Marionettes, automata, and dolls all share one important quality: each conveys a distinct personality through its form and details. In this class, students will explore the visual elements that communicate character traits, including facial expressions, body posture, and hand poses. The class will cover anatomy, color, shape language, and the assumptions audiences make when interpreting a character. Students will then learn how to develop a pattern by breaking a complete form into individual components. Through the patternmaking process, they will explore joint movement and limitations, the effects of gravity on posture, and the small details that help tell a character’s story. By the end of the class, students will have a strong foundation for designing original characters and creating patterns for wooden dolls, puppets, and other articulated figures.