Things You'll Need
Instructions
Draw the outline of the toy character on the plywood. Make it 6 inches tall and 2 inches wide. For example, you could choose a clown, a cat or a dragon.
Draw arms and legs, with rounded ends, on the plywood next to the body. Make each limb 3 inches long or more.
Use a jigsaw to cut out the sections you have drawn. Position the part of the plywood sheet you are cutting over the edge of a table or work bench, and trap the rest of the board in place against the table. Keep the foot of the jigsaw pushed flat on the sheet, and press the blade steadily along the lines.
Draw features, clothing and any other items on the outline. Decorate with water-based acrylic paints. Paint all the sections of one color first, and allow them to dry before continuing. This prevents colors from running together.
Drill four holes in the body, one for each of the limbs. Position them in the hips and shoulders of the body, 1/2 inch from the edge of the body. Use a drill bit just larger than the 1/2-inch-long screws you are using.
Position the limbs beneath the holes you have drilled. Place the screws through the holes, and screw the tips into -- but not all the way through -- the limbs.
Screw a 1-inch-long screw through the center of the head and another through the center of the body. Place the end of a length of thread at the rounded end of each of the limbs. Staple it to the rounded end of the limb directly in line with the screw it pivots on.
Drape the strings running down from the limbs over the screw in the center of the body. Screw the two long screws into a backing board. Pull on the strings together to make the limbs move.