The Making of La Catrina

From a Digital Design to a Hand-Painted Beauty

Every marionette begins with an idea, and La Catrina's journey starts with a carefully designed 3D model.

Once the design is ready, the individual parts are printed using a 3D printer. But the printing is only the beginning! Each piece then goes through hours of careful sanding, smoothing, and priming, all by hand,  to prepare the surface for painting. This is one of those stages that might not look particularly glamorous in photographs, but it makes all the difference to the finished puppet. Every little surface needs attention before the character can begin to take shape.

Then comes the painting, and this is where La Catrina's personality really starts to emerge. One of our artists, Michaela, specializes in painting incredibly fine details, from expressive faces to the tiniest decorations on a puppet's hands. La Catrina's intricate skull-inspired makeup is a particularly beautiful example of this work. Every delicate line, shadow, and decorative element is carefully painted by hand, turning the prepared pieces into something full of character.

From Sketches to Stitches

Of course, La Catrina wouldn't be complete without her spectacular costume! Almost all of our marionettes' outfits are handmade by our talented seamstress Františka, who brings years of experience and incredible attention to detail to every project. La Catrina's costume was especially challenging. With its many layers, intricate decorations, and colorful details, there was plenty to recreate from the original sketches.

From delicate appliqués to patterns painted directly onto the fabric, each element required a slightly different approach. Some details could be sewn, others needed to be painted, and everything had to come together as one beautiful outfit. The result is a costume that would be impressive even on its own, but becomes something truly special when worn by our little dancing lady.

The Magic of Movement

A beautiful marionette is one thing. Making her move naturally is another challenge altogether!

This is where Agáta, the head of our atelier, works her magic. She takes care of the mechanics that allow La Catrina to blink, open her mouth, walk, and, most importantly, dance. This includes fitting her movable eyes, carefully attaching and adjusting the strings to a controller she also builds herself, and making sure the different parts of her body work together. Even the smallest adjustment can make a difference to how a marionette moves. The goal isn't simply to make her functional, but to give her movements a sense of personality and expression. Agáta also takes care of many of the finishing touches, including arranging the flowers in La Catrina's hair and adding those final details that bring the whole character together.

After all the designing, printing, painting, and sewing, this is the moment when the individual pieces finally become a marionette ready to perform.

A Little Piece of Our Prague Atelier

Creating a custom marionette like La Catrina is never the work of just one pair of hands. It's a collaboration between all of our little Prague team, each bringing their own skills and experience to the process. And that's one of our favorite things about making marionettes. Even with modern tools like 3D modeling and printing, so much of the work still depends on traditional craftsmanship, patience, and a good eye for detail.

From her delicately painted face to the last flower tucked into her hair, La Catrina carries a little piece of everyone who helped create her.

Would You Like to Take La Catrina Home?

After all those hours of careful work, our dancing lady is finally ready for the spotlight!

With her colorful costume, expressive face, and graceful movements, La Catrina is a celebration of creativity, craftsmanship, and the wonderful possibilities of modern marionette making.

If you've fallen in love with her along the way, you can discover more about Santa Muerte – our La Catrina-inspired marionette in our online shop.

Discover La Catrina →