Tyvek Used in "Kubo and the Two Strings" Animated Film from LAIKA

Kubo and the Two Strings, a 3D animated stop-action film in which Tyvek was used in the creation of its stop motion figures. The movie was produced by LAIKA, makers of the Academy Award-nominated animated movie Coraline. Kubo and the Two Strings is the story of a "young boy named Kubo must locate a magical suit of armor worn by his late father in order to defeat a vengeful spirit from the past," according to IMBD.com. This movie is in theaters right now and features the voices of Charlize Theron, Art Parkinson, Charlize Theron, Ralph Fiennes, George Takei, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Brenda Vaccaro, Rooney Mara and Matthew McConaughey.

So how does Tyvek fit into Kubo and the Two Strings? Via Laika and their public relations agency, MBC Communications, they provided the information on how Tvyek was used in the film. The production notes that were provided describe how Tyvek was utilized:

16,725 feet of Tyvek paper was used.

According to Costume Designer Deborah Cook, "We used a lot of Tyvek [the high-density polyethylene fiber material so often used in building construction] underneath fabrics as well, because it has the dimpled surface of an older, richer fabric and resembles crumpled silk. We also used actual silks that were very fine grade so that the surface weave of the fabric looked good in our scale; these too had to be weighted and bulk out underneath."

Brad Shiff was the Animation Supervisor for the film. What with loose flowing costumes and long hair for many characters, Schiff's team of animators found new challenges on Kubo and the Two Strings. He remarks, "There is a reason that costumes on stop-motion puppets are always tight-fitting and that's because tight-fitting is easy to control. Loose-fitting has a tendency to do weird things in our scale. It's a testament to our puppet makers, riggers, and animators all working together with the costume department that this was pulled off. We were able to handle and manipulate the kimonos without them – or the puppets wearing them – going out of control. There were tiny rigs on all the puppets to help the animators achieve the most subtle of movements."

Six different materials were used as backings in Kubo's sleeves so that they could fold precisely where and as needed; origami patterns were used in the sleeves design so that they would always hang the same way when his arms were down. Sheets of Tyvek ... needed to be crumpled and un-crumpled exactly 15 times to create the required flexibility.

Many thanks to LAIKA and MBC Communications for providing the information and the photos, used here with permission.

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Behind the Scenes of Kubo and the Two Strings Video

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Kubo and the Two Strings - Official Trailer

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Tyvek is often used by innovative, creative people in many and varied ways. Material Concepts provides Tyvek rolls to many of them - just contact Material Concepts or via phone: 215-338-6515 or 1-800-372-3366 or buy Tyvek online.

Tyvek Aircraft Flies at Boston Red Bull Flugtag Competition

A human powered glider made with Tyvek by Gusdave and the Whiteheads was flown at the Red Bull Flugtag competition from the banks of the Charles River in Boston on August 20, 2016. The Connecticut based five-member team selected Tyvek as the wing and tail material to create the CONNDOR flying machine, and placed 6th out of 29 competitors at the event.

Gusdave and the Whiteheads are aviation enthusiasts with a broad range of talents that include engineering, architecture, and puppet design. They are also historical contrarians, and the flying machine they created pays tribute to and was inspired by Gustave Whitehead, whose aircraft named the Condor is said to have made a successful flight in Connecticut in 1901, 2 years before the Wright Brothers.

To construct this glider, a important consideration was the choice of materials to be used for wing webbing. Gustave's original 1901 machine used silk for the wings; Gusdave and the Whiteheads used Tyvek instead of silk in their CONNDOR plane. They considered silk, cloth, tarps, and sailboat canvas.

Jeff Jahnke, a team member and professional architect knew that Tyvek was a very strong material that was light weight and might provide the solution the team was looking for. Jeff was able to obtain a sample of Tyvek and the team conducted tensile tests and concluded it would be strong enough to withstand the forces assumed by the glider as it took flight from a ramp before plunging into the river.

The team said that the Tyvek was easy to cut and manipulate and was used to flesh out two wings, the tail section, and it provided a substrate for signatures and sponsor logos along the walls of the transport cart. The sheets of Tyvek were wrapped along the leading edge of the wings and fuselage and and tail spars made from super strong Calcutta Bamboo posts. Along each wing rib, a duct tape grommet was created that allowed a zip tie to poke through and secure the Tyvek to the post. Additional cabling was necessary to ensure the wings wouldn't fold due to the pressure.

Dave (Gusdave) Mourad was the CONNDOR pilot and the aircraft placed in the top six in overall score. The flying distance was hampered by strong wind conditions and a limitation on velocity of the pier, but the glider descended smoothly and safely achieving a distance of 36 feet, better than average for the day. The unique rustle and whipping sounds of the vibrating Tyvek enhanced the drama of the glide, and the eventual plummet into the Charles River.

Many thanks to Dave Mourad for providing the information and the photos, used with permission. This is a truly unique use for Tyvek, highlighting the some of the key capabilities and physical properties of the Tyvek material in a very creative manner! And while Tyvek Home Wrap, donated by a  Connecticut contractor, was used for this project, a white unprinted paper-like hard Tyvek material style would be a good choice for a similar project. Material Concepts provides Tyvek rolls for many unique and innovative projects - contact Material Concepts or via phone: 215-338-6515 or 1-800-372-3366 or buy Tyvek online.

For more information on topics related to this Tyvek aircraft and the competition, check out these resources:

• Gusdave and the Whiteheads' website (neglect.com)
• Gusdave and the Whiteheads' Facebook page
• Gusdave and the Whiteheads' page on Red Bull Flugtag website
• Video: