The world of balloon entertainment, by Dale Obrochta
A practical view on how to draw Halloween scary faces Over the years, I realized that you could not pick up a marker, swirl it around, and come up with an image that you like right off the back. You draw eyes and think they should be bigger or scary looking, but it is too … Read more
Didn’t make any Halloween balloons Hours are spent creating new balloon designs for the holidays, and very few people get to see these designs. Just recently, I read a Facebook posting from an entertainer who entertained at a Halloween party. When the party was over, they realized they did not make any Halloween balloons. This … Read more
Don’t Lose Your Head Halloween is the start of the busy season for entertainers. Every Park District, community organization, school, bar, you name it tries to cash in on the very popular holiday. Halloween is so popular that it rivals Christmas in sales as the second-biggest buyer holiday. This being said, you can easily lose … Read more
Pumpkins are a blank slate for an artist. They can be silly, happy, or scary it is up to you or should we say the client. Pumpkins vary in size, shape and design, which allow them to be transformed into anything. Recently, I had a request for a scary pumpkin, but they wanted it more … Read more
The ghoulish mishaps of not fully being truthful to the client can come back to haunt you in ways you never expected. In my youth, I would accept almost any entertainment job offered. The adage that “the client is always right” was what I thought I should be doing to gain more business. The focus … Read more
I love Halloween as an entertainer. It is fun because of all the options I have to be creative. Ninety-nine percent of the time, I focus on the cute balloon figures, but Halloween allows me the opportunity to explore the dark, creepy, and ghoulish side of Halloween. This is the only time of the year … Read more
I have learned over the years, that details can be the difference between working and not working. Do that little extra on a balloon design can bring accolades from colleagues and friends, but when you working a line or large crowds, you need to know what detail is important. Adding that unneeded detail, just because … Read more
Every year balloon entertainers look at how to take a balloon and transform it into a Halloween design. Sometimes, we forget about the things we’ve learned when we first started out. The simple, quick, and effective designs that date back to the beginning of balloon entertainment – the round balloon. Yes, the orange round balloon … Read more
Every year around the USA, you will hear kids fighting, swapping, and hiding their Halloween treasures – CANDY! Candy, the monetary currency of children, allows them to learn the art of swapping, stealing, and bartering, which is to say before mom makes them drop it into one big buck. Then it is placed on top … Read more
Add a Twilight Zone Effect to Your Balloon Design Halloween can be about scary things that go bump in the night, or do you think it is about gore and blood splattered all over that makes for a frightful Halloween. As an entertainer, Halloween is my favorite holiday, but to be honest it is hard … Read more