About Shadow Pals

We created Shadow Pals to make hand shadows easier to learn and more fun to share. A few hand positions can become a rabbit, a bird, or a character in a story you tell together.

We want to make it easier to find a starting point and keep exploring. Our website brings together tutorials, practice guides, artists, and events for beginners, families, educators, and anyone curious about the craft.

Shadowgraphy is the art of making recognizable shadow figures with your hands. It's one form of shadow puppetry, which also includes performances with crafted puppets. A light and a wall or sheet give you a stage; changing the shape and angle of your hands gives you characters to work with.

Our web guides help you choose a light, learn hand positions, and work through your first figures. Pick one you like, try it, and adjust until the shape becomes clearer.

Then give your character a movement, a voice, or a story. Practice on your own, teach someone a figure, or make a shadow show with friends and family.

Our iOS app complements the website with guided hand-shadow practice. If you want help refining a position, it gives you a closer look at the pose and feedback while you try it.

• See the position: Explore hand-position views and adjust the viewing angle to understand how the figure is formed.
• Get live coaching: Hand tracking and real-time pose feedback help you refine your hand position.
• Try it in the light: Take what you've practiced and cast the shadow with your hands, a light, and a wall.

Use the web guides on their own or bring the app into your practice when the extra coaching helps.

There's a wider world to discover, from hand-shadow performers to companies and educators working in shadow theater. Their work offers new ideas for what light and shadow can become.

Our community pages help you explore that wider world through featured artists, workshops, festivals, and public performances. Learn from the people keeping the craft alive, find an event that interests you, and share what you learn with someone else.