Make a Balloon Sculpture

Visit my gallery page to find instructions for all balloons previously posted.

ACE, the Flying Fish

from S.C.U.B.A. VBS


OK. So maybe he looks more like Captain Crunch than Ace. If you have a better version, let me know. I'll put the best version on this page. In the mean time, here's my first shot at it.

You begin with the hat. Take a cocoa brown balloon and inflate it, leaving about a 4-inch tail. Make a 3-inch bubble followed by four 4-inch bubbles. Connect the first and last twists to make a diamond shape.
Next make a 5-inch bubble followed by three 3-inch bubbles. Make these last three bubbles into a 3-bubble loop, enclosing the center twists of the diamond you made earlier. This should leave you with just enough balloon for a 5-inch bubble to complete the top of the hat, and a 3-inch bubble for the opposite earflap.

Top of Hat
Inflate a yellow 260 leaving about a 2-inch tail. Twist the nozzle to the front of the hat. Make two half-inch bubbles and then a 5-inch bubble. Loop twist the 5-inch bubble for the nose. Next, do a 3-inch, 6-inch, 3-inch to outline the mouth.

Make about a 5-inch bubble and lock it to the back of the hat to stabilize the face. For simple eyes, inflate about 8 inches of a white balloon and make two 4-inch bubbles. Pinch twist both of them and fasten it between the two 1-inch bubbles above the nose. Draw the pupils with a marker. If you prefer the google eyes, you can put two balloon seeds into a clear 260, and proceed as above, making sure one seed is in each of the two eyes.
It takes two more balloons to fill out the body. The first will take the shape shown here. Leave about 4 inches uninflated. Make a 1-inch pinch twist in the knot end, followed by a 3-inch bubble and a 6-inch loop twist for the pectoral fins. Make a small pinch twist to help stabilize the loop twist. A 4-inch bubble completes one side. Make the other side the same as the first side, ending with a 1-inch bubble. The bubbles at each end are the cheeks, fastened to the corners of the mouth. Attach the center of this balloon to the first balloon behind the hat. Make two loop twists in the remainder of the first balloon for tail fins.
Inflate the last balloon completely and release a little air to soften it. Make a twist in the middle of the balloon (shown as orange in this picture) and attach it behind the nose. On each side, bring the balloon to the tail and twist it in place (bubble #1). Bring both ends forward, beneath the pectoral fins, and twist them together (bubble #2). Bring the ends up and attach to the corners of the mouth (#3), and tuck any remaining balloon (#4) into the body. A small piece of a red balloon can be tied inside the body and allowed to stick out front for the tongue.
Here's a version submitted by Dave Truitt. He uses the solid eyes and a marker, giving a different effect. I like his proportions, too (it doesn't look like Cap'n Crunch!)