Easy Steps for Balloon Animals

Series Summary

Balloon animals are always a hit at kids' parties. They may look easy in the hands of an expert, but quality balloon animals are works of insight and creativity. Artists who twist and shape balloons into shapes such as animals and other various toys are known as balloon modelers or balloon twisters, and are usually contorting long, cylindrical balloons into said shapes for entertainment purposes such as children's birthday parties or celebrations. Street artisans and clowns are popular balloon modelers, and though the practice might seem benign to those who don't have the skill, but the art of balloon shaping requires a fair amount of skill.

While some modelers use a single balloon to create their animals or shapes, many use multiple balloons. Those who have been practicing the art for any serious amount of time or have gained the appropriate skill level usually don't restrict themselves to one type of twisting. For most of us, balloon art is best appreciated at a circus or fair, as a child's face lights up with happiness upon realizing a simple balloon has become an animal or toy just for them. Learn easy steps and techniques for creating balloon shapes and animals in this free instructional series.

Video Transcript

"Hi. My name's Dan McLellan and we're with Expert Village. Today we're learning how to make balloon animals. Something you may have wondered how to do yourself if you've ever been at a restaurant and gotten a balloon from a balloon artist or in a park or maybe at a kid's birthday party. Constantly I'm being asked how do Ayou learn how to make balloon animals. Well today, I'm going to teach you the basics on how to make them. I've been making balloons for fifteen years. I got recruited by a clown named Doony out of Chuck E. Cheese to work events for a company called Picnic People in San Diego which does corporate parties and events. And that's where it all began for me fifteen years ago. Since then I have literally traveled the world making balloons on the streets of London, doing restaurants in San Diego. I've made them on cruise ships as a cruise ship director and all this time I've had just a blast, a lot of fun making balloons. Sometimes the greatest time you have is when you're not even making money. You're just there to show off and to put some smiles on people's faces. Which includes for me an experience of making balloons at a little small village in Chiapas Mexico. So whether you want to make a few dollars at this, or perhaps you just want to entertain and put some smiles on some people's faces, this is a great skill to have. The best thing is, you don't have to be an artist. You don't have to be an expert. It's all really simple when you break it down to simple steps and that's what we're going to do for you today is break down the basic steps. We'll teach you how to inflate a balloon, how to tie off a balloon. We'll also show you how to make a basic balloon creation and even we'll show you how to make a complex balloon creation. Balloons can be as simple or as complex as you want them to be. It's really up to your imagination once you learn the basics of how to make balloons. So come along on the great journey and maybe you'll be embarking on to something new in your life that will bring you hours and hours of entertainment and make you the center of attention at parties."