Date: Thu, 17 Feb 2000 10:26:24 +0100 From: Jan Lissens W 51737 <lissensj@access.bel.alcatel.be> To: Jonas Karlsson <vibono_magic@swipnet.se>, Subject: Discworld Balloons...Some ideas and the Death of Rats Jonas Karlsson wrote: > Hi > > After beeing introduced to discworld not long ago i realy liked the charecters. Can you please tell me how to do some of them? > > Best regards > Jonas Karlsson > VIBONO MAGIC > SWEDEN I`m still working on them, but here are some preliminary ideas Many of the characters are more or less humanoid (except maybe Nobby, who was expelled from the human race for shoving), so in many casess humanoid figures will do. Discerning details can be added on with a marker. If you make a human figure, give it a pointy hat, and write `Wizzard` on it, it is a passable Rincewind. Twoflower is a small chubby human with slanted eyes and glasses. According to the books, he looks somewhat chinese.Using weaving techniques, it is possible to make a `wooden` travelling chest. Giving it legs along the bottom edge, and teeth, and maybe a large red tongue (a 260 large bubble with a tight loop round it), gives you the Luggage. Death is a skeleton, which can be made as a one-balloon figure or more detailed as a large multi-balloon. However, the black robe, as I indicated in my previous post, still escapes me for the moment. Important here are the blue eyes. Trolls are large, muscled humanoid figures. This should be done with orange and yellow (if you look for inspiration in Josh Kirby`s cover illustrations, that is). If you go to the photo section and look under my name, you`ll see a picture of a small two-balloon dragon I created. If you make this in green, you get a Swamp Dragon A while ago, I posted instructions for a Rizzo the Rat sculpture. Adapting this, you get a Death of Rats. 1. Inflate a white 260. Leave about 6 fingers of uninflated portion 2. Make a 1.5 inch bubble and before you twist it, squeeze some air out of it to make it thinner and pointier 3. Make a small pinch twist and twist in half. 4. Make a 1.5 inch bubble 5. Make one pinch twist (in Rizzo`s case, there were two, for the ears, but since skeletons have no ears, this pinch twist is just to give the head the right shape) 6. Make a 2 inch bubble for the neck The head is almost finished. With some leftover blue (preferrably 160), make two small bubbles for the eyes and insert them into the split twist. Position thus that the white bubbles of the split twist are positioned above the blue bubbles. For the rest of the body: 1. Make two small side-by-side pinch twists to hold up tghe neck 2. Make a birdbody for the chest 3. Finish off with two small loops (hipbones...you know...a birdbody connected to the ...hipbones....the hipbones connected to the etc...) The arms and legs are fairly standard, but make them out of white 160s for a skinnier look, A 160 filled with air, but not actually inflated is the tail. With a black marker, draw on teeth, ribs, rings on the tail For the moment, drape a piece of black foil round it for the cloak, and tie with ininflated a set of weaved, ininflated dark 160s (a rope). If I or anybody else comes up with better ideas, I`ll let you know. The Scythe: Make a 10 inch black 160 bubble with a double pinch twist at the end. Make a 5 inch bubble with a silver or white 160. Bend it to make oit rounded and attach it at a right angle to the black 160 staff. I can picture a more elaborate scythe, but I will need to try it first. I suppose I could go wild and make a large turtle with four balloon elephants and a disc on it, but that one `ll need some thought. But, as they say, if you can picture it, you can twist it. If I come up with creations good enough to share, I`ll make some pictures and post them with accompanying instructions For now, De Chelonian Mobile, people !!!! Jan the Trekkie Twister, (living on a flat world carried by four gigantic elephants, walking circles on the shell of Great A`Tuin the Stellar Turtle, who swims lazily through the void....) For