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Okay, here's the deal - I have a website, Balloon-A-Day, that I've been twisting balloons for. Alas, I've slipped behind, mostly because I just can't come up with something to make. I'm used to working by request, after all.  And thus, I turn to you! I've got a fairly long list of things that I can do, which is in text form here: http://balloonaday.com/balloonlist.txt - choose something from there, or come up with something new. However, I like a good challenge. Feel free to request anything you'd like to see. But I need to ask one thing in return: Keep it clean, please. Don't ask for dicks, or anything like that. I'll just ignore you. I like being able to show it off to family.  Here's a couple of challenges I've done: Megaman:  Angler Fish:  Yoda:  Edit: Here's the current list of requests - I'll go through them in no particular order. *  action* Unicorn Vs. Cyber-Dolphin * * * * Goomba * Ouroboros * Hypercube * DNA * * Hot Air Balloon * * * Elvis * Gargoyle * Crow T. Robot *  Done.* Headcrab Hat * * Shyguy * Battle Axe * * Big Daddy * Mosquito * Yawnycat from my avatar. TwystNeko fucked around with this message at 06:05 on Nov 26, 2007 |
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Nov 11, 2007 13:43
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(sigh) How did I know that would be the first couple of posts.  Anyways.. Devyl, I've made a T-Rex here: http://balloonaday.com/2007/09/21/dinosaur/ And my Alien is here:  I need to redo him and put him on the site, actually.
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Nov 11, 2007 13:56
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hah, 3 requests already made - 2 on the site already - Dark Gray Fox, here's the Prince: http://balloonaday.com/2007/10/22/the-prince/ Ms. Manchair: I'm currently working on the Panda - I've not actually made one before, telling little kids that a teddy bear is the same thing.  Which, to them, it is.So, here's the first draft:  I'm going to shoot for one a day, especially in the case of some of the more complex ones, like the butterfly guitar.
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Nov 11, 2007 14:19
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The hypercube would be easy - it's all just straight lines. The Grim Reaper is really stylized, I might give him a shot. I can do Mario's face, surprisingly. But I've never done a goomba. On my list-to-do. If you check out the list I linked in the first post, there's a bunch of stuff on there that people have mentioned - Eiffel Tower, for example. Also, look at my site - I may have already done something you've requested.
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Nov 11, 2007 15:47
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Clamwacker posted:Well if you don't like Ouroboros (use the angler fish head!), then my new request is Spuds MacKenzie. Oh, I have an idea on how to make him. It'll just be a big project. There's two ways to do his body, that I can think of. Sorry! Didn't mean to skip yours. 
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Nov 11, 2007 15:58
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I'm well aware of what a hypercube is. I'd like to see ANYONE make a functional one. :V But if I do the Ouroboros, I guess I'll wrap him around the hypercube for you.
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Nov 11, 2007 16:20
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c0ldfuse posted:I prefer something far more simple: a description of how you got into this field and how you have honed your skills (or even how you conceptualize) these amazing works. I've been making balloons for about 16 years or so - I was given a book for Christmas one year. Then I saw someone twisting balloon animals at a festival, for tips, and it just clicked. As for conceptualizing, I just pick the most identifiable part of an object and work from there. I'm a very visual, hands-on person. I can twist a balloon into anything, but I can't draw worth crap. Also, I bring you the Butterfly Guitar:  Here's a breakdown of how I built it - the first and most obvious part was the central "wings" - I used fully inflated heart-shaped balloons, as they have a handy groove to wrap the gray balloon around. Then, I made the spacer. You'll have to forgive some of the "artistic license" here - In general, balloons will only allow a maximum of 6 nodes from a given point - I fudge a little here by using a black 160q balloon as the center of the "wing". The central red part of the body is actually a double layer, as is the black part - this keeps the heart balloons aligned the way I want them.
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Nov 12, 2007 04:32
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HedgeHodge posted:I challenge you to do something better than a balloon artist friend of mine who made Spiderman and Yoda costumes from balloons. I'll try and find the pictures of them. Hmm. Does a 7-foot tall, frost-breathing blue dragon count?  It's not the best one I've done, but I don't have the pictures of the earlier versions. That one was a bit of a rush job, and I didn't put as much time into as I needed to.
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Nov 12, 2007 04:37
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Alas, no. That's really all I have. I used to have a photo of my dragon from about 2003, which was WAY better. Also, I don't think I could do a balloon of me making a balloon (the scale would get too small) but if you're interested, there's a couple of videos on my site of how to make balloons. TwystNeko fucked around with this message at 04:51 on Nov 12, 2007 |
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Nov 12, 2007 04:46
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Hey, there's nothing wrong with Pokemon. I get kids asking for them all the time. But as for most adorable, I'll have to argue that is clearly the best.  And Rampager - I did something like 4 days worth of Pirate stuff for Talk Like A Pirate Day! I might do more tutorials, but it's a real hassle to do them - I have to record the sound via my headset, as the camera only picks up the squeaking of the balloons - then synch everything up. Windows Movie Maker kinda sucks for that. TwystNeko fucked around with this message at 07:18 on Nov 12, 2007 |
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Nov 12, 2007 07:16
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Latest Request completed: The Facehugger. Cornbeef: It's all woven together - there's about 300+ balloons in there. inky101: they last a few days. Since you ask, I'll take a pic of Megaman in about a week or so, since I still have him lying around, and you'll see the difference.
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Nov 12, 2007 10:30
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Well, I do make decent money off ballooning - I'm just kind of lazy, and prefer to do it as a hobby, with the occasional booking. I try and avoid birthday parties, since they're generally looking for a clown. And I'm not a clown, dammit! As for costs, a bag of 100 balloons, in a solid color, costs about $7. Doesn't seem like a lot, I know. But consider: There's 27 colors for the 260q balloons - of which I stock 26. (I don't use Ivory Silk, because it's just barely not white. Kind of redundant). Then there's 160q balloons - I cheat a little on these, and get a bag of assorted, and one bag of each of brown, lime green, and black. And those are a bit more expensive, about $10/bag. Then I like to have an assortment of 5" hearts - and that's 2 bags: Assorted colors, and Red/White/Pink. That's $30. I also have various other balloons in different sizes - Alien face in lime green, assorted happy faces, 646q in assorted colors, and random 5" and larger round balloons. To fully stock up, I'm looking about $400. And that's at wholesale prices. Oh, and the apron? Professionally made by a company called Twist-Em-Up. Expensive, but well worth the money. As a side note - All balloons I use are made by Qualatex, since they pretty much make the best quality balloons out there. The designations are simple. First digit is how wide they are, and the last two are how long they are fully inflated. 260q = 2" wide, 60" long, made by Qualatex. Balloons are also single use only. You can't just untie a balloon and re-inflate it.
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Nov 12, 2007 12:01
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Why haven't you READ THE FIRST POST YET?
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Nov 12, 2007 13:30
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I guess to head off MORE people requesting it, I'll do that one next.
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Nov 12, 2007 13:39
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I don't get this "Robert Frost" bit. Care to enlighten me? Anyways... A Big Daddy would be pretty cool, but hard. I don't know how soon I'd tackle him - I'm still building it in my head. Also, if you're requesting something uncommon, please include a picture so I have something to work from.
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Nov 12, 2007 14:15
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angerbotSD posted:In the game Grim Fandango you can get a balloon shaped like Robert Frost's head. You use it to scare some pigeons. Ah. So it's like "Make me a Tommy Gun!" after the Mask came out, or "Make me a Bicycle, Clown!" from The Wedding Crashers.  But hey, get me a pic of this balloon, and I'll do my best. TwystNeko fucked around with this message at 14:46 on Nov 12, 2007 |
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Nov 12, 2007 14:43
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Latest Request: Unweighted Companion Cube.  This one... was a pain in the rear end to make. That's about 15 balloons there. And yes, it has black hearts. Oh well.
TwystNeko fucked around with this message at 16:52 on Nov 12, 2007 |
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Nov 12, 2007 16:38
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True. But all I've got is a black marker. Gimme a sec, and I'll do that, I guess.
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Nov 12, 2007 16:43
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Klams Jam posted:Did you just knock that up, from scratch, in a few hours? God I would have thought they'd take loads of planning. Sir, you have an awesome talent! Took about 45 minutes, to be honest. I actually had to restart it - I knew how I wanted the corners, but it wouldn't work the way I tried first.
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Nov 12, 2007 17:00
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I'm going to hold off on festive stuff until later in the season - I have lots of Christmassy stuff I can do. tys posted:Does the back of the companion cube look all weird or does it have a consistent look throughout? Yes, actually. I don't cheat like that. Ichron posted:Superheroes can provide a big supply for you to think of making. I already do a Hulk and Spiderman. Silver Surfer would turn out too much like the Gray Surfer, though. As for wearable claws, sure, I could make them. Wearable stuff is always popular. Hadra posted:could you make a martini glass, complete with olive? Sure can!
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Nov 12, 2007 19:15
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Okay, one last creation for the day: Metroid!  I don't want to do too many per day, as I want to space them out on my site.
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Nov 12, 2007 20:20
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Right now, I'm technically unemployed. Dell laid me off mid-october, and gave me a nice severance package, so I've got a buffer. I'm also a freelance programmer, and have some coding work I'm doing right now on a long-term basis. As for how much I can make doing this? I charge about $125 an hour, depending on the type of event. If it were summer, I'd be doing the festivals here in Edmonton - I can typically make $200 a day busking at a festival. It's hard work, believe it or not - a 4-hour paid booking leaves me exhausted. Maybe I'm just out of shape.
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Nov 12, 2007 20:34
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Dubious Merit posted:A bit of a technique question: what do your fingernails look like, or is it a misapprehension that a smooth manicure will help reduce balloon doggie miscarriages? I've made the occasional balloon animal and towards the end the suspense is terrible. As for storage, you really just want to keep the balloons out of direct sunlight, they start to degrade and become brittle. I have a big rubbermaid storage bin I keep them in. Armorall just makes the balloons slippery. Not good for twisting. Typical posted:Kalimdor's Revenge!!!
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Nov 12, 2007 22:14
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drat Bananas posted:Chiming in to say you're AMAZING! I fiddled with balloons for a while, and the most interesting thing I ever made was a unicorn with wings and a foot long horn First trick: realize you don't need to use the whole balloon. Underinflate stuff. Also, scissors. I snip knots off, for example - but I also cut balloons all over the place, when needed. As for a stegosaurus.. The version I make is a hat. Sorry! v:(v But, just for you, I'll see if I can't come up with something better. Also, I have a request. If you've been to my site, you've seen that I don't have a header up top. As I said, I'm completely crap when it comes to drawing, but if someone could run with the "Balloon a Day" concept and make a header for me, it would be awesome. I used to have a photo of spiralled balloons, but it was kinda meh. And I just found out that I can forward-date posts on my site - and they won't show up until that date!  So I'll pick up the pace here a bit.Edit: Xenon: sadly, a 260q balloon, when fully inflated with helium, barely floats. If I'm going to twist the balloon, well, it's not gonna float. That being said, I do have a really cool flying fish balloon I'll do, next time I get access to some helium.
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Nov 12, 2007 22:42
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Fine."
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Alrighty, first request today: Chocobo!  I made his beak a little too long, but I like him. Ramapger: not bad, you did a nice job of cutting out the balloons. Oh, and I should have specified - the image header on the site is 950x200. 
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Nov 13, 2007 09:23
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Newest balloon, not a request: The Cake is not a lie!  However, it's neither delicious, nor moist.
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Nov 13, 2007 10:08
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Well, a stargate balloon would lose a lot of detail - it'd be basically a ring. As consolation, I did this: 
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Nov 13, 2007 12:32
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Suenteus Po posted:Saw Vita papercraft on your Flickr page while trying to figure out what that Stargate thing is. Vita is awesome. Any chance I could get the instructions for her? Ah yes. Papercraft. The hobby I can only do at work. I've got the Vita pattern around here somewhere - If I can find it, I'll post a link. And I use glue for that - applied with a toothpick. batsarse posted:THat's amazing. I know I'm going to sound ignorant when I ask what it is, but I love it all the same. It's the coverstone of the original Stargate, from the movie. Etched in brass.
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Nov 13, 2007 19:36
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Yojimb0 posted:Wait, and you made it? The original? I mean, it's still really impressive if you made a reproduction, but if you seriously made the ORIGINAL from the movie, I elect you GBS King of Crafts. And judging by those DIY threads, that means a lot
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Nov 13, 2007 21:13
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Latest Request: Mario!  Can you guess what game I just got? 
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Nov 13, 2007 22:01
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Latest Request: Poison Frog  Be careful! No licking!
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Nov 14, 2007 16:44
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Woop! double post with double balloony goodness! Goomba:  I figured I'd exaggerate his angry eyebrows a bit.
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Nov 14, 2007 17:16
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So! I haven't forgotten this thread - I've just been a bit busy with the new WoW patch, parents visiting, and some balloon decorating. I bring you a couple more balloons: Fieldmouse  and Grim Reaper, from Billy & Mandy  I'll pop up some more requests soon!
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Nov 18, 2007 04:57
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delirious pancake posted:This is amazing! I love 'em all, but Grim's little ruffly edges are just so cute in particular. Actually, I just learned an awesome snail. Well, not so much "learned" as "saw the finished product and glanced over the instructions". Several of the things I do I've shamelessly swiped from magazine covers or ads. And yes, there IS a dedicated magazine, called "Balloon Magic". I don't subscribe, though.
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Nov 18, 2007 06:14
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MY POKEYMANS, LET ME SHOW YOU THEM! Pikachu:  Wooper!  And I hear you like Mudkip: 
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Nov 21, 2007 18:14
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Albino Squirrel: yea, the cold affects outside ballooning - it causes the latex to lose its elasticity, and become brittle. muppet: Hmm, how could I guess what you'd ask for? I've been doing balloons for about 16 or 17 years now, and I've just always been able to "transfer" a visual image into a balloon. That being said, here's another: Squid:  I suppose, with a bit of work, I could make a Cthulu out of him.
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Nov 24, 2007 22:40
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Latest Update: Cthulu:  
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Nov 26, 2007 06:04
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Latest Update: Stewie!  As for the StayPuft Marshmallow Man.. I'll get to him eventually. I do plan on trying to do everything that gets suggested (within reason - again, I'm ignoring the lewd requests.)
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Nov 27, 2007 06:09
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I just thought of something neat to do. I can't do it right now (it's too late at night, and my housemates would get mad at me). I just got a brand-spanking-new webcam, and I'm willing to let people watch as I create the next balloon. So. Things I kinda need: 1. Is there a free, easy way to let a bunch of people view a webcam stream? 2. What's a good time to do this? (as I write this, it's 12:30am - I'm in Edmonton, so that's Mountain time) 3. Does this sound like a good idea?
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Nov 27, 2007 08:29
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Alrighty. So here's the plan. I've set up a Stickam account, here. I'm thinking mid-afternoon tomorrow, about 3:30 Mountain time, is when I'll fire up the cam. Now, what I'll do, is take a request live. Depending on the complexity, I might do two creations. The reason I'll do this tomorrow, is so that I can have a chance to clean up first. 
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Nov 27, 2007 22:10
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