How to Make Your First Balloon Animal - The Beginner's Guide to Making a Dog Balloon

If you're ready to make your first balloon animal, here's everything that you need to know. We recommend that you watch the techniques to familiarize yourself with them before trying them out, and later watching the segments with balloons in hand to actually perform the techniques. For your convenience, we've listed times for the major techniques in the information section. Let's begin with what you'll need. To start, you'll need balloons. The most popular balloons for twisting are known as 260s. Most of the standard sculptures, including the ones taught in this channel, are geared towards 260 balloons. There are also thinner 160 balloons that are used and preferred by some twisters. You can adapt many balloon designs meant for 260s to 160s, but the thinner balloon creates a different look. Balloon twisters use high quality balloons produced by companies such as Qualitex, which are specifically manufactured for twisting. These balloons come in a wide variety of colors, and you can purchase a bag of like-colored balloons or a bag of mixed colors, typically 100, 144, or 500 to a bag. Expect to pay between seven to ten dollars for a bag of a hundred balloons. While you can go to your local drugstore, general, or party store and purchase long balloons, you'll often find that if you want to create complicated sculptures, these balloons won't be able to handle the stress. To inflate your balloons, you'll need a good balloon pump. If you purchase a kit that comes with balloons and a pump, the pump is probably an inexpensive one that will soon break. Good pumps that are used by the pros are made by Qualitex. Expect to pay about ten dollars for a pump. With balloons and a pump, you're ready to begin basic twisting. If you'd like tips on reducing popping, you'll find a link to our video in the information section below. Slip the open end of the balloon onto the pump's nozzle and inflate the balloon. Since we'll use this balloon to make your first sculpture, leave about two inches of uninflated end. When you make your balloon animal, you'll find that each twist will take up space in the balloon. You'll need this uninflated end to accept the air that is taken by each twist. Take the nozzle end of the balloon off of the pump and pinch it so no air escapes. A technique for reducing stress in a balloon and making it easier to work with is called burping. Here you inflate a balloon to its designated length and before twisting the balloon, you release a bit of air to reduce the balloon's internal pressure and stress. After burping, here's one way to quickly tie the balloon. The basic balloon twist is the foundation for everything that you make. They form the segments of your sculptures. Grasp the balloon in one hand near the nozzle end. Using your right hand, grasp and twist the balloon until you're left with a balloon segment in your left hand. Before you let go of your right hand, be sure to grab the remaining balloon with your left hand to prevent the balloon from untwisting. This is a fundamental balloon twisting skill. You've made a basic balloon twist. Let's go to the next skill that's called the lock twist. The lock twist effectively holds the balloon's segments in place so you can continue to twist and form a sculpture. To start, make three consecutive basic twists to create three balloon segments. When starting out, it's important to try and get the second and third sections as close to each other in size as you can. Notice how the hand has to hold all three balloon segments and the remaining balloon to keep the balloon from untwisting. Take the remainder of the balloon and bend it against the first segment that you've created. You want the bend to occur between your second and third balloon segments that you created with the basic twists. Grab the two segments and twist them at least three times. Think of twisting off the lid of a peanut butter jar. You're effectively twisting the two balloon segments together and isolating them from the rest of the balloon. You'll find that the twists now stay in place. The lock twist forms the basis for such things as the head and ears of a dog sculpture, as well as the legs and body, and more. For completeness, we'll demonstrate a technique for quickly making a lock twist that is faster. Here, you only create two basic twists and form the third twist in the process of making the lock twist. Now that you know how to inflate and tie a balloon and two fundamental twists, let's make your first balloon animal a dog. The dog balloon is the fundamental sculpture in the art of balloon twisting and balloon animals. Many balloon animals such as the deer and giraffe are variations on the dog balloon, and you'll find that the basics that you master when twisting a dog balloon will apply to more difficult balloon sculptures. Inflate the balloon to about two inches from the end. As you learned earlier, twist three basic balloon twists. The first will be about two inches long, which will form the dog's snout. The second and third twists will be smaller, about an inch each, to form the dog's ears. Try to get the second and third twists even in size. Bend the main body of the balloon against the first twist to prepare to make a lock twist. Be sure to bend the balloon between the second and third segments, or the ears. Now make a lock twist by turning the second and third segments, or the ears, together at least three times. With the lock twist, you'll find that the segments stay in place and you will have formed the dog's head. The next two major steps to make the front and back legs are essentially the same sequences, but with different proportions. As before, you'll twist three basic balloon twists. The first will be about two inches long, which will form the dog's neck. The second and third twists will be about three inches in length to form the dog's front legs. Try and get the second and third twists even in size. You've formed the dog's neck and front legs. To finish your dog, repeat the steps. Make a basic twist about two inches long, which will form the dog's body. The second and third twists will be about three inches in length to form the dog's back legs. Try and get the second and third twists even in size. You've formed the body and the back legs of the dog. The remaining balloon forms the dog's tail. You've done it! As mentioned earlier, the dog balloon animal forms the basis for a host of other animals. To start, by simply altering the proportions, you can easily make a giraffe by giving the dog an extra long neck. And you can make a wiener dog by giving the dog an extra long body and short legs. And you'll find that once you can easily make a dog, you'll have the skills to make a host of other animals. Just for fun, here's a fast dog balloon that employs the shortcuts mentioned in the lock twist section. Hope that you found this video useful. On our YouTube page, you'll find video instructions to make lots of other balloon animals and sculptures. We've also included links to these videos in the information section below. And don't forget to subscribe to keep up with the latest videos. Thanks for watching and good luck in your balloon animal making!