Balloon Aminals

Jacob L

Jacob L

Jun 1, 2009
1,066
6
Yes, I know I spelled "animals" wrong :p

Anyway, I'm starting to get into making balloon animals for kids at the pizza parlor I work at, and hopefully it'll lead to some bookings for parties. I have one little book called "the ultimate guide to balloon animals" but I'm pretty sure there is stuff that is more in depth than what I have.

Does anyone know any good starting points to learn balloon animals from? I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks,
Jacob
 
Pete Pridanonda

Pete Pridanonda

Elite Member
Jun 13, 2009
402
35
Go check out "Balloon School with Joe Montella", hands down the best resource you will ever need to know about balloon sculptures. The DVD teaches you EVERYTHING there is to know, I highly recommend it.
 
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AndrewJ

AndrewJ

Oct 20, 2008
273
0
Austin, TX area
I'm sorry. Really -- the fifty dollar disk for a beginner?

The guys I see doing little masterpieces (superheroes, princesses, high demand stuff) have pretty much mastered the pinch twist. The pinch twist. Need to make an arm? Pinch twist at the elbow. I ask them. Every time. It's good to be in the company of "one of us," and I also try to use that moment to express honest appreciation for what they are doing.

I'll promise you that no one has yet to mention Penguin's darling overpriced balloon video. Most of them bought a ton of balloons and practiced hard on top of basic foundations. I love Penguin, but only for the wealth of quality material behind their front page.

My personal experience: Learn the twists. Then learn how to make basic fun/animal shapes. When someone asks for something random like "giraffe" or "dragonfly", you'll be able to improvise in a pinch. Basic animal shape. Basic insect shape. Wings. Learn to make a decent heart and a good flower.

Watching the buskers who stop by when I take the kids out: learn the human shape, some variations to create the popular human(ish) characters of the day, and maybe some tributes to local culture. If your local sports team is a college team -- the three legged aardvarks, then learn to sculpt a three legged aardvark.
 
Robert//Livingston

Robert//Livingston

Jan 5, 2010
658
2
Alabama
Don't get Balloon School, it's great for the absolute beginner but you won't find TOO much that will get you making awesome balloon animals.

I work the once a month street fair here called "First Fridays" doing balloon animals. Needless to say I make a KILLING when this comes around, and have no problem working the line. Saying that, I use maybe %10 of what I learned in Balloon School.

What you need to get, and what I use almost ALL the time is "Bad to the Balloon" by Mark Byrne

These will make you money, and get everyone talking about you.

http://www.balloonguy.net/
 
Jacob L

Jacob L

Jun 1, 2009
1,066
6
Andrew, So you're saying just learn a few fundamental twists, and basically teach myself? My book doesn't even have the pinch twist, it has an ear twist, is that the same thing?

And Robert, which volume should I get? There are two available. What makes this DVD different than Balloon School?

Jacob
 
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Robert//Livingston

Robert//Livingston

Jan 5, 2010
658
2
Alabama
The Ear twist is a pinch twist.

Balloon School is very fundamental in teaching the most basic twists and animals. Even though there are a few very interesting ones (the mermaid, and the human) I find myself using Mark Byrne's creations WAY more, and they get way better responses. Everything that's done on Balloon School are shapes you will be able to do after watching Mark's DVD anyway.

Obviously, I would recommend getting BOTH volumes of Bad to the Balloon, but if you can only get one get volume one. Also you're looking at $30 compared to $50. If you're familiar with cardistry dvd's then Bad to the Balloon will be a breeze. He doesn't talk, he just shows you how to make the creations from different angles, slowly.

Balloon School will most likely just teach you everything your book has, whereas Bad to the Balloon will actually get you work. I can honestly say that after getting these DVD's they paid for themselves the FIRST time I went out and did balloons for money.

This is just the experience of someone who has bought both Balloon School and both volumes of Bad to the Balloon.
 
RickEverhart

RickEverhart

forum moderator / t11
Elite Member
Sep 14, 2008
3,637
471
46
Louisville, OH
I do balloon twisting all of the time and make good money. You guys will laugh but all you really need is a dog, sword, bumble bee, heart, teddy bear, monkey, basic hats, giraffe, mouse, flower, etc.

All of the multi balloon creations do NOT work well for line work at festivals and big events.

I bought Balloon School as a beginner and loved it but have not looked at anything else only because after 3 years...I'm still twisting the basics that the kids want after the birthday party magic shows.

Bad to the Balloon sounds great too. Just my thoughts.
 
AndrewJ

AndrewJ

Oct 20, 2008
273
0
Austin, TX area
I still need to learn a good heart. I only know it needs to be done out of some.. experiences...

I only do a few multi-balloon things: never more than two balloons, and still easy. Big quick & dirty flower. Winged dragons. The before-mentioned dragonfly.

I did buy the first two "Entertaining with Balloon Sculpting" videos. I don't even think I've learned to do much off of Volume 2. It goes into the more complex multi-balloon material that you just can't do with a swarm of giddy kids around you. However, volume 1 has some of my staples. It teaches a Teddy Bear that tends to be very much enjoyed. The sword goes a couple steps further and is always admired. Entertaining With Balloon Sculptures Volume One (Will Roya) is a fifteen dollar video with some kid-friendly stuff on it that works very well for me.

Bad to the Balloon, as I understand, was an attempt to make more grown-up sculptures for working grown-up audiences. I've heard nothing but wonderful things about it on one of the other forums. It certainly couldn't hurt to look into it, perhaps to round out your knowledge for teenagers and parents and maybe see if there's some other advice to learn from.
 
icannotmakeapassword

icannotmakeapassword

Jan 11, 2011
150
0
RickEverhart said:
I do balloon twisting all of the time and make good money. You guys will laugh but all you really need is a dog, sword, bumble bee, heart, teddy bear, monkey, basic hats, giraffe, mouse, flower, etc.

All of the multi balloon creations do NOT work well for line work at festivals and big events.

I bought Balloon School as a beginner and loved it but have not looked at anything else only because after 3 years...I'm still twisting the basics that the kids want after the birthday party magic shows.

Bad to the Balloon sounds great too. Just my thoughts.
Click to expand...

LOL call me weird but I asked someone to make me a balloon SNAIL when I was young.
 
zeitz

zeitz

Nov 28, 2018
4
0
RickEverhart said:
I do balloon twisting all of the time and make good money. You guys will laugh but all you really need is a dog, sword, bumble bee, heart, teddy bear, monkey, basic hats, giraffe, mouse, flower, etc.

All of the multi balloon creations do NOT work well for line work at festivals and big events.

I bought Balloon School as a beginner and loved it but have not looked at anything else only because after 3 years...I'm still twisting the basics that the kids want after the birthday party magic shows.

Bad to the Balloon sounds great too. Just my thoughts.
Click to expand...

Rick,
In another posting you mentioned Balloon Dog in a Bag. I just saw Craig McKee do it
and want to add it to my show. I can't seem to find where I can buy the secret to this routine. Can you help?

Leigh
 
RickEverhart

RickEverhart

forum moderator / t11
Elite Member
Sep 14, 2008
3,637
471
46
Louisville, OH
YES! This is the act that I use in my shows still today. It is Jeff Hobson's creation and it brings down the house EVERY SINGLE TIME. Be mindful when choosing your volunteer as if the little boy seems too shy or too young they will cry when you stomp on the dog and you'll kill the mood of the show quickly. I ALWAYS scan the crowd preshow to find kind of an outgoing boy who is about 7-8 years old.
 
zeitz

zeitz

Nov 28, 2018
4
0
RickEverhart said:
YES! This is the act that I use in my shows still today. It is Jeff Hobson's creation and it brings down the house EVERY SINGLE TIME. Be mindful when choosing your volunteer as if the little boy seems too shy or too young they will cry when you stomp on the dog and you'll kill the mood of the show quickly. I ALWAYS scan the crowd preshow to find kind of an outgoing boy who is about 7-8 years old.
Click to expand...
I am interested in the workings of the routine. Is it proper to talk about those things on this chat board?
 
RickEverhart

RickEverhart

forum moderator / t11
Elite Member
Sep 14, 2008
3,637
471
46
Louisville, OH
Unfortunately no, we can not discuss methods and or the routine as it is a purchased routine/DVD from Jeff Hobson.

Hobson Exposed is the name of the DVD to purchase.
 
RealityOne

RealityOne

Elite Member
Nov 1, 2009
3,744
4,076
New Jersey
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