March 31 - Koala Loop-Head

"Our task must be to free ourselves by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty."

~ Albert Einstein

Playing around some more with the Loop-Head technique Mr. Boma teaches, this koala is one he shows in an example with a similar body to the panda.

I might replace the panda with this in a few days ... 




(view other koala)

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Other Mr. Boma inspired balloons:

March 30 - Panda Loop-Head

“The gypsies believe the bear to be a brother to man because he has the same body beneath his hide, because he drinks beer, because he enjoys music and because he likes to dance.”

~ Ernest Hemingway

The houses in my neighborhood have started hiding bears in windows as a scavenger hunt and activity for the younger kids.   This was what I put in ours, I thought white would be bright and visible - but I might swap this out for something more colorful soon.

This design is Mr. Boma's updated Loop-Head (link), used in a couple of his designs.   It's always fun to kick the brain bag around with a balloon concept ... hmmm.



(view other panda)

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Other Mr. Boma inspired balloons:

March 29 - thoustfoolishwormes

"Excuse my scribbling, it is late, and I have a poor candle."

~ Henri Rousseau

Thoustfoolishwormes (a great username!) is a young artist from the United States on DeviantArt that was offering a "Skiggity Sketch" commission that I thought would be a fun addition to this collection.

Simple and effective and distinctive and quick - everything I was hoping for.  I was in the process of removing the "what a cutie!!" scribble from the background when I noticed that it was also their signature.

March 28 - KuroCyanide

"When the working day is done, girls they just want to have fun."

~ Cyndi Lauper

KuroCyanide is a fairly new DeviantArtist from the Philippines that specializes in drawing beautiful girls and anime, but was willing to use our pig as inspiration - this is what they came up with.

I really appreciate that they got the spirit of the exercise splendidly, making a pig when you specialize in making cute anime girls would be a weird ask, incorporating it in some way into what you already do well is perfect.

Plus the drawing has a sense of ... urgency ... to it?  The pose is making me think that she was sprinting to prevent some sort of high-school drama from happening (like stop a cute guy from seeing he's on her top 10 list), and came sliding to a halt - mouth agape as she was seconds too late.

March 21 - m0lice

I have come to accept your feelings for me. I congratulate you for acknowledging my superiority in choosing me as your love-pig. FEEL HONORED!

~ Zim (Richard Steven Horvitz), Invader Zim

m0lice is a DeviantArtist with a collection of Invader Zim inspired space aliens and the creator of this "Pig of the Week".

My confession is that I had to do a little research on Invader Zim.  I've "noticed" it and appreciate the style, but I had never watched an episode until earlier today.  But a one sentence synopsis would be:  The Irkins send out emissaries to every planet the prepare for conquest and Zim is, in the simplest terms, the extremely enthusiastic idiot sent to earth and disguises himself as a school kid.

I get the feeling this little guy costs a fortune in vet bills ("What did he eat this time?").  I can easily imagine it reaching up a dirty paw to >scritch scritch< it's neck.

March 20 - Elderly Man

“If you want happiness for an hour – take a nap.
If you want happiness for a day – go fishing.
If you want happiness for a month – get married.
If you want happiness for a year – inherit a fortune.
If you want happiness for a lifetime – help someone else.”

~ Chinese Proverb

I binged on a hidden camera YouTube series recently (大树君TreeMan) about social experiments in China.  It was touching to see people care for the elderly in a way I haven't typically seen in my own country.  I can't help but compare my previous interactions and assumptions and feel some shame - I'm inspired to be a better human being because of these videos, well worth a watch.  Here is a perfect example - when an old man is eating bread on the street.

Playing around with my bag of orphan balloons, I came up with a bearded face I liked.

March 18 - Amalgam

“We're all ghosts. We all carry, inside us, people who came before us.”

~ Liam Callanan, The Cloud Atlas

It's probably a good thing we can't see ghosts.

Most of them are terribly sad, they live with the regret of things undone, and wander aimlessly unable to affect the world.  They drift aimlessly, slowly deteriorating until they are absorbed by an Amalgam.

It's not  a cruelty, an Amalgam is somewhat janitor for the realm, and once it has grown sufficiently large it will return once again to join with the Great Progenitor.

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I wanted to play around with the robe style I used in Fiddler on the Green, but it didn't quite work out the way I expected.  Having multiple heads made the pattern less precise ...

March 17 - Bananaman ,,, again?

Anything can happen. The great banana peel of existence is always on the floor somewhere.

~ Robert Fulghum

Usually I'll make something and be done with, perhaps it's carried forward in some fashion like a specific technique or a concept, but I don't think I've ever posted the same thing twice.  Bananaman was just a dorky little idea, I know.

It was in the wastebasket.  Done, moving on.

There was a record screech moment yesterday morning when I was thinking it would have been funny to show someone slipping on a banana peel ... and out from the wastebasket crawled:

"Bananaman 2:  Slipping on a Human Peel"

March 16 - Bananaman

"Love isn’t a state of perfect caring. It is an active noun like “struggle.” To love someone is to strive to accept that person exactly the way he or she is, right here and now."

~ Fred Rogers

In 1983 there was a BBC cartoon series called Bananman, where a little boy would get his powers by eating a banana and (like a hybrid Popeye-Shazam) transformed into Bananaman to save the day as superhero crime-fighter, all resolved in under 5 minutes.

I watched quite a few episodes looking for an interesting catchphrase or a catchphrase or ... interesting.  I think this was back before people cared if things were good and were just banking on the fact that it's "animated so kids will love it - plus it's got such a positive message about bananas".

Thank you for being you, and understanding me, Mr. Rogers.

What would Bananaman be like if Fred was in charge? ... well for one thing I would probably eat them despite a little bruising.  They would never get thrown away uneaten.  ... and I would have an amazing composting system.  I miss you, Mr. Rogers.

Kaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy....

March 14 - Phanduy

“When art critics get together they talk about Form and Structure and Meaning. When artists get together they talk about where you can buy cheap turpentine.”

~ Pablo Picasso

Phanduy is a Fiverr professional caricature artist from Vietnam with his rendering.

I've misspelled caricature more times in two sentences more than I care to admit.  So I hope it's clear that I'm sincere when I say that I did not consider that the "funny" of a caricature lies in an exaggerated feature of an otherwise really good copy of a subject.

This pig already wears a massively goofy expression, this was a perfectly executed terrible idea.

There are diminishing returns on making something silly "sillier".  It's half steps towards a wall of goofy infinity.   This looks like a caricature you might get done at an amusement park on vacation with your parents, which sounds harsh but meant as a compliment!  It's all that without the cotton candy bellyache.

March 12 - Tsuru

"9 out of 10 things are really just a set-up for that amazing 10th spark of brilliance."

~ Michael Floyd (paraphrasing)

The Balloon Blast Show is back in force and on schedule for Season 6!  Dan Staples was talking on a recent episode (link) about "silly ideas you just can't get out of your head".  This was one that wouldn't get out of my brain meat - Origami Tsuru.

The tsuru or "bird" is the first origami almost everyone learns, one of the simplest bases and contains the fundamentals from which most all other origami derives from in some fashion.  It's the paper balloon dog if you will.

I included the crease pattern to show how it's constructed from one square balloon.  😂 Origami humor.  Look, I realize the only one laughing is me - and I'm doing it right now as I type this like some sort of madman ... but that is like crazy laughter fuel.

Origami has been something I have been doing (again) the past couple years.  It fulfills the need to create, but less so the need to be creative.  Like following a complex and precise alchemy formula, you can absolutely be creative with Origami, but it takes a high level of expertise and knowledge and patience that I lack.  I'm more of a finger painter than an alchemist when it comes to art. 

The origami pig is designed by Ronald Koh (video link) and uses some fancy purple/gold washi paper.  It's a little tougher to fold with, but it has a cool texture and there is a sense of carefulness, like tending a bonsai tree, using a piece of fancy paper when making an origami encourages.

March 11 - El Cuco

“Reality is thin ice, but most people skate on it their whole lives and never fall through until the very end.”

~ Stephen King, The Outsider

The Outsider is an HBO series we've been watching that recently introduced us to the Grief Eater, also known as El Cuco. He is the Latin American boogeyman, the eater of children, and can take any form it likes. There are parallels across cultures as well, for example in Portugal El Cuco is represented by a carved pumpkin with a candle-lit face.

This balloon was actually made in "pig art" February after they showed the first images in the miniseries - a head that is almost entirely mouth with a humanoid body, crouched in an animal pose.  But now that I've read a little more about it, the "real" thing is much more terrifying, described as a wriggling mass of worms.  .. should make this again with about 400 puff inflated 360s maybe ...

March 7 - Amiination

“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.”

~ Pablo Picasso

Pig of the week - Amiination

Amiination is an aspiring artist from Singapore, and offered to draw "bubbly sometimes edgy art".  I'm in, sight unseen.

This is a banner flag for the legion.

But since we don't really use banner flags anymore in the legion at least, this would be great as the cover of an artboook notebook or folder.  The hollowed out eye has the look of a Castle Crashers character.

March 5 - Fiddler on the Green

Isn't it a shame
The reaper said
He is quite alone here
And still waiting for you

~ Demons & Wizards, Fiddler on the Green

Both Demons & Wizards and Blind Guardian are fronted by one of my favorite singers - ‎Hansi Kürsch. He has such a distinctive voice, it's like I have two versions of the same band. Blind Guardian was my introduction, they have a concept album dedicated to the Lord of the Rings that became somewhat of a backdrop for most of my gaming adventures - but as the principle lyricist, both bands songs typically reference some of my favorite authors:  Frank Herbert, Robert Jordan, Stephen King, Michael Moorcock.

This song is a poetic tribute, well worth your listen (link).  The Fiddler on the Green is death who is beseeching a younger girl to take his hand, because he had taken a boy (her soulmate) too early.  I read that this was based on Hansi witnessing two car crashes within a week, the first claiming the life of a young boy - the second a young girl.  *tears*

This inspiration for making this came from a baby reaper Ace of Clay made on his YouTube channel.  I went through an alarming amount of iterations trying to get the cowl look right hanging over the face, but I had to give up because I was getting obsessive and stuck.  I need to be mindful of the adage "done is better than perfect". 

March 2 - Devil

“For an occurrence to become an adventure, it is necessary and sufficient for one to recount it.”

― Jean-Paul Sartre

Continuing with the balloons as if were a video game company theme from yesterday.  Now what are you left with?

You could always work on improving the engine, but work vs reward effectively major development is done and management likes efficiency.

Red balloons?  Got em.  Uhhh.. make a Devil?  Sure I guess you say.  But in your heart, it feels like you sold out.  The idea should be the key.

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Other balloons like this:

March 1 - Goblin

"Escaping goblins to be caught by wolves!” he said, and it became a proverb, though we now say ‘out of the frying-pan into the fire’ in the same sort of uncomfortable situations."

~ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

If you think of a balloon like making a video game, the first iteration would be the prototype, proof of concept.  Does this work?  Does it make sense?  Is it fun to play?

Playing around with the pig form from yesterday.  Lackluster pose.  Proof of concept.  Kinda fun though.

Making a video game - you would be left with two options, make the engine even better (more detailed, more .. stable?), or use that engine to tell a story.