Make Balloon Animals
Learn how to make balloon animals and share your skill at a festival or party. People love making a special request and seeing a colorful balloon animal come to life. Get familiar with the twisting techniques that form the foundation for every balloon animal, then put your knowledge to use by making a balloon dog, monkey, and swan.
Contents
Steps
Learning the Fundamental Twists
- Make a basic twist. Inflate a balloon and tie it off at the end. Grasp it near the tie in your non-dominant hand. Use your dominant hand to twist the balloon a few times so that you create a separate balloon segment. In order to keep the balloon from untwisting, hold the two segments with one hand.
- Use #260 balloons, which are long balloons designed for the purpose of being made into balloon animals. These are available at party stores and costume stores. Water balloons and party balloons can't be twisted into animal shapes.
- You can inflate the balloons using your lungs, but it's far easier to use a small hand pump. These are available at toy stores and party stores that sell balloon supplies.
- You should be able to grasp the balloon firmly without it popping. Keep your fingernails and jewelry away from the surface of the balloon so they don't catch on the rubber and pop it. If the balloon seems to pop at the slightest touch, try using a higher-quality brand. Less expensive balloon brands use less rubber in their balloons, and the thinner surface area is much easier to pop.
- Make a lock twist. Inflate a balloon, tie it off and make two basic twists close together, so that the balloon has a total of four segments. Hold all four segments in the same hand to keep them from coming untwisted. Use your other hand to grasp the two middle segments and gently hold them apart from the two end segments. Twist the two middle segments together three times, then hold up the balloon. The segments are now locked in place.
- The lock twist is used to hold the balloon sculpture together, since without it the balloon comes untwisted.
- The lock twist is also used to make small balloon animal ears and other animal features.
- Make a fold twist. Inflate a balloon, tie it off and make one basic twist near the end. Holding the twist in place with one hand, use your other hand to fold the top of the balloon down. Grasp the twist and the top of the balloon and twist them together three times so that you form a loop. The balloon now has three segments: two end segments and one loop segment.
- The fold twist functions like a lock twist, in that it prevents the balloon from becoming untwisted.
- The fold twist is often used to create ears, noses, and other animal features.
Making a Balloon Dog
- Inflate the balloon and leave a 3-inch tail. Just keep blowing until the air has inflated the balloon to about three inches from the end, then stop blowing and tie off the balloon.
- Make three basic twists. Starting at the knotted end of the balloon, make three basic twists to create a total of four balloon segments. The first segment, which includes the balloon's knot, will form the dog's snout. It is slightly longer than the second two segments, which will form the dog's ears. The last segment, which will be twisted into the dog's body, is the longest.
- Hold all of the segments in one hand to prevent them from becoming untwisted, since they have not yet been locked.
- Experiment with different segment lengths for the snout and ear segments. You can also make an extra-long snout and call your balloon animal an anteater.
- Twist the ear segments together. Use your free hand to grasp the second and third segments, the ear segments, and twist them together three times. This lock twist will keep them from coming untwisted. Do you see the dog's head?
- Make three more basic twists. Make the first twist a few inches below the head to form a neck segment. Make two more twists below the neck to create two segments that are equal in length; these will be the front legs. Hold all the new segments in the same hand to prevent them from coming untwisted.
- Would you rather have a giraffe than a dog? Make the neck segment extra long; the rest of the body is exactly the same.
- You can make the leg segments long or short, but they should be the same length.
- Twist the leg segments together. Fold the balloon at the twist between the two leg segments. Grasp the leg segments with your free hand and twist them together three times at the base of the neck. The legs and neck are now locked in place.
- Make three more basic twists. This time divide the remaining length of the balloon into four equal segments. The first segment is the dog's body, the second two segments will become the back legs of the dog, and the final segment is the tail. Hold them all in one hand to prevent them from becoming untwisted.
- Twist the back legs together. Fold the balloon at the twist between the two back leg segments. Grasp the segments and twist them three times at the base of the body segment. Take a look at your finished sculpture: it has a knotted nose, short ears, front legs and back legs and a tail that sticks straight up. Your work is complete.
Making a Balloon Monkey
- Inflate the balloon and leave a 6-inch tail. Leaving a shorter tail might result in the balloon popping halfway through the sculpting process, so make sure you have plenty of uninflated balloon at the end. Tie off the balloon with a knot.
- Make a basic twist. Twist the balloon a few inches from the knot to create a small segment that will be the monkey's face. Hold both segments in one hand to prevent them from untwisting.
- Make a short fold twist. Start by making a second basic twist close to the first one so that you have a small segment in between the twists. Fold the segment so that the two twists line up. Use your free hand to grasp the folded segment and twist it three times to lock it in place. You've just made the monkey's first ear.
- Make another basic twist. A couple of inches from the first ear, make another basic twist to create a short segment. Hold it in one hand so that it doesn't untwist. This new short segment will be the monkey's forehead.
- Make another short fold twist. Start by making a second basic twist close to the first one so that you have a new small segment between the twists. Fold this segment so that the two twists line up. Use you free hand to grasp the folded segment and twist it three times to lock it in place. This is the monkey's second ear.
- Twist the ears together. Carefully grasp the two ears by the twists at their bases. The forehead segment will be sticking out between them. Twist the ears together three times to lock them in place. The monkey's head is now complete: it has a nose, a forehead, and two ears.
- Make three more basic twists. Make the first twist a few inches below the head to form the neck segment. Make two more twists lower down to form two segments that are equal in length. These will become the monkey's arms. Hold all of the segments in one hand to prevent them from untwisting.
- Twist the arms together. Fold the balloon at the twist between the two arm segments. Grasp the segments and twist them three times at the base of the neck segment to lock the arms and neck in place. The balloon should now resemble a monkey with a head, neck and arms.
- Make three more basic twists. Make the first twist a few inches below the arms to form the body segment. Make two more twists lower down to form two segments that are equal in length. These will become the monkey's legs. Hold all of the segments in one hand to prevent them from untwisting.
- Leave plenty of room at the end of the balloon for the tail, which should be the longest segment of all.
- Twist the legs together. Fold the balloon at the twist between the two leg segments. Grasp the segments and twist them together three times at the base of the body. The body and legs are now locked in place, and the tail is hanging down from the body.
- Make a coconut tree trunk. Choose a balloon in a contrasting color and inflate it completely, then tie it off. There's no need to leave a tail at the end. Slide it between the monkey's arms and legs so that the monkey appears to be climbing it.
Making a Balloon Swan
- Inflate a balloon and leave a 4-inch tail. White or black balloons both make striking swan sculptures.
- Fold the balloon. Create a paperclip shape with the balloon; the knotted end should be at the center of the paperclip, and the tail end should jut out from the end of the paperclip. Another way to approach this shape is to create a circle with overlapping ends, then flatten it.
- Make a basic twist. Grasp the folded balloon in the middle so that you're holding three parts: the top of the paperclip, the bottom of the paperclip and the knot in the center. Twist the three parts together, making sure you catch the knot in the twist. Hold the twist to make sure it doesn't come undone. You now have two loops with a long neck jutting out from the center twist.
- Tuck one loop into the other. Use your free hand to close one of the loops and push it up through the other one. This creates the body of the swan, with the tucked-in loop resembling folded wings and the outer loop resembling the swan's underside. Tucking in the loop also keeps the structure from coming undone.
- Make the head. Grasp the neck a few inches from the tail and use your hand to move some of the air into the uninflated tail part. This will cause the top of the neck to curve into the shape of the head. The remaining uninflated tail forms the swan's beak.
Tips
- Use new balloons rather than stored ones. Older balloons are more likely to pop when you are inflating or twisting.
- If it pops, pretend that it was part of the entertainment; play it cool.
- If balloon pops, laugh, make a joke about "blowing up" some balloons for fun and start over. Children will back up a step but they won't leave.
- Experiment with other sizes and shapes of balloons to make apples and bumblebees.
- Carry a permanent marker and make a smiley face on your animal.
- Talk as you twist. Be funny and entertaining. This will help you be entertaining if you make a mistake.
- Store balloons in an air-tight container as latex deteriorates when exposed to air.
- Do not buy cheap twisty balloons from a toy store. Look for a year round costume shop with clown supplies. Check the expiration dates on the balloons. Expect to pay quite a lot more than ordinary balloons per bag, but the price difference is well worth it.
- A little corn starch in storage container will prevent latex from adhering to itself.
- Carry balloons in your pocket to school, wedding receptions, any place where children may roam.
- Every child in the room will want one. Seriously. Do not send children home crying if it can be avoided.
- Use an inexpensive balloon pump from a toy store. Some people can inflate a #260 by mouth, but not many. Hand pumps are more sanitary.
- Learn to make snakes, swords, hearts, turtles, funny hats and other balloon shapes.
- It helps to inflate the entire balloon until air is spread throughout, then to deflate it slightly, leaving about {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} at the end as mentioned in step 3.
Warnings
- Balloons are not for little children due to danger of choking.
Things You'll Need
- Uninflated #260 balloons
- Balloon pump
Related Articles
Sources and Citations
- Videos provided by AboutMagic
- Balloon Headquarters
