arm rod

Arm rods allow a puppeteer to manipulate the motion of the arms and hands of a hand and rod puppet. Typically, the puppet's mouth is controlled by the puppeteer's dominant hand, while the rods for both arms are controlled in unison by the non-dominant hand. An arm rod consists of primarily two materials: a thin, rigid wire, and a handle, often made from a woooden dowel. An arm rod is typically painted black, but it may be colored with paint or tape in a way that allows it to be removed from video using chroma-key techniques.

An arm rod may be permanently attached to the palm of the puppet's hand, or it may be removable. A removable arm rod typically fits into an arm rod pocket at the bottom the puppet's hand, and it is held in place either with a temporary stitch that may be easily cut, or with a small pin that holds the arm rod in the palm and is easily hidden from view.

Sometimes, the handle of an arm rods may have an attached trigger mechanism to control secondary motion with a finger, such as movable eyelids or eyebrows.