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revlovejoy Special user Pennsylvania 765 Posts |
So I'm a very new twister, and I know I can keep busy just with a few DVDs, youtube, and other sites, doing other peoples designs for years to come.
But there are some random events coming up in the next 6 months for which I would like to do some serious balloon sculptures. Examples: a pipe organ, set pieces for a nutcracker ballet, a full wearable darth vader for a wedding reception..... Instead of searching in vain to see if someone already made these, (nutcracker is probably best odds) - I think I really need to go from scratch. So is there a resource anyone would recommend for designing sculptures? Or is this a process that just grows organically from doing all kinds of twists and sculptures and learning from experience what works? that's fine too, but I am getting ambitious early. |
greatscott Special user 595 Posts |
A lot of the creativity you are looking for, I have found, does come from experience. There are resources that can help give the creativity a little boost though. There are several good videos on the market, many of which I still don't have, but would love to get. I did get a video set, about a year ago, that did help a lot. It is a 4 volume set called "ENTERTAINING WITH BALLOON SCULPTING". The artists are: Will Roya on volume 1, and S. Frank Stringham on volums 2-4. On volume 3, Stringham teaches how to weave the balloons, and tells a few things that you can make with weaving. You can apply that weaving skill to several large scale sculptures.
I hope that helps. David |
revlovejoy Special user Pennsylvania 765 Posts |
I went through a shopping spree this weekend, and already ordered that exact set, which should arrive within a couple days. Thanks for the response.
Any others? |
Kevinr Inner circle 1854 Posts |
Join Balloon HQ then search the photos from the search engine. Very simple and will get your mind flowing to make what you are talking about.
I searched for a pipe organ and found one.. There is a photo of a full Darth Vader you could convert into a moving costume... Several nut crackers |
Steve Yarosko Loyal user 285 Posts |
When I was in college, I took a class in free hand drawing. The textbook for the class was entitled, "Drawing from the Right Side of the Brain." I guess the book had an impact on me since I still remember the title almost a quarter of a century later. I have applied the principles taught in that class and that textbook to my balloon art. As an artist you start to look at objects in terms of shapes. Spheres, cubes, cones, and tubes - These are the base shapes of everything in the world. You can break down an object into these base shapes and them try to figure out how to reproduce those shapes with balloons. I hope I am not getting too theoretical here, but it is the way I approach creating something new. Go the BalloonHQ as Kevin suggested to see how other artists have interpreted the different things you are interested in.
To answer your question, I would say that the skills needed to create something new is not grown organically, but learned by study and experimentation. After you have learned the twists and techniques and how to visualize an object, you can then create them from scratch. One time, I got it in my head to make a hippo ballerina. As soon as the idea hit my brain, I knew exactly how to make the whole thing, because I knew the technique I was going to use to make the tutu, How I was going to make the hippo, and the balloon stand she would be dancing upon. Other times I have to struggle a bit to figure out how to transfer the shapes into balloons. Now I perceive the world in how I can reproduce objects out of balloons. I now a lot of balloon artists that can't sit through a Disney movie without thinking about how they would reproduce the characters on the screen with balloons. Sorry for the rambling, I needed a break from work stuff. Steve |
greatscott Special user 595 Posts |
I have that book "Drawing From The Right Side of The Brain", but I have not read it (I've had it about 10 years, or so). After what you just said about it, I'm going to have to read it now.
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