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15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Balloonicature Delivers - You WILL Be Able To Caricature!, January 25, 2001
Balloonicature Fully Delivers - Learn This, and You WILL Be Able To Caricature Anyone!Given his track record so far, (founder of www.balloonhq.com, author of several balloon books, co-creator of the world's largest non-round balloon sculpture*, international teacher and celebrity) it isn't surprising that Balloonicature is well done, thorough, and complete. Larry Moss is a balloon artist who has done everything, been everywhere, and knows everyone. What is surprising is that by working along with the Balloonicature CD, any balloon artist can quickly make balloon caricatures of anyone. My first time with the CD, I made a balloon head that surpassed all my other efforts. Continued practice will bring the balloon artist to a point where the balloon head is a recognizeable copy of a particular person. How is this possible? The author takes you through each step in making a face, demonstrating a variety of techniques for each feature. First is the head and face, then eyes, then teeth,tongue, hair, beards/mustaches, eye lashes, then on to adornment like jewelry, eye glasses, etc. Each of these stages has a lot of possibility for representing someone; exaggerate a nose, and you have Karl Malden. Make the eyes large, and you've got Marty Feldman. Make a large jaw, and you're looking at Jay Leno. Does the person you are modelling have a large brow ridge, high cheek bones, or big teeth as a major recognizeable characteristic? These can all be modeled in balloons. According to the author, the goal of Balloonicature was to make it possible to produce caricature portraits with balloons instead of a pen and paper. This goal is definitely achieved with Balloonicature. But the CD-book doesn't stop with the face and head; the rest of a body is covered as well. The end result is that the reader comes away with the ability to make a surprisingly life-like figure, modeled after a person or not. For balloon artists, Balloonicature delivers an encyclopedia of techniques, twists, styles, and ideas to model anyone. It is conceivable that a balloon artist could have an entire career from making balloon caricatures. Think of the places you've seen pen and paper artists - these areas are open to balloon artists. Add a digital camera or a Polaroid, and the lucky customer has a 2D and a 3D caricature of themselves. So, Balloonicature shows you all the ways to model any aspect of a person; provides a small gallery of balloonicatures from other arists; has 30 minutes of video clips that illustrate each of the steps laid out in the text; is cross platform compatible; and is a perfect use of the CD media for teaching. Anything else it's good for? Yes, and this will be important to any balloon artist. Balloonicature truly is a caricature tutorial that, while not intending to, follows caricature manuals in format and approach. Check out a book on drawing caricatures, and you'll see the artist taking you through the same lessons as this book - what are the defining features of your subject, and how can they be exaggerated for humorous effect? These books show approaches to drawing all the components of faces and figures to capture the essence of a person; just like Balloonicature does. The net result of all this is two-fold; first, you will learn how to draw or model an exaggeration, and second, and more importantly, you develop a new sensitivity to form. Artists see the world, and the people in it, differently. They see faces and figures as a combination of shapes, as a collection of lines and curves, as points that draw interest and features that reinforce an impression. It is unlikely that a face looks savage simply because of long incisors; or friendly just because of a wide smile. This can be expanded to all the things balloon artists are asked to model - animals, cars, airplanes, boats, and now people. What makes a dog recognizeable as a dog? Why does a sculpture look like a cat rather than a horse? What makes a daisy distinct from a sunflower? Is it the teeth or the wings that makes a dragon a dragon? By studying Balloonicature, a balloon artist will also develop a sensitivity to everything they model considering the sculpture in terms of proportion, shape, and defining features. This is an incredibly valuable benefit from Balloonicature, and given how talented the author is, it could be he had this in mind when writing the book. With Balloonicature, Larry Moss once again gives the balloon sculptor a way to transcend limitations and become a true artist. Sure, the balloon twister is still using a silly medium - balloons! - but the sculptures become more graceful and captivating, enhancing the twister's reputation, and fees. I highly, highly recommend this book to every twister, and anyone with an artistic drive looking for expression. Balloonicature is well done, easy to follow along with, and a tremendous asset to any twister's library. Notes: The book has several video clips, each one illustrating the technique described in the text. There is abundant text, and lots of line drawings. You will find a generous gallery of photos used on the disk, photos of more elaborate figures, and photos of other artists work. The book is well organized, and it is easy to find any section you are looking for. *Bonus Material! The CD contains pictures and description of the world record non-round balloon sculpture which used over 40,000 balloons. Additionally, there is a well done brief video of the construction, with commentary by Larry Moss. This is a great item to have when a friend says "is that all you can make with balloons?" Enjoy!
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