (4h 4m)
  • 14 additional resources (1 files)
  • Online and at your own pace
  • Available on the app
  • Audio: English
  • English · Spanish · Portuguese · German · French · Italian · Polish · Dutch
  • Level: Beginner
  • Unlimited access forever

What is this course's project?

Design, carve, and paint your own wooden marionette from scratch.

Projects by course students

Who is this online course for?

This course is for anyone interested in making marionettes filled with personality.

Requirements and materials

No previous experience is required.

In terms of materials, you will need a block of linden wood, a basic set of gouges, a knife, and other materials specified by the teacher in the course.


Reviews

5,346 Students
123 Reviews
100% Positive ratings

Luděk Burian

A course by Luděk Burian

Teacher Plus
Wood Carver and Marionette Maker

Luděk Burian is a wood carver from The Czech Republic specializing in marionettes. He first taught himself how to carve as a hobby in 2010. After studying at construction school and working for several years in the industry, he realized it wasn’t the vocation for him and decided to turn his passion for puppetry into a career.

Since then, he has showcased his work in a solo exhibition at a puppet gallery in Prague alongside crafting custom pieces for private clients. Luděk also shares his woodenworks of art and creative process with over 30K followers on Instagram.


Content

  • U1

    Introduction

    • About Me
    • Influences
  • U2

    The Basics of Puppetry

    • Understanding the Marionette
    • Tools and Materials
    • From Sketch to Wood
  • U3

    Making the Puppet

    • Rough Shapes
    • How to Carve, Safety Tips, and Carving the Head 1
    • How to Carve, Safety Tips, and Carving the Head 2
    • How to Carve, Safety Tips, and Carving the Head 3
    • How to Carve, Safety Tips, and Carving the Head 4
    • Carving the Arms and Hands 1
    • Carving the Arms and Hands 2
    • Carving the Rest of the Puppet 1
    • Carving the Rest of the Puppet 2
    • Carving the Rest of the Puppet 3
    • Painting 1
    • Painting 2
  • U4

    The Last Steps and Beyond

    • Assembling
    • How to Use a Puppet
  • FP

    Final project

    • Wooden Marionettes: Making Puppets from Scratch

What to expect from a Domestika course

  • Learn at your own pace

    Enjoy learning from home without a set schedule and with an easy-to-follow method. You set your own pace.

  • Learn from the best professionals

    Learn valuable methods and techniques explained by top experts in the creative sector.

  • Meet expert teachers

    Each expert teaches what they do best, with clear guidelines, true passion, and professional insight in every lesson.

  • Certificates
    Plus

    If you're a Plus member, get a custom certificate signed by your teacher for every course. Share it on your portfolio, social media, or wherever you like.

  • Get front-row seats

    Videos of the highest quality, so you don't miss a single detail. With unlimited access, you can watch them as many times as you need to perfect your technique.

  • Share knowledge and ideas

    Ask questions, request feedback, or offer solutions. Share your learning experience with other students in the community who are as passionate about creativity as you are.

  • Connect with a global creative community

    The community is home to millions of people from around the world who are curious and passionate about exploring and expressing their creativity.

  • Watch professionally produced courses

    Domestika curates its teacher roster and produces every course in-house to ensure a high-quality online learning experience.


FAQs

Domestika's courses are online classes that provide you with the tools and skills you need to complete a specific project. Every step of the project combines video lessons with complementary instructional material, so you can learn by doing. Domestika's courses also allow you to share your own projects with the teacher and with other students, creating a dynamic course community.

All courses are 100% online, so once they're published, courses start and finish whenever you want. You set the pace of the class. You can go back to review what interests you most and skip what you already know, ask questions, answer questions, share your projects, and more.

The courses are divided into different units. Each one includes lessons, informational text, tasks, and practice exercises to help you carry out your project step by step, with additional complementary resources and downloads. You'll also have access to an exclusive forum where you can interact with the teacher and with other students, as well as share your work and your course project, creating a community around the course.

You can redeem the course you received by accessing the redeeming page and entering your gift code.

If you're a Plus member, when you complete a course you've purchased, you'll instantly get your personalized certificate. You can see all your certificates in the Certificates section of your profile. You can download your certificates as PDFs and share the link online. Learn more about certificates.
Wooden Marionettes: Making Puppets from Scratch. Craft course by Luděk Burian

Wooden Marionettes: Making Puppets from Scratch

A course by Luděk Burian
Wood Carver and Marionette Maker. Tabor, Czechia.
Joined May 2022
  • 100% positive reviews (123)
  • 5,346 students