June 30 - Jojo Parrot

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be."

~ Douglas Adams

Rose up this morning, smiled at the purple one,
Three little birds, with drunken hiccups,
There were parrots, there was one red - one blue, 

And one white cockatoo-oo-ooo.

Singing, "Where's wormy?  Roundish thing?

We're not the early birds, but we've been up all night!"

Singing, "Hey wormy!  'Ring-a-ling!'.

I think that was your clock, and I see sunlight!"

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I have no idea what I'm doing anymore.

Something to do with parrots drunkenly hitting on the early worm I think.  That's a thing, right?  

Made in Tobi Twist's Jojo style!


(view other birds or jojos)

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Other balloons by and inspired by Tobi Twist:

February 4 - Iso Macaw

"Live in such a way that you would not be ashamed to sell your parrot to the town gossip."

~ Will Rogers

A Macaw really is a cool bird, like an exploded rainbow of color.

This design comes from a recent video by Isopresso, who has an uncanny knack for crafting elegant animal forms.   They're so good though perhaps they are actually capturing animals and performing some sort of latex taxidermy.  

Either way... I have a lot of fun work to catch up on!

     
(view other parrots or birds)

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Other balloons by and inspired by Isopresso:

January 13 - Loopy Birdz

"Are birds free from the chains of the skyway?"

~ Bob Dylan Ballad in Plain D

A balloon concept won't be good for everything.  Loopy Headz focuses on the head and neck area, some things that rely on a body shape would not work without adding that as an element.  A camel for example, or a meerkat

Birds are one of those things that don't really work - relying on wings and having a distinctive beak instead of a smooshy face.  So really we are just talking about a level of willingness to compromise.  

I wasn't every really content with how the wings looked, especially when twisted into the bas.  It was a bit better when I made a bit of a tail feather for them to twist into for the bald eagle.  The wings I like the best though were just loose fitting wing hands (the bottom image).

(view other birds or bees)

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Other balloons by and inspired by the David Brenn:

December 1 - Rob's Parrot

Intellectual is a parrot; wise man is a crow. One is repetitive; other is creative!

~ Mehmet Murat Ildan

Can you tell I just got a delivery of the latest Balloon Magic magazine?  One of my friends and probably one of the most frequent contributors to the magazine has a model included in the latest issue that I wanted to try.  Rob Balchunas, better known by his name and tagline - Rob the Balloon Guy (that's just his name don't rob him) created this parrot.

I first built it with colors matching the magazine.  It's getting darker earlier and earlier, so I quickly took a picture outside thinking it was going to be too late by the time I built another.

I looked up images of parrots when building the second so I could more closely match colors and decided to try a different foot style.  These are fairly quickly built so I rushed back outside for a couple more pictures and it was only then that I realized I had accidently reversed the wings!  It was almost dark o'clock, so I left them that way but I think it still looks okay with them flipped around.

One other thing that I want to mention about Rob - he is the designer and creator of my favorite balloon bag, the Bagchunas.  This bag was not only designed by a professional, but every stitch was sewn by him as well, it is craftsmanship that has been fine tuned to create the perfect bag.   He doesn't actively attempt to sell them, there are a few other brands that really tend to push their wares, some even defining themselves by the comparison to a Bagchunas.  You would do well to investigate, they're worth it.  (Bagchunas Website)

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Other balloon designs by Rob:

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November 28 - Sabina's Parrot

"When eagles are silent, parrots begin to chatter."

~ Winston Churchill

Sabina Kellner has a PDF that shows off her neat weaving technique, but you'll have to contact her directly on Facebook to purchase it.

You can use it to weave both circles and straight lines - everything holds together very tightly, and she does a great job with both computer art and photos to show you how to use it, taking you through a number of designs to practice along the way of learning.  This parrot design is the reason I bought the PDF, I love the look of these wings!  This technique works great for feathers, fish scales, flower petals, a cloak or a good variety of other things that look good in a pattern.

I tried making a different color parrot and switched up the wings a little bit - but I attached them backwards and they took some effort and tying to get to keep their form.  The only thing that worries me about this design is I think it might be a short lived creation using all those 160's and manhandling them into place.

Great technique to play with!

Cheese!

May 28 - Parrot

Parrot Normal

“He's not pining, he's passed on. This parrot is no more. He has ceased to be. He's expired and gone to meet his maker. He's a stiff, bereft of life, he rests in peace. If you hadn't have nailed him to the perch he'd be pushing up the daisies. He's rung down the curtain and joined the choir invisible. This is an ex-parrot!”
~ John Cleese Dead Parrot Sketch (link)

Bauldy the Clown is a balloon superhero, the better-known alter ego of Richard Rivera.  He has a personality that barely fits in a room, the kind of guy when you walk in you notice because of a big booming laugh or the crowd of people gathered around him as he tells a story. He adds the "wow factor" to his creations, his words - it's really another name for "balloon wizardry". Just look at this madness!

Bauldy (with his well manicured eyebrows) has generously shared many of his designs on YouTube and at conventions, and takes it to the next level. He has a DVD (Bauldy's Favorites) I have on my list to get as well. I feel shame that I haven't yet - he deserves it.

I was lucky enough to meet Bauldy at Florida Super Jam in 2015. I was already a big fan of his YouTube videos, and introduced myself saying as much while he was in front of someone who knew him much better, poor guy had to suffer through "ooOOOOoooOOoooo Baullldeee got a faaAAAAannnn!" jeers, sorry man. :)

He was gracious enough to show a few things in the jam room and I hovered close to try and learn.  This was one of those designs, I love the texture the striations give on the stretched dipped tip of the 321.  And the colors! You could build this in more traditional colors or make it amazingly colorful - this could be themed to any sports team/school/whatever, this is a GREAT bird design.

Parrot Noid	Dox
Carrot (because he's ORANGE! HAHAHA!)	A pandemonium of parrots!
"Parrot Dox, he's his own grandpa!"