How to Make Balloon Animals

Guide Note

Balloon animals are a wonderful way to entertain kids and adults at birthday parties and other events. All you need is a few balloons, a little practice and the ability to do a few basic balloon twists.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Types of Balloons
• How to Inflate a Balloon
• How to Tie a Balloon
• Basic Balloon Twists
• Making the Basic Animal
• Creating Other Balloon Animals
• Conclusion
• References

Balloon Animal Tips

1. Most balloon animals are created using 260 balloons.
2. Invest in a balloon pump to inflate balloons.
3. Don't stretch balloons before inflating or they may burst.
4. The lock twist is the most basic twist used.
5. Several balloon animals are simple variations of the balloon dog.

• by Darcy Logan

Introduction

• Making balloon animals is a great and inexpensive ways to entertain kids at events, parties or in your free time. It will only take a few minutes to learn the basic moves.

• Expert Village: Balloon Folding Possibilities (Time: 1:28)

Types of Balloons

• Balloons are typically classified by their size or shape. Many professionals recommend using Qualatex brand balloons because they are less likely to pop.¹

1. 260 balloons: 260 balloons are the most commonly used balloon by twisters.² When fully inflated, it is approximately 2-inches in diameter and 60-inches long.³
2. 160 balloons: When inflated, these balloons are 1-inch in diameter and 60-inches long. Sometimes referred to as "Spaghetti Balloons."⁴
3. 350 balloons: When inflated, these balloons are 3-inches in diameter and 50-inches long. They are not commonly used in balloon design.⁵
4. 646 balloons: When inflated, these balloons are 6-inches in diameter and 46-inches long. They are not commonly used in balloon design.⁵
5. Round balloons: This is the standard party balloon. They are identified by a single number that indicates their diameter.
6. Heart balloons: Similar to the round balloon, but heart shaped. They are also identified by a single number that indicates their diameter. Most entertainers use 6-inch balloons.⁴
7. Geo-donut or donut balloons: Geo-donut balloons are specially designed to have a hole in the center.⁴
8. Geo-blossom or blossom balloons: Geo-blossom balloons are similar to the geo-donut balloon except it is subtly segmented into five sections (or "petals") that make it resemble a flower.⁴
9. Bee-body or 321 balloons: Unlike the sizing of other balloons, bee-bodies or 321 balloons are 3-inches in diameter and 13-inches long. The last inch of the balloon is dipped in another color of latex. They get their name because they are commonly used to make the figure of a bee, with the double-dipped section used for the stinger.⁴
10. Airship balloons: Airship balloons are shorter and wider than the standard 260 balloon. They are often used for "rocket" toys, tricks and gags. They include 315, 418, 524 and 1040 balloons.⁴

• YouTube: The Differences Between 160 and 260 Twisting Balloons (Time: 7:27)

How to Inflate a Balloon

• One of the biggest debates in balloon twisting is if you should blow up balloons using your mouth or a pump. In general, it is a good idea to be able to do both. A pump is necessary to pump up thinner balloons such as the 160. However, you want to have a back up system in case your pump breaks.⁶

• Some will tell you that blowing up balloons using your mouth is faster and more impressive.⁶ However, there are some very good reasons why you don't want to use this method unless you need to:
  1. Can cause headaches, dizziness and even fainting.⁷
  2. Exploding balloons can damage the eyes and hearing when that close to the face.⁸
  3. Can spread germs and viruses.⁷

• You will never fully inflate a balloon to make balloon animals. Instead, you leave space at the end (known as the tail) that prevents the balloon from popping when you twist it.⁶ The tail length will vary depending on the number of twists in the design.⁸

Mouth Inflation Tips

1. Do not pull on the balloon to make it easier to inflate. This weakens the latex and increases the chance it will explode.⁸
2. Use the palm of your hand to hold the balloon down away from your face when inflating it.⁸
3. Keep your cheeks flat and blow up hard.⁸
4. An alternate method is to try to squeeze the air in your mouth using your tongue.⁹
5. Once you get a small bubble, take a deep breath and fill the balloon all at once.⁸
6. Use your stomach muscles.⁸
7. When practicing, inflate the balloon with a hand pump a few times to make it easier to inflate.⁹

• Expert Village: Blowing Up Balloon Animals (Time: 1:49)

Pump Inflation Tips

1. If you plan on doing a lot of balloon tying, purchase a good quality pump from a balloon supplier and not a party store.¹⁰
2. Buy more than one pump in case one breaks.¹¹
3. Smaller pumps will take longer to inflate the balloon but are good for 160 balloons.¹¹

• Expert Village: How to Use the Pump in Balloon Folding (Time: 1:51)

How to Tie a Balloon

• Tying a balloon seems like an easy task, but can be very difficult unless you know the right tricks. There are actually several ways to do it. Here is one method:

1. Grasp the nozzle end of the balloon with your thumb and forefinger.
2. Before tying off, let a small gust of air out of the balloon to soften it.⁷
3. Pinch the balloon about 1- to 2-inches from the nozzle and release all the air from this section.⁷ This will give you more end to work with.
4. With your free hand, wrap the end of the balloon around the second and middle finger of the hand holding the balloon.¹⁰
5. Tuck the end of the balloon in between the two fingers and pull it through.
6. Pull your fingers out of the loop.
7. You may want to tape your fingers with sports tape to prevent skin wear and tear if you are doing a lot of balloons.¹²

• 5min Life: How to Tie a Balloon Knot (Time: 1:25)

• Here are a few other balloon tying methods you might want to try:
  1. YouTube: How to Tie a Knot (Time: 2:28)
  2. Expert Village: How to Tie Balloon Animals (Time: 1:14)
  3. YouTube: One Hand Balloon Knot (Time: 2:27)

Basic Balloon Twists

• Balloon animals are basically made by forming different sizes of bubbles and twisting them together. The bubbles do not untwist because various twists are used to lock them together.¹³

1. To start, pinch off a portion of the balloon near the nozzle.
2. With your other hand twist the balloon away from you about three times.¹⁴
3. You can repeat this process to create a second bubble by while maintaining pressure on the first bubble.¹⁴
4. Your next step will be determined by which type of twist you need to do.

• Expert Village: Twisting Techniques to Make Balloon Animals (Time: 1:19)

Lock Twist

• The lock twist is the most basic twist and the only one necessary to make a dog or giraffe.¹⁵ The most difficult thing about this twist is to learn how to use your fingers to hold the bubbles together until they are locked.¹³ Here's how to do it:

1. Make three bubbles by pinching and twisting.
2. Focusing on the last two bubbles you made, bring the opposite ends together so the two bubbles are parallel and touching.¹⁶
3. Twist the two bubbles together (at the twists) to lock them in place.
4. You can speed up the lock twist by doing the middle twist first. Then fold over the balloon and twist it together.¹⁷

• Expert Village: Lock Twist Techniques Used to Make Balloon Animals (Time: 1:22)

Fold Twist or Loop Twist

• The fold or loop twist is similar to the lock twist only you use one or two bubbles instead of two or three.¹⁵ It is good for large ears, hands and feet.¹⁶

1. Make a long bubble and bend it.
2. Apply pressure where you want the twist with one hand.¹⁸
3. Twist the two ends together so it forms a circle.
4. You can also make a fold twist by grasping two portions of the balloon and twisting them together.¹⁹

• 5min Life: How to Twist a Balloon Part 2 (Time 2:08)

Ear Twist or Pinch Twist

• The ear twist is often used to make ears as well as noses, hands, elbows, hips, eyes, bird's feet, lips and many more.^{13 15}

1. Make a 1- to 1.5-inch bubble.
2. Make the bubble softer by twisting the bubble larger than you need it and then untwist it slightly to squeeze out some of the air.¹⁵
3. Twist the two ends of the same bubble together.¹⁶
4. A variation of this twist is done by folding the balloon and pinching it lightly at the fold.²⁰

• Expert Village: How to do the Bear Ear Twist in Balloon Folding (Time: 1:07)

3-Bubble Roll or Bird Body

• The 3-bubble roll is also called the bird body or parrot's body because it is often used to make the body of a bird such as a parrot.

1. Make three bubbles of equal length in a row.¹⁶
2. Lock twist the first two bubbles together.¹⁵
3. Push the third bubble in between the first two bubbles by rolling the outer two bubbles around it.¹⁶
   1. You may need to push hard.¹⁵
   2. This will lock the third bubbleeven though there is no twist.¹³

• Expert Village: Three Bubble Roll Through Balloon Animal (Time: 1:37)

Apple Twist or Tulip Twist

• The apple twist is done at the beginning of a balloon structure.¹⁵ It can be done with any size or shape balloon.¹³ When done with long 2-inch ballons it is called a tulip twist.¹⁶

1. Push the knot of the balloon down inside the balloon.
2. With your other hand pinch the area of the balloon around the knot (making sure you grab the knot).¹⁵
3. Carefully remove your finger.¹⁶
4. Twist at least four times before letting go.²¹
5. The knot will remain providing you don't release the bubble.¹⁵
6. Variations of the apple twist include:
   1. Hook twist.¹⁵
   2. S-Hook twist.¹⁶
   3. Yo-yo twist or split apple twist.¹³
   4. Suction cups.¹³
   5. Marriage twist.¹³
   6. Rattlesnake tails.¹³

• YouTube: How to Make Tulip Twist (Time: 1:55)

Other Twists

• There are other, more advanced twists that can be used to create different animals. They include:

1. Toe or Split Twist.¹⁶
2. Spiral.¹⁶
3. Z-Bend¹⁶
4. Push Tie.²²
5. Pop twist or Pinch-pop.^{15 16}
   1. Alternative pop twist 1.²³
   2. Alternative pop twist 2.¹³

• Expert Village: How to do the Pop Twist in Balloon Folding (Time: 1:43)

Making the Basic Animal

• Making a balloon dog is one of the easiest balloon animals to make and is also the basis for several other animals such as the rabbit, mouse and the giraffe. The best thing is that the only twist you need to know is the lock twist

Making a Dog

1. Inflate a 260 balloon leaving about 2- to 4-inches uninflated for the tail.
2. Tie the balloon.
3. Twist your first bubble for the head.
4. Twist two more bubbles for the ears. These bubbles can be small or large but should be the same size. Remember to hold onto all three bubbles so they don't untwist.²⁴
5. Lock twist the two ear bubbles together (bubbles 2 & 3). You can now release the bubbles and they should stay. At this point the balloon should look like a nose, two ears and a long body.²⁵
6. Twist a fourth bubble for the neck.
7. Twist two more bubbles for the front legs. Again, these bubbles should be the same size but do not need to be the same size as the fourth bubble.
8. Lock twist the two front legs together (bubbles 5 & 6).
9. Twist a seventh bubble for the body.
10. Twist two more bubbles for the back legs. You will probably want them to be the same size as the front legs.
11. Lock twist the two back legs together (bubbles 8 & 9). The tenth bubble will make up the tail. You can move the bubble to the end of the tail if desired.²⁶
12. If desired, use a marker to add the eyes, mouth and a collar.²⁴
13. You can also undo the last lock twist to make a loop twist, tuck the front legs into the loop and make a sitting dog.²⁷

• YouTube: How to Make a Balloon Dog (Time: 3:04)

Making a Mouse

• A mouse balloon is simply the dog balloon done with smaller bubbles. The smaller you make bubbles the better it will look.²⁸

• Expert Village: How to Make a Balloon Animal Mouse (Time: 1:17)

Making a Giraffe

• To make a giraffe, you need to make some minor revisions to the dog balloon listed above:
  • – Make a smaller head and ears in steps 3 & 4.
  • – Make a much longer neck in step 6.
  • – Make slightly longer legs in steps 7 & 10.
  • – Make a shorter body in step 9.
• You could also opt to do an ear twist for the ears and separate the last bubble to create smaller bubbles at both the base and end of the tail.²⁹

• Expert Village: How to Make a Balloon Animal Giraffe (Time: 1:30)

Making a Bunny Rabbit

• Like the giraffe, the bunny is created by changing proportions of the bubbles. Try to inflate the balloon enough so you end up with just a ball for the tail.³⁰ Here are the revisions to the dog balloon needed to make a bunny:
  • – Make longer ears in step 4.
  • – Make a very short neck in step 6.
  • – Make shorter front legs in step 7
  • – Make a medium body in step 9.
  • – Make longer back legs in step 10.
  • – Tail in step 11 should be inflated and round.
  • – You may opt to tuck the front legs into the back legs.³¹

• Expert Village: Making a Balloon Rabbit (Time: 2:19)

Creating Other Balloon Animals

• Once you've mastered the basic animal shape, you will want to move on to more difficult shapes. The possibilities are limitless. Here are a few resources on where you can find instructions on how to make different balloon animals.

1. 5min Life: Ori Livney Balloon Art Studio³²
   • Includes instructions on how to create flowers, a Valentine's balloon heart, poodle, a teddy bear, a sword, a gun, Hillary Clinton, Barrack Obama, a Kawasaki Ninja, a shark and starfish.³²
2. Professor Wonder's Wonder Factory: Balloon Gallery³³
   • Includes instructions on how to create a poinsetta, turkey, a camel, a dragon, a koala, kissing swans, a motorcycle, a starship, an orangutan, a penguin, a pig, a square knot hat, a teddy bear, Veggie Tales and more.³³
3. Custom Balloon Designs³⁴
   • Includes instructions on how to create a flower, a parrot, a teddy bear, a bird, a monkey, a sword, a poodle, a heart, a star, a squirrel, Tweety Bird, an anchor and a lion.³⁴
4. Multi Hobbies: Simple Sculptures³⁵
   • Includes instructions on how to create an elephant, a monkey, a a teddy bear, a pig and a rhino.³⁵
5. Multi Hobbies: Advanced Sculptures³⁶
   • Includes instructions on how to create a snake, a dolphin, small fish, big fish and a flower.³⁶
6. Expert Village Video Series: Tips for Making Balloon Shapes³⁷
   • Includes instructions on how to create a flower, a heart, a hat, a bear and a curly Q.³⁷
7. Expert Village Video Series: How to Do Balloon Folding³⁸
   • Includes instructions on how to create a monkey, a sword, a sumo wrestler and more.³⁸
8. Expert Village Video Series: How to Make Balloon Animals³⁹
   • Includes instructions on how to create a flower, a bee, a cat, an elephant, a teddy bear, a teddy bear & flower, a swan, a hat, a monkey, a poodle, a sword, a dinosaur and a tiger with heart.³⁹
9. Expert Village Video Series: Making Balloon Animals⁴⁰
   • Includes instructions on how to create birds in a heart, birds in a swing, monkeys, poodles, a swans, a brontosaurus, horses, a moose, a making a rubber duckie and a stegosaurus.⁴⁰
10. Expert Village Video Series: Making Advanced Balloon Animals⁴¹
    • Includes instructions on how to create a bumblebee, a cat, an elephant, a hat, swords and a hummingbird.⁴¹
11. Expert Village Video Series: Advanced Balloon Twisting⁴²
    • Includes instructions on how to create flowers, a airplane, bugs bunny, a butterfly, a candy cane, a warrior helmet, a baseball cap, a flower hat, a Mickey Nouse ears, a swan, a monkey, a motorcycle, a spider, the Pink Panther and Pluto the pup.⁴²
12. YouTube: Balloonanimal's Channel ⁴³
    • Includes instructions on how to create a T-Rex dinosaur, a cat, a deer, a palm tree, a crown, a fireman's hat, a dolphin hat, a flower, frog, a hamster and many more.⁴³

Conclusion

• Now that you have the basic moves, all you need is a bit of practice and before long you will have a your own balloon zoo. Just watch out for rogue pins and other sharp objects that can be deadly to your creations.

• Brightcove: How to make Balloon Animals (Time: 16:56)

References for How to Make Balloon Animals

1. ↑ Expert Village: Tools for Making Balloon Animals  
2. ↑ Custom Balloon Designs: Types of Balloons
3. ↑ Multi Hobbies: Getting to Know the Different Types of Balloons
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5} BalloonHQ.com: Balloon Terms
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} Expert Village: All About the 350 & 646 in Balloon Folding
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2} Expert Village: Inflating Balloons With Pump  
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3} Custom Balloon Designs: Inflating and Tying Tips
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6} Multi Hobbies: Blow up Your Balloons at No Risk!!
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1} 5min Life: How to Blow Up a Balloon (Time: 2:41)  
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1} Expert Village: Basic Inflating & Tying Techniques to Make Balloon Animals  
11. ↑ ^{11.0 11.1} Expert Village: Using a Pump to Inflate Balloons for Balloon Modeling Performance  
12. ↑ BalloonHQ.com: How to Inflate Balloons
13. ↑ ^{13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 13.6 13.7 13.8 13.9} Balloonhq.com: Twisting Balloons 101
14. ↑ ^{14.0 14.1} Expert Village: Twisting Bubbles for Balloon Animals  
15. ↑ ^{15.00 15.01 15.02 15.03 15.04 15.05 15.06 15.07 15.08 15.09 15.10} Multi Hobbies: Different Kind of Twists
16. ↑ ^{16.00 16.01 16.02 16.03 16.04 16.05 16.06 16.07 16.08 16.09 16.10 16.11} Professor Wonder's Wonder Factory: Balloon Twists
17. ↑ Custom Balloon Designs: The Lock Twist
18. ↑ Custom Balloon Designs: The Fold Twist
19. ↑ Expert Village: Loop Twist Techniques Used to Make Balloon Animals
20. ↑ Expert Village: How to do the Pinch Twist in Balloon Folding
21. ↑ Custom Balloon Designs: The Tulip Twist
22. ↑ Expert Village: Push Tie for Balloon Animals
23. ↑ Custom Balloon Designs: The Pop Twist
24. ↑ ^{24.0 24.1} PBS Kids: Balloon Animals
25. ↑ Creat Animals: How to Make Balloon Animals (June 23, 2008)
26. ↑ Custom Balloon Designs: Standard Balloon Dog
27. ↑ Multi Hobbies: The Dog
28. ↑ Custom Balloon Designs: Balloon Mouse Instructions
29. ↑ Custom Balloon Designs: Balloon Giraffe
30. ↑ Custom Balloon Designs: Balloon Bunny Rabbit Instructions
31. ↑ Expert Village: How to Make a Balloon Animal Rabbit
32. ↑ ^{32.0 32.1} 5min Life: Ori Livney Balloon Art Studio  
33. ↑ ^{33.0 33.1} Professor Wonder's Wonder Factory: Balloon Gallery
34. ↑ ^{34.0 34.1} Custom Balloon Designs: Free Site
35. ↑ ^{35.0 35.1} Multi Hobbies: Simple Sculptures
36. ↑ ^{36.0 36.1} Multi Hobbies: Advanced Sculptures
37. ↑ ^{37.0 37.1} Expert Village Video Series: Tips for Making Balloon Shapes
38. ↑ ^{38.0 38.1} Expert Village Video Series: How to Do Balloon Folding
39. ↑ ^{39.0 39.1} Expert Village Video Series: How to Make Balloon Animals
40. ↑ ^{40.0 40.1} Expert Village Video Series: Making Balloon Animals
41. ↑ ^{41.0 41.1} Expert Village Video Series: Making Advanced Balloon Animals
42. ↑ ^{42.0 42.1} Expert Village Video Series: Advanced Balloon Twisting
43. ↑ ^{43.0 43.1} YouTube: Balloonanimal's Channel  

How to Make Balloon Animals Videos

• Expert Village: Balloon Folding Possibilities (Time: 1:28)
• YouTube: The Differences Between 160 and 260 Twisting Balloons (Time: 7:27)
• Expert Village: Blowing Up Balloon Animals (Time: 1:49)
• Expert Village: How to Use the Pump in Balloon Folding (Time: 1:51)
• 5min Life: How to Tie a Balloon Knot (Time: 1:25)
• YouTube: How to Tie a Knot (Time: 2:28)
• Expert Village: How to Tie Balloon Animals (Time: 1:14)
• YouTube: One Hand Balloon Knot (Time: 2:27)
• YouTube: How to Make a Balloon Mouse (Time: 4:19)
• Expert Village: Lock Twist Techniques Used to Make Balloon Animals (Time: 1:22)
• 5min Life: How to Twist a Balloon Part 2 (Time 2:08)
• Expert Village: How to do the Bear Ear Twist in Balloon Folding (Time: 1:07)
• Expert Village: Three Bubble Roll Through Balloon Animal (Time: 1:37)
• YouTube: How to Make Tulip Twist (Time: 1:55)
• Expert Village: How to do the Pop Twist in Balloon Folding (Time: 1:43)
• YouTube: How to Make a Balloon Dog (Time: 3:04)
• Expert Village: How to Make a Balloon Animal Mouse (Time: 1:17)
• Expert Village: How to Make a Balloon Animal Giraffe (Time: 1:30)
• Expert Village: Making a Balloon Rabbit (Time: 2:19)
• Brightcove: How to make Balloon Animals (Time: 16:56)