Caroline Walotka

• November 2019 - Current
• Portland,OR
• Hair and Fur Fabricator

• April 2019
• Brussels
• Prop Maker

Making props and puppets for TikTak, a TV show for toddlers.

• fabricating stop-motion puppets
• fabricating marionettes and hand puppets
• creating background worlds made of food and accessories
• working with felt and recycled materials
• co-working with head of props and director

• January 2018 - July 2018
• Manchester
• Silicone Department

Silicone casting and on-set maintenance for Universal Kids' Norman Picklestripes.

• casting puppets in silicone and soft foam
• mixing and matching silicone colours to Pantone samples
• hair insertion
• trimming and seaming puppet body parts
• replacing finger wires, fixing silicone hands
• making armatures for hands, wiring the fingers
• vacuum forming eyelids for all the stages of blinking (open, half closed, closed)
• sanding edges of eyelids
• priming, colouring and sealing eyelids with airbrush
• on-set puppet maintenance
• on-set repair of silicone tears in puppets
• on-set tensioning of puppet armatures
• making armatures for hands, wiring the fingers
• casting new faces and hands for broken puppets

• September 2016 - September 2017
• London
• Puppet Hospital

Mending and maintaining puppets on set for Wes Anderson's latest feature film Isle of Dogs.

• on-set puppet maintenance
• on-set repair of silicone tears in puppets
• on-set tensioning of puppet armatures
• final checks of puppets before each shot
• continuity checks of puppets
• creating background puppets using wire and silicone
• styling fur
• styling hair and wigs
• creating spare hands for each character
• trimming and seaming
• air brushing for silicone
• mixing silicone colours
• casting plastic eyes, glueing paper pupils onto eyes
• sanding and painting miniature 3D printed characters
• making replacement collars for puppet's shirts
• sculpting, molding and casting for dog tongue used in closeup
• creating "singed" look on dogs using coloured hairspray
• creating "wet" look on dogs using hair gel
• punching and laying fur on silicone puppets
• adding paw pads to dogs when needed for the shot
• opening rigging holes in silicone and fabric
• mending torn costumes
• airbrushing bruised foot
• redesigning old puppets into new background characters
• paint matching puppets during each movement stage for replacement animation
• repairs and paint blending of silicone puppets
• painting "growl" dentures for dogs
• cleaning stained costumes
• altering silicone puppets to allow exaggerated movements

• May 2016 - September 2016
• Manchester
• Puppet Maintenance

Mending and maintaining puppets on set for CBBC's animation series Scream Street (Puppets by Mackinnon&Saunders).

• vacuum forming eyelids for all the stages of blinking (open, half closed, closed)
• sanding edges of eyelids
• priming, colouring and sealing eyelids with airbrush
• on-set puppet maintenance
• on-set tensioning of puppet armatures
• repairing silicone tears in puppets on set
• making armatures for hands, wiring the fingers
• casting new faces and hands for broken puppets
• painting faces, feet and hands
• replacing faces, feet and hands
• working as puppet wrangler, keeping track of each puppet, delivering puppets to set
• assembling new characters using existing parts
• restyling puppets when needed
• reorganising the "puppet hospital"

• January 2016 - March 2016
• London
• Fabricator

Designing and fabricating a pregnant belly for ASOS pregnancy wear.

• working with reticulated foam and lycra
• hand sewing
• sanding and smoothing down foam belly
• fitting belly to model

• May 2015 - April 2016
• London
• Junior Moulder

Moulding and casting a variety of celebrities, sanding and assembling before they're passed on to the painting department.

• moulding life sized clay bodies
• working with fibreglass and moulding silicone
• cleaning ands prepping moulds for casting
• casting body parts in fibreglass
• lifecasting hands using alginate
• filling alginate moulds with plaster
• moulding plaster hands using silicone and fibreglass
• sanding cast body parts and assembling bodies
• priming hands and bodies
• co-working with sculptors

• April 2015 - May 2015
• London
• Prop Maker

Making props, including life-sized gargoyles, for The Queen of Spades.

• cutting up existing mannequins for repositioning
• working with fibreglass
• sanding mannequins
• making a steel structure for the wings
• fabricating feathers out of plastazote
• creating skeletal arms for mannequin made of wood and fibreglass
• priming and spray painting gargoyles

• March 2015 - April 2015
• London
• Fabricator

Creating a giant inflatable underwater scene and shadow puppets for the 2015 Take That tour.

• fabricating large plants
• glueing and stitching
• using polyester fabrics and plastazote
• cutting and painting flowers made of plastazote

• August 2014 - February 2015
• London
• Fabricator

Working with Niki Lyons on the build of the iconic Teletubbies for the reboot that launched in 2015.

• making Teletubby antennae of hard foam, wire and soft foam
• enlarging existing patterns according to the size of each character
• applying patterns to reticulated foam
• cutting out each pattern
• glueing and forming foam patterns to create Teletubby suits to be worn by performers
• fitting and adjusting suits to performers
• creating anti-slip soles for Teletubby feet
• dressing performers on set

• July 2013 - August 2013
• Beaconsfield
• Model Maker

Building and painting set and props for several stop-motion animation productions.

• sculpting, moulding and casting severed arm of silicone
• silicone painting with airbrush
• using plasticine, sculpey and balsawood for sets and props
• creating cardboard and paper props
• painting props with acrylics

• January 2013 - February 2013
• London
• Costume Props

A six-week work placement in the Costume Props department, helping in the preproduction of The Captain of Kopenick as well as the hustle and bustle during the performances.

• redesigning hats
• making veils using existing lace patterns
• creating foam troll mask
• working with lycra, Varaform and latex
• assisting head of Costume Props during fittings
• making belts for army uniforms
• dyeing fabrics
• dressing actors

• September 2012
• London
• Workshop Assistance

Gaining experience in a professional environment, helping with the development and execution of projects including exhibitions and film props.

• assisting the lifecasting of a leg
• casting, trimming and seaming in silicone
• making fibreglass props for a V&A Museum costume exhibition
• sanding and priming fibreglass props

• February 2012 - June 2012
• London
• Costume Volunteer

Working intensively in the costume department.

• customizing costumes
• creating large masks
• helping with costume fittings
• assisting during rehearsals
• measuring performers for costumes

• 2018
• Falmouth

Crash course in film prosthetics taught by Neill Gorton.

• 2017
• London

Learning the basics of wig making

• 2011-2014
• London College of Fashion

Learning all the tricks of the Special FX trade. Making maquettes, puppets and creature suits. Focusing on stop motion in my final year.

• 2006-2010
• Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp

Design and making of modern and period costumes for both college projects and collaborations with film and theatre students. Introduction to scenography and puppetry, studied in-depth during an Erasmus exchange at Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera in Milan.