Since he is the first, I had to experiment to get the right look. Firstly, I tried covering with yellow felt, but was unsuccessful on the curved top. Secondly, I tried a paintbrush. Better, but not as flat and shiny as I would like. I know spray paint and styrofoam don't mix, but in order to get the shiny look I needed, I had to work out how to make it work.
(I was trying techniques on two at the same time. Will try and take pics on the other one as I go. This one has been painted, but already has two layers of glue already on the styrofoam....)
I tried with paint as an undercoat but it didn't work so well. Instead, I used two coats of glue. Yes, glue!! The type that dries clear, cheap and cheerful... Worked BRILLIANTLY!!
To get the body flat, I used plain paper to cover the streaks from the paint. Two coats of gloss yellow, and I am done!! Bonus feature - easy application of the hair, since it can just be stuck into the foam!
Next, eyes. Looking at pics of various Minions, you can see they all have their individual features - one eye or two eyes, big or small - but they all have the silver goggles. I already had some pvc tubing (used for necks on previous can people) that fit perfectly with the googly eyes that I already had. How to make the silver?? Aluminium foil! Worked ok, but will try silver paint next time.... Anyway, I glued the eyes in and job done! The band is ribbon, with the eyes glued on top.
Clothes next.... I taped some paper on and traced out the outline of the overalls. Once I removed it and tidied up the pattern, I traced it onto iron-on vilene and fused to the back of some denim. Worked ok, but will try some lighter weight fabric next time.
This is the first time I have used actual legs, and although they are bigger than the cartoon, they need to be for stability. I actually turned my tin upside down, so the lid is at the bottom. I could still access the inside to add the arms, and this made the legs so easy to do. I bought a length of dowell, cut it into a random length, put holes in the ends and screwed the to the inside of the lid. Then I covered it with denim to match the overalls and glued them on.
The feet were another challenge. How can I give him more stability? Bring on another styrofoam ball, smaller this time, cut in half then trimmed to create a shoe-like shape. Another two coats of glue, and a coat of gloss black spray paint, and voila! I had originally planned on using a screw up through the foot and into the dowell, but this was not successful. Instead, I grabbed a bamboo skewer and glued into the leg, then I just pushed into the foot with some more glue. Awesome!!
So, what about arms?? Cardboard, spray paint, cut out, black out the gloves, holes, split pins, done!
Finally, some hair. I bought some tie wire from the hardware, poked some holes in the foam and stuck in short lengths of wire.
For his mouth, I just freehand drew some designs on paper, coloured with pencils and Textas, picked the best one and glued it on.
I now have all the tools to make more of these! So much fun!!
Banana!! ;)
