Balloon twisting 201

Balloon twisting 201 August learning events Lizbeth Kohler e-mail: Lkohler.zoominternet.net BASIC & ADVANCED TWISTS Here's the scoop on some of the...
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Balloon twisting 201

August learning events Lizbeth Kohler e-mail: Lkohler.zoominternet.net

BASIC & ADVANCED TWISTS Here's the scoop on some of the twists used in balloon sculpture. By combining these twists in various ways you can create thousands of figures from your balloons. More twists will be added as the need arises.

Loop Twist(Fold Twist)

This is a lot like the ear twist, but it is done with a much longer bubble. Just take a long bubble, fold it back on itself, and twist the two ends together. This is good for large ears, hands or feet on multiple balloon figures.

Lock Twist

Twist two bubbles, usually about the same size. Bring opposite ends together so that the two bubbles are parrallel and touching each other. Twist them together to lock in place. This is the most common method of making legs and ears on simple figures.

Pinch Twist (Ear Twist)

Twist a 1 to 1.5 inch bubble, leaving it a little on the soft side. Then twist the two ends of the same bubble together. This makes an ear-shaped bubble that is good for ears, lips, or sometimes to hold another bubble in place.

Toe Twist(Split Twist)

Begin with an ear twist. Grab the two sides of the bubble and twist it in two, making two bubbles about 1/2" or less in diameter. These are good for adding fine detail to faces or hands and feet. Another method of beginning the twist is to roll it so that the center part attached to the adjacent bubbles splits the pinch twist in two. Then wind the two bubbles in opposite directions to make it hold.

Pinch-pop Series

The pinch-pop series is used to separate two sections of a balloon. It consists of three small bubbles in a row within a loop of bubbles.

Make a pinch twist in each of the outer bubbles in the series. Then toe-twist each of the pinch twists to secure them. Both the pinch twists and the toe twists should be given three full twists to ensure that they will hold. Now comes the 'Pop' part. You pop (break) the center bubble to allow the rest of the loop to separate. The pinch twists and toe twists will seal the ends and keep the balloon from deflating.

Bird Body (3-Bubble Roll-Through)

Twist three bubbles, usually about the same length. Twist the opposite ends of two adjacent bubbles together to make a pair. Now take the third bubble and carefully push it through the pair, rolling the outer two bubbles around it, so that you have three bubbles all joined together at both ends.

Apple Twist (Tulip Twist)

No, this is not a pastry. It is a technique used in round balloons to make an apple shape. With long 2" balloons it is sometimes called a tulip twist. Push the knot about 2" down into the balloon with your index finger. With the other hand, pinch the outside of the balloon and grab the knot. Carefully pull out your index finger and twist a bubble at the point where you pinched the balloon on the knot.

Apple Link

This twist is done exactly like the apple twist, except that you hold the knot of another balloon along side of the knot that is getting the apple twist. When you grab the knot from the outside, grab both knots, and the two balloons are linked together.

Hook Twist

The hook twist is similar to a very deep apple twist. Push the knot as far into the balloon as your finger will reach, and grab it through the balloon with the opposite hand. Instead of just pulling your finger out, bend the finger and peel the balloon off from the outside of the curve. This takes a bit of practice, but it allows you to make some unique figures.

S-Hook Twist

Once you have mastered the hook twist, try the S hook. This works the same way, except that you bunch up the balloon to get your finger even deeper into the balloon. I think it makes a terrific squirrel tail.

Z-Bend

To make a sharp bend in the middle of a balloon, fold it over and squeeze the air out. Then pull the balloon out of your fist, and the bend should remain. Repeat if necessary.

Spiral

Make a twist in the middle of a balloon and fold the ends toward each other. Rotate both ends in the same direction

FLOWER This flower is the opportunity to learn how to combine multiple balloons.

Fully blow up one 260, but let some air go out of the balloon in order to soften it.

Tie a knot so that the balloon becomes a large loop.

Bring this knot close to the center of the loop.

And twist to make two equal new loops.

Now bring the two loops together. (You can note if one is bigger!). Then bring the knot close to the center of the two loops.

Here the knot is right under the right hand's thumb. Then twist again, using both hands, and make 4 loops this way.

Note that once you've twisted, you'll have two loops in each hands. Here is the final expected result of loop divisions.

Same job for a second 260 balloon.

Now combine the two balloons as well as you can. It might be a hard time if the balloons where too much inflated

Okay, now everything becomes easy

The stem is a simple task : inflate leaving a 2 inch tail

one loop as the first feather ...

... then a second feather ...

The stem is already over, just form a bubble at the top of the stem ...

... like this ...... in order to place it between the petals

PIG (Tulip twist & Teddy Bear face)

Put your finger inside the balloon and push the knot inside as far as possible. The goal is then to pinch and hold the knot from the outside with the right hand. Here is the result. It will stay like that as long as the knot is still in the right bubble

... ear twists the ears!

What's new here? -- the tulip bubble for a realistic pig nose and the 3 bubble body The knot will then be held in the second bubble (the rest of the balloon right now) Once the knot is held, you can remove your finger from the inside of the balloon. Now do exactly as for the teddy bear : form 7 bubbles for the pig's head and lock the second one with the last bubble and put the nose inside the newly formed loop And here is the pig's head finished, front view

rear view

Small neck, 2 bubbles with a lock twist for the legs

and here is a pig coming your way

To have a body with some volume, make the 3 bubble body. So form 3 bubbles, leaving enough balloon for the remaining legs

Lock twist the first 2 bubbles

And push the remaining bubble in between...

... like this

and you then only have to finish with the 2 legs in order to get a real nice pig

Start with a small bubble for the nose

MONKEY (Advanced – uses pop twist)

Here is the result : the monkey head

Then make this : ear twist + small bubble + ear twist. Use one hand to maintain the nose and the rest of the balloon (here the left hand).

Use the other hand to grasp the 3 bubbles you've just made and turn/twist them

Now let's start the difficult part... the arms leave a bubble for the neck, make a long bubble for one arm, a small soft bubble for one hand, another small bubble which will be removed later, another small soft bubble for the other hand and finally a long bubble for the second arm. That's over now!!! So first leave a short neck and make a long bubble followed with a soft ear twist

You don't have to make them all right now, you'll make them step by step...

Now turn hands opposite ways so that you split the ear twist bubble into 2 parts. (Yes! you can do it if the

The expected result is here!!!!! Turn again those tiny bubbles together one or twice (I mean both at the same time) and you've made a great tie

ear twist bubble is soft enough) (you can let the neck and the arm form only one bubble, you'll twist it again later)

Make the central bubble and make again that soft ear twist and split it again. You then have to make the second arm and lock it at the base of the neck

Leave a bubble for the monkey body & make repeat the same steps for the arms

Now use whatever you want to pop the two central bubbles

You now have to divide this ear twist into 2 equal bubbles. Hold the two parts as shown on the photo

Once the arms are locked together, you should expect to have a monkey like this one

And the arms are now free and should stay inflated

Here is the final result!!!

Ray Gun Start with a 3 or 4 inch bubble followed by two pinch twists or bear ear twists, Figure 1. Make a loop just big enough for the rest of the balloon to fit through, Figure 2. Twist a small bubble followed by a second loop the same size as the first. Pull the remainder of the balloon through the two loops, Figure 3. Kids are crazy about this gun. You can put it into a shortened up version of the scabbard for a holster. Or use the full length of balloon with a loop on either side of the kid's waist for a six-gun look.

UPSY DAISY To make the Upsy Daisy inflate a 260 leaving a 2" tail. Tie the balloon, then squeeze the air down until you have only a 3/4" tail left. Make an apple twist on the knot end. Fold the apple twisted end down toward the opposite end and twist the two layers of balloon directly beneath the apple twist about 5" from the end of the balloon. This forms a large loop with a short tail left over, Figure 1. Twist a loop about a third of the way down the big loop. Fold the twists at either end of the large loop together and twist, Figure 2. Squeeze the air in the tail until there is a small bubble directly under the flower top, followed by an uninflated section, then an oblong bubble. This is a wonderful little flower to hand out. It's one balloon and has a nice wobbliness to it. But wait, there's more! If you twist the flower top as though you were winding it up, then squeeze the bottom bubble of the stem - it spins! It almost looks like one of those little hand-held fans.

Princess Crown

Step 1--Inflate 3 quarters of the balloon. Step 2--Start at the beginning with the knot and twist a 1-inch bubble. Make sure you hang on to both ends of balloon, otherwise it will untwist. Twist it around 2 or 3 times. Do not worry; it will not break. Why didn't it break? There is space at the end of the balloon for the extra air. That is why we only blow the balloon up half way. Step 3--Take this 1-inch bubble and make a pinch twist.

Step 4--Make a 8 inch bubble and twist this into the newly made pinch twist. Look at the picture. This will be the largest bubble or arch on the crown. Step 5--Twist a 4 to 5-inch long bubble, followed by a 1-inch bubble.

Step 6--This 1-inch bubble will become a pinch twist. Then make another 1-inch bubble and pinch twist this bubble. Step 7--Make a 6-inch bubble and twist this bubble into the double pinch twist. This will make the second arch of the crown.

Step 8--Inflate a second balloon three quarters of the way. Make an 1-inch pinch twist at the beginning.

Step 9--Twist the 1-inch pinch twist into the largest arch on the first balloon.

Steps 11 & 12 are a repeating steps of 5-9 Step 11--Make a 4 to 5-inch bubble followed by a 1-inch pinch twist. Step 12--Make a second 1-inch pinch twist, followed by a 6-inch bubble that is twisted back into the double pinch twist. This will form the left arch of the princess crown. Step 13--Measure the head and twist the remaining balloons together to form a strap. Remove an excess balloon Step 14--The jewels of the crown are just broken balloons about 1 to 3-inches in sizes. Using scraps or a new balloon inflate and wrap the balloons in between the arches. Congratulations, you just made you first Princess Crown.

NOTES

BALLOON Books Here is the selection of books on balloon sculpting. Go to your local shops to find the one that better suits your level. But you can also click on the covers below to have some comments from online shop customers. This is the best book to learn balloon sculpting! Not only will you find easy-to-follow drawings, but you'll also quickly create multiple balloon sculptures. Note that a second book exists "big book of Holiday balloon art" if you need some more sculptures.

Two great books written by Marvin Hardy. Might not be the best book for beginners but the black & white photos will help you to create the sculptures. There are basic sculptures as well as new techniques which will help you become a great ballooner

You love Disney's characters? Then this book is for you! The balloon techniques are quickly explained before making big sculptures of well known characters. Instead of writing text instructions, the author preferred to use lots of color photos with only a short comment (English + Italian).

BALLOON LINKS Okay, you need more photos & more instructions to become a great balloon artist. Here is some great web links:

BalloonHQ, The #1 reference in balloon sculpting. ƒ ƒ ƒ

a complete guide on ballooning created from thousands of professional artists messages a discussion list where you'll be able to ask any questions on balloon sculpting a huge photo section

www.balloonhq.com

Balloon Hat.com See what happens when two guys travel to different places in the world to make balloon hats for people and take photos of them. Great source for ideas.

www.balloonhat.com

Pam’s Place Online pics and instructions for a variety if animals.

www.angelfire.com/hi3/PamsPlace/balloons/balloons.html

Magical Balloon-Dude Dale is a Master Balloonist Features a Kids Stuff Section with instructions.

www.mbd2.com

Multihobbies – Marvelous Balloons Where many of the photo instructions in this packet came from.

www.multihobbies.com

Twist-em-Up "Creating custom aprons, bags, and accessories for Clowns, Twisters, and Decorators..."

www.twistemup.com/product.htm

T. Myers Magic, Inc – Specializes in balloons, pumps, supplies for face painting, and clowning.

www.tmyers.com