Digi Mario – A digital rod puppet style with physics. A hand manipulated puppet with leap motion controller. One hand controls the puppet and the other simulates the puppeteer virtual hand for physical interaction.

[vimeo 110798138 w=580&h=326]

This video shows how to animate a puppet with just one hand using physics to recreate the marionette aesthetics.

Marionette animation is fascinating but requires a lot of skills, this virtual marionette is much simpler but the digital puppeteer can control many aspects of the puppet. With few training the puppeteer can bring this puppet to life in a traditional style.
All fingers are mapped to the face controls and the hand is mapped to the head. When you move the head, the body will follow along like if we had a rod connected to the head.
Interesting effect is when you turn your hand using your pinky finger first, the eyes will look to the target and the head will follow the eyes.

framework: Leapmotion v2+ Unity