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WhiteAngel Loyal user West Virginia, USA 269 Posts |
I completely agree. The atmosphere is much friendlier, and no arguements! lol.
True illusionists strive to decieve the eye AND the mind.....
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Drew Manning Special user Dallas, Texas 913 Posts |
It's been many years since I've bought any kind of information on this subject, but one of the best books I ever got was Captain Visual's Big Book Of Balloons (think that's the name of it)
At any rate, it covers a lot of stuff in a lot of areas and you can really get a good working knowledge from there. What I really like is that it shows you how there are only a certain number of twists that make up any type of animal. That comes in handy for me because I like to ask a kid what their fav animal is. 80% of the time, you get an easy answer and can creat it from memory. For those rare occasions where they pick something off the wall, you can wing it and will usually make the kid (or difficult adult) happy. It also covers the basics of "famous" cartoons like ducks and woodpeckers. The duck is one my faves and everyone that has ever seen it raves about it
I live my life for a layer of ice
Just like those poured by my bartender vice Any taste of vermouth would be really sublime, When you have a good martini time! -The Reverend Horton Heat |
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smitty Veteran user Picton, Ontario 358 Posts |
Yes Drew, I agree 100%. I purchased Captain Visuals book years back, and it is definitely one of MY FAVS to. So much great material in one book. I must find it again and dig into it. From our last move in Mar 2005, I still haven't found this book. It is hiding in a box 'somewhere'. Glad you mentioned it. I will have to tear into some more boxes and find this GEM.
smitty |
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The Mighty Fool Inner circle I feel like a big-top tent having 2140 Posts |
'Lo all,
I just got into the balloon thing as well. I bought "balloon school" dvd by Joe Montella. I've been tryng for a week and I've just about gotten the nozzle-tying thing down. Just kidding.....but the knots ARE a pain! I've gotten sword, flower, poodle-dog, girrafe, and deformed butterfly. Once I get my hands on some catepillar balloons I'll make an awesome butterfly. I can't wait to start on mermaid. Anyhoo, I was interested in an earlier post on this thread regarding the most requested / popular sculptures for kids. I've seen dog & sword from magicsanta, and Smitty says 4 sculptures are enough to carry you through (provided it follows a magic show I suppose) any other inputs on that?
Everybody wants to beleive.....we just help them along.
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FunTimeAl Special user 987 Posts |
I twist balloons after my magic shows. In my mind, since it's the last thing I do, it needs to be my best work of the day.
I think you could get away with making dogs, flowers, swords, etc...for the majority of the kids. However, I'd try to have one larger sculpture for the birthday boy/girl. There's a pretty easy 6-balloon hat that always gets great responses. Also, mermaids and spiderman really aren't all that difficult...if you go with the basic versions of those figures. I really don't know if I should post pictures and/or instructions on the open forum. I'm happy to help, but don't want to upset those that make a living selling instructional material. So, search your favorite web engine for six balloon hat I guess and see what comes up! |
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smitty Veteran user Picton, Ontario 358 Posts |
Great ideas there Chad. Glad to hear you are still doing Magic & Balloons. I only do balloons now. Haven't done any magic for several years. The more balloons I learned, I gradually weaned out the magic. Reason being, the EXCITEMENT in the air when the kids see the balloons. I'm beginning to miss the magic now though. So, am going to start investigating 'magic with balloons'. Don Caldwell has loads of ideas for that, and I've thought of a few.
But, yes, way back when, in the mid/late 80's, I just did 4 animals for the first while. I didn't know how to make hats yet. The kids seemed 'more than happy' with the 4 creations I made; I guess lucky for me, lol. I wouldn't say 'Mighty Fool' that 4 creations are enough to carry you through, but they HAD to for me, cuz that's all I knew, LOL. Fortunately I guess, the kids didn't ask for anything. I just started to make my '4 creations', and tried hard to vary them a little. I had purchased Marvin Hardy's softcover book on balloons, and started to learn from that. YOu are right Chad, a 6 balloon hat is very easy to do, and the Birthday child feels VERY special wearing it. I sometimes will make a weaved hat for the b.d. child. The kids love watching it. So 'Mighty Fool', is Joe Montella's DVD worth the money, for an experienced twister? I looked at it last fall and considered it. But, opted out, as there was a lot of stuff I just didn't need. Chad, if you want to post pics, as long as they are originals of yours, there is no reason you can't share them. Even if you have come up with something someone else has done, as long as it's your own idea, I can't see why you couldn't share it. Regarding a 6 balloon hat, all you really need to do is just make your favorite base, and then just start 'adding' different colors anyway you want. Be creative, have fun, GO WILD. One REAL simple idea I use a lot, for my own hat, when twisting, is to make a normal hat base (helmet), then take 5 other different colors, inflated all but 1/2"; put all the knotted ends together; twist off a 1" bubble and attach them all to the top center of the hat. You can either just leave them straight, or you can distort them anyway you want. Makes a BIG, VISUAL, COLORFUL hat, seen for MILES, lol. I quite often add 6 rather than 5, and just put them together in doubles; 2 at the center; and 2 each halfway between the first set and either end. Again, leave straight, or distort, or attach the ends ANYWHERE you want. GET FUNKY and have fun. smitty |
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The Mighty Fool Inner circle I feel like a big-top tent having 2140 Posts |
Smitty,
The balloon school dvd is awesome for a beginner, but it's definetly NOT for seasoned pros. If you're looking to cut teeth on some more complex & challenging designs, you might try this page: http://www.professorwonder.com/gallery.htm It's got train engine with smoke from the top, starship enterprise, the energizer bunny, a 4-balloon monkey, and a really pretty poinsietta.
Everybody wants to beleive.....we just help them along.
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