The following article first appeared in the September/October 1997 issue of the Magic Menu. The Magic Menu is a bi-monthly magazine for restaurant entertainers. For subscription info, contact jsisti@ibm.net.
A few years ago, I remember discovering that balloons could be used to create things that looked almost lifelike. I then found that doing portraits or, if you'll allow me, balloonacatures of some famous people went over really well. The recent craze has been for balloon artists to create popular cartoon characters out of latex. I know there have been people turning balloons into cartoon figures for years, but now suddenly it seems that the mark of a real twister is one that can make the entire Warner Brothers cast. At least, that's how other balloon twisters are rating their competition.
I hope that this trend ends. It's not that I don't have the utmost respect for someone that can design the balloon equivalent of a famous mouse and his friends. I like making them sometimes. I prefer, however, to create my own figures. I don't want an artform that I've worked on for so long to turn into one that's sole purpose is to mimic another. What makes balloonicatures of famous people different from copying cartoon characters? In order to be considered a success when making cartoon figures, they have to look exactly like the creation. When doing balloonicatures, as caricaturists have known for years, is that the emphasis is on certain physical traits. The image is meant to be funny and interesting. There's more room for creativity and art in what you're doing. Copying another creation using another medium, although a challenge, is still copying.
I have this fear that I've just insulted someone out there. That's not my intent. My goal is to encourage more creativity. If you enjoy making cartoon characters, great. I make a handful of them. I just want to encourage people to experiment and create new and different characters. I get repeat requests for some of the more unusual characters I make that don't resemble anything else. If it looks good, people will like it. It doesn't have to look like some one else's artwork. Creating something completely new has the added benefit of avoiding conflict with copyrights and trademarks.
Creating characters is easier than you might imagine. The easiest head to make is simply a round balloon. The nozzle on the round balloon is a convenient place to attach a smaller round balloon for a nose. For a different shape nose, use a 321 (bee body) instead of the small round balloon. Twist the nozzle and the tail of the 321 to the nozzle of the large round balloon. A heart balloon, twisted in the center (between the lobes), forms two eyes. To give these eyes a bit more character, you can use a clear heart with a couple of balls or marbles inside each lobe of the heart as eyeballs. Hair can be attached by wrapping 130's or 260's around the round balloon and twisting at top and bottom. Simple eye glasses are made just by forming a figure eight with a 260 or 130. You don't need to make a head as large or with as many types of balloons as I've described. For some creations, a single 260 can be used to create an entire head. All that matters is that key features exist. You need to know how to make a few things that can be pieced together. Basic features consist of head, eyes, nose, mouth, ears, and hair. As long as most of those features are there, you're all set.
Let's say you want to model a famous person. Now you can add the bits that will make a figure identifiable. Thanks to a friend of mine, Kevin Kinney, I've been making a Bill Clinton figure that has been a huge success. (With minimal changes it passes as Jay Leno.) What makes Bill stand out from any other person made from a balloon? The chin. In addition, I put a sax in his hands. In any person, find the few physical traits that you can emphasize. To make Groucho Marx, make sure you have glasses, moustache, and cigar. If you have those things, it doesn't matter what the rest of the face looks like. Dizzy Guillespie has huge cheeks and a trumpet. For more ideas look at the political cartoons in your daily paper. Watch a caracaturist to see what he/she focuses on when drawing different people.
Believe it or not, all of that was a lead-in to a question that I receive quite regularly. "How can I learn to make those cartoon character figures?" I hope I've stirred up your thinking on that and gotten a few of you interested in doing something other than cartoon characters. Still, I expect that I won't be able to change the world of balloon art around me, and many people will continue to make those characters. So, in answer to all of the requests, I'd like to mention some sources. John Holmes, from Dallas, TX (972-293-2038, bloonman@airmail.net), has a few video tapes that contain popular characters. Bruce Kalver, from Cranston, RI (401-467-8749, nostalgia1@aol.com), just came out with a tape that contains easy to make figures that we've all seen before. I know there are others. Those are just the ones in my collection. My personal favorite source (but then I'm biased) is Balloon HQ (http://www.fooledya.com/balloon). We have a few cartoon characters there as well as quite a bit of other material.
Now, before I sign off, I'll pose a challenge to other balloon artists. Create your own self portrait out of latex. Personally, I enjoy twisting myself out of balloons. The inevitable comment from the crowd, "oh that's cute," then has special meaning to me.