How to Get Started in Balloon Modeling

Balloon animals are a delight to children. They're also popular at fairs, carnivals, parties, and farmers' markets. The basic techniques of balloon modeling are easy to learn, and with a little practice you'll be able to make a veritable Noah's Ark of balloon creatures. You may even be able to make some spare cash twisting them up for other people's kids.

1. 

   What you have to look forward to!
   Get an assortment of balloons. Not just any balloon will do. Get the long, thin 260Q and 160Q varieties. The 260Q is the basic balloon you will use, but the 160Q, which is thinner, can be used for more intricate parts. Get a variety of colors. The 260Q means that the balloon is 2 inches in diameter and approximately 60 inches in length. The same applies to the 160Q balloons. Approximately 1 inch in diameter and 60 inches in length.
2. 

   Pumping up a balloon. Note the pump is held in one hand while the other holds the balloon on the pump
   Blow up a balloon. The special balloons require a pump to inflate quickly. Get a professional pump designed for inflating balloons, as all-purpose pumps take too long. Push the lip of the balloon over the pump's nozzle, and hold it in place with one hand. Operate the pump with the other hand. Most of the time you won't want to inflate the balloon all the way. Leave a tail of uninflated balloon to give the air inside some space to expand into once you start twisting the balloon.
3. 

   Looping the end of the balloon around two fingers in order to tie it off
   Tie off the balloon. Let a little air out to make the balloon easier to tie off. Loop the lip end of the balloon around two fingers. Pull the end through the loop, and release.
4. Twist the balloon. Decide where you want to segment the balloon, and twist it there to create two segments (bubbles). You may wish to segment the balloon in several places, so work from the knot end to the tail so that the air will be displaced into the tail and the balloon won't explode.
5. 

   To lock off two bubbles, make the first bubble, and then bring the rest of the balloon around to meet it before twisting another bubble together with the first
   Lock off bubbles. "Locking off" is a technique that places two bubbles of equal size next to each other, and it is used most frequently to make ears or legs. To lock off two bubbles, make the first bubble, and then bend the rest of the balloon back so that it is next to the first bubble. Twist the unsegmented part of the balloon together with the existing bubble to create a second bubble parallel to, and of the same size as, the first.
6. 

   Beginning the tulip twist
   

    The finished tulip twist.
   Make a tulip twist. A tulip twist, or "apple twist," is common in balloon animals. To make one, push the knot up into the balloon with your finger (your finger will temporarily be encased in the balloon). Use your other hand to grab the knot through the balloon, and ease your finger out of the balloon. Twist the balloon above the knot. The resulting bubble will look a bit like an apple. Push the knot inside the "apple" to hold the twist in place.
7. 

   A pinch twist is used to change the direction of the balloon
   Use a pinch twist to change the direction of the balloon. Make a bubble and then bring the end of the balloon back so that it is next to the rest of the balloon. Pull the bubble away from the two end segments, and pinch together the parts where the balloon is twisted. Twist at the pinch to create a turn in the balloon.
8. Use the basic skills to make animals and other balloon models. Now that you've got the basics down, there are a whole lot of animals, flowers, people, and other figures that you can make. Experiment on your own, or look up plans on the internet. A simple model of a dog can be found right here on wikiHow.

• You can help ensure that your twists stay in place by twisting in the same direction for all twists on a balloon.

• 

  Hold the first and last bubble in a chain of bubbles to keep the chain from coming undone
  When twisting a chain of bubbles, hold the first bubble, as well as the one you're twisting, at all times while you're twisting to ensure the chain doesn't come undone.

• Don't try to inflate the 260Q or 160Q balloons by mouth. It's nearly impossible, and it can burst blood vessels.
• When giving the balloons to people, espicially children, warn them not to put the balloon in their mouth. A popped balloon in the mouth can cause choking.
• Balloons will occasionally pop. While they're not dangerous, they can be loud. Avoid overinflation to minimize pops.

• 160Q and 260Q balloons
• A professional pump with a nibbed end