Day of the Yeti Art Ninja

'I'm Ricky. I live in Bristol.

'I work as an animator, which is lucky, cos I love art.'

GOAL!

'I live for art. I even dream of art.

'I draw, I paint, I make things.'

Nailed it!

'I hang out with my mates...'

-ALL:

-Go, Art Ninja!

'..Gavin, Michelle, Rich...'

Yeah!

-'..and Sarah.'

-It's me!

'Most importantly, I make ninja moves.

'Some people call me the...'

Today I'll show you how to have a smashing good time...

..find out who's peeking through the undergrowth...

..and if we go down to the woods, we'll be in for a big surprise.

Because today, it's...

HE YAWNS It's a new day.

I'd better get my ninja on.

And my clothes.

PHONE BLEEPS What's this?

Reported sightings of a yeti in Bristol?

Really? Loads of people talking about a yeti

on social media as well.

Must be true!

'This is a newsflash.

'Eyewitnesses talk about seeing what they describe as a yeti

'near the waterfront. In other news...'

The yeti must've been heading towards a jetty.

HE CHUCKLES

PHONE BLEEPS

-Oh.

-'Hi, Ricky. Have you heard about the...?'

Yeti? Yes-sy. So what's going on? What's the story?

'Yetis are abominable snowmen and normally found in the Himalayas.

'No-one knows if they really exist.

'But it's well-known that they love ice cream.

'And, apparently, there's one nearby.

'No-one's caught it on camera yet

'and they're not sure where it is, so be careful.'

Hey! It's me you are talking to.

'Exactly. Make sure you lock your door. Bye.'

Laters, Michelle.

"Keep the door shut. Be careful."

I don't need to do that.

I want to meet this yeti and I want to be the first to get a photograph.

If it loves ice cream, maybe I could lure it with...

the Art Ninja ice cream pinata. Arriba!

It's just as mouthwatering as a real ice cream.

So I'm going to start with a nice big bit of card.

And I'm going to draw out my ice cream shape.

Some nice, round, bubbly ice cream.

The chocolate stick there.

Then complete the cone.

A pinata is a decorated container that you hit to release sweets.

But you know that, right?

I'm using quite thick card here,

as I want getting those sweets out to be a bit of a challenge.

I'm going to need two of these, so I ninja another one.

Lovely.

I've cut some strips of card - they're about 10cm in width.

And these are going to be the sides of my ice cream.

I'm putting them together using sticky tape.

Going to start from that lower edge there.

You don't want to use too much tape as then it might be too strong,

and you won't be able to get any sweets out of it.

And now I'm starting to go around the top of the ice cream,

so I'm just curling around these pieces of card

to help them bend round those parts.

If you're finding this bit quite tricky,

just get someone to give you a hand.

And before I put on the other side,

I need to make a hole so I can hang it up.

So I put a bit of clay down to protect the table.

Got some string here. Pop it through.

I'm going to tie a nice big knot

so it doesn't slide back through the hole I've made. There we go.

Now I can stick on the top piece.

I'm not going all the way round the top of this chocolate stick -

that's going to be where I put the sweets in.

I've left a little flap here to open and close.

And now I can decorate it...

with some tissue paper.

I've cut it into strips.

And I'm going to make them into repeated patterns.

Fold it in half. Half again.

In half again.

I'm just going to cut around one end to make it curved.

And this yellow one will become the ice cream cone.

And I've folded this so that when I unravel it,

I've got the same pattern going all the way along.

And now I'm going to do a similar thing with the other two colours.

But a slightly different pattern.

This is going to give me a nice wavy line for some sauce.

Last and certainly not least,

the white is going to become the ice cream.

Cut some slits up the side of it, about halfway up.

Lovely fluffy ice cream.

I need loads of these to cover my ice cream.

So I ninja some more.

I'm going to start with the yellow,

as that's going to be my ice cream cone.

As I stick these down,

I'm overlapping them to give a feathered effect.

OK, now I'm going to move on to the ice cream.

I want it to be lower at one end, so it looks like it's spiralling round.

Time to add some strawberry sauce.

I'm sticking these down between the layers of the ice cream.

Some brown tissue paper for the chocolate.

As I'm sticking this down,

I'm creasing it to give it the texture of chocolate.

Remember, you don't want to seal this bit.

Now I can fill it full of sweets.

Mm-mm!

Now I can hang it up.

Beautiful. Right, I'm off to get something to hit it with.

Time to hit the pinata.

Don't fancy an ice cream?

Here are some other sweet designs.

A lovely flamingo.

And a beautiful beehive...

complete with buzzy bees.

PHONE BLEEPS

There's been another sighting of the yeti.

And quite near to my flat!

That's funny. I thought the door was closed.

Unless...

Nah!

Here's a quick art tip - how to draw a shivering character.

I'm going to draw a penguin.

So I'm going to start with his beak.

Like that. Sad face on it, cos it's quite cold.

Little eyes.

Concerned cos it's chilly.

His body is shaped like this. Little tail out there.

Wider at the bottom than it is at the top.

Now his flippers - going to be crossing them to keep himself warm.

Keeping his little belly warm there.

Give him three toes.

As he's living in a cold climate,

let's give him a scarf to keep him warm.

And a woolly hat.

This is how we show him being cold. We add some shiver lines...

to show that he's shaking.

There we go - another quick art tip.

GROWLING

Brr!

Hmm!

I wonder why nobody's found the yeti.

He must be really good at camouflage.

That gives me an idea for some art!

I'm going to use leaves to make a picture of a beast

camouflaged by the jungle.

An artist that was super-keen on making camouflaged paintings

was Henri Rousseau.

Excusez-moi, Ricky.

Henri? Is that you? I can't see you.

Under here.

Et voila!

Hey, Henri, I didn't see you there.

HENRI CHUCKLES

That is because I was camouflaged.

-Naturally.

-I was always good at camouflage

because I was once in the Army.

Not a bad painter either, right?

Exactement. Here is one of my famous ones now.

I loved painting the jungle, but I never visited the jungle.

In fact, I never left France.

You've got a great imagination, then.

-Maybe

-I

-imagined the yeti.

A yeti, in this flat?

Zut alors! Hide me again, Ricky.

-As you wish.

-Au revoir, mon frere.

My camouflaged beast isn't going to be a scaredy-cat like Henri -

it's going to be a yeti.

So I've got myself a piece of coloured paper.

A bit of A4. Squeeze out a little bit of paint.

Some nice, rich orange.

I'm going to select a leaf from my little pile.

These are leaves I went out and found on the floor.

Go with this one here.

Kind of fun and spiky.

And I'm going to use this leaf to make a print.

Lay it down on my bit of paper.

And using my piece of A4 - or if you've got some scrap, that'll do -

lay it over the top,

press down on the leaf and get all of its shape and texture printed.

Reload it, print it again.

Probably get about four on this piece of paper.

When all the prints are dry, cut them out.

To make my camouflage picture,

I'm going to need loads of these, so I'm going to use my ninja skills.

Wow! Collect these all up.

I've done lots of different prints from lots of different leaves.

There's a nice big one. What I like here is how it's got gaps

in between, which shows the coloured paper underneath.

These little ones here, red on pink.

These sort of longer, smoother leaves.

Oh. And a nice blue one.

I've got some paper,

and this beast is going to be hiding behind all of the leaves.

Nice big eyes.

Dark pupils. A little trick here...

Fold the leaves along the middle,

not with a really harsh crease.

And I'm gluing just along the back spine where I've bent it,

so that they pop out off the page.

The smaller leaves I'm going to stick under

and on top of these big ones.

And it makes it richer in colour.

Kind of randomly placing the different leaves,

cos I want it to look very, very natural and not too ordered.

I've got some blue leaves in here, because it's a jungle,

so tropical colours are allowed.

Last one.

I think that's so good, it deserves a frame.

But this one's going to be framed with a difference.

I'm going to fold up those bigger leaves to pop over the frame,

so it looks like the picture's growing out from it.

There we go -

my Henri Rousseau-inspired jungle picture.

GROWLING Oh, it must be my stomach.

What can I eat?

I think I'll have some porridge.

Oaty goodness.

Oh, what?!

Who's been eating my porridge?

Who's been sitting in my chair?

It's like Goldilocks in here.

It'll be the bed next.

I'd best go and find out.

Maybe it's the yeti.

I must not get distracted.

It's hard, though, when the picture moves like this.

That's because it's animated.

Isn't it nice to be outside on such a lovely day?

-Do you want some orange juice?

-Yes, please.

Rick, do you want some?

Oh! Oh, Rich.

-You poured it all over...

-So sorry!

-It looks like I've weed myself.

-Aw!

-Oh, man, it's ruined.

Oh, sorry, mate.

But you're forgetting something.

I'm a ninja!

-BOTH:

-Ninja skills?

-No! It's just an animation.

Let's get our ninja on.

So, to make this animation, you'll need a change of clothes,

a tablet with animation app, and a friend to press the button.

And you can put it together in just three ninja moves.

Ninja move number one...

We need to practise our ninja kicks.

CRASH!

Ninja move number two...

So I've set up my tablet device.

You need to start with the trousers.

This works cos you get a really good snap kick.

I need to wind up so that when I kick into the trousers,

it's really believable. So I'm going to hold 'em out wide in front of me

and start bringing it back, and Ella needs to take the shots of me.

So left foot coming back.

Testing balance.

Then kick into it like that.

Now I need to slip the actual trouser leg on. So hold up a sec.

It's the balance, isn't it?

Then kick into it the other way

cos it's just going to be more fun, I think.

It's good to use baggy trousers.

I've used some tracksuit bottoms.

I'm going to put the other leg in. Oh, still so sticky.

Ninja move number three...

You now get to move on to the top. We'll pop it straight on -

not one arm and the other, it's going to be straight on the chest.

This works because of the feedback. So when it lands on you,

you need to feel like you've been hit by the impact.

And suddenly you are all clean.

OK, we've shot all our frames -

I think it's time to take a look at our mini masterpiece.

Ah, yeah!

-Amazing.

-What do you guys think?

-Ricks, you're a real snappy dresser, mate.

-Ah, nice.

Now to check the bedroom.

PHONE RINGS

'Hi, Ricky, it's your mum.

'Have you heard about the yeti in Bristol?

Yes.

'Apparently, it loves ice cream.'

Ugh, I know.

'Anyway, here's what's YETI to come.'

A fine line in art made with one piece of cotton.

There's SNOW knowing what this fella will do.

And can you capture abominable art in the woods?

'Anyway, bye, Ricky, catch you later.'

Not before I've caught the yeti on camera.

LOUD GROWLING

That definitely wasn't my belly that time.

If there is a yeti in my flat, in my bed,

then I'm definitely going to get a snap of it.

-'Ricky!'

-In a mo.

Sh. Keep it down - I'm trying to catch a yeti.

What can I do for you?

'Ricky, can you make art with a teddy bear?'

Not today - I couldn't BEAR it.

-BOTH:

-Aw!

'Hey, Ricky.'

Hey, look, it's those boys from Absolute Genius.

'We were wondering if there's anything you can do

'with this drumstick.'

-Probably nothing.

-Oh, Ricky.

-Charming!

-That's it, Ricky. We're leaving.

-Not a nice ninja.

Haven't you got a TV show to make?

-'Ricky!'

-I wonder what this guy's got.

'Can you make art with cotton?'

All right. I choose you.

'Yay!'

-What's your name, dude?

-'Joe.'

Nice to meet you, Joe. Where are you from?

'Hessle, which is near Hull.'

I'll just go and grab my things.

Right, I've got my cotton - great suggestion.

Some bits of card.

Some greaseproof paper.

Sticky-back plastic.

Some blue card.

A random picture of a bike.

You don't have to have a bike - you can have anything you like.

I'll start by making a frame out of strips of card.

You've got some pictures on the wall behind you.

-They do look pretty good. What are they of?

-'A ninja.'

Ninja. Nice.

-'A crocodile.'

-Obviously.

'I've got a horse.'

A horse? Horses are really hard to draw.

Nice, Joe, it's really good.

I've got my frame now. At the moment,

I'm making my canvas so I can start my picture.

I'm going to roll out my greaseproof paper.

The shiny side up.

This is so I can pull the sticky-back plastic off later.

We're going to lay my frame down on top of the paper.

And then I'm going to lay my sticky-back plastic on top of it.

I'm doing the corners first,

just so I can get it nice and flat.

It's quite tricky, so if you're doing this at home,

I'd recommend getting somebody to help you.

Just peeling it back from underneath,

trying to keep it down nice and flat.

All will become clear later.

I'm going to cut off the edges.

Do you consider yourself a bit of a ninja?

'I'm nearly a black belt.'

Nearly a black belt?

-In what?

-'In taekwondo.'

-RICKY WHISTLES

So can you give us some ninja skills?

-'Yeah, we do that.'

-Yes!

Right, I'm going to turn this over.

And I'm going to peel back the greaseproof paper.

I'm going do to this carefully cos you want to keep

the sticky-back plastic nice and clean.

Make sure the sticky side's up and your picture's underneath.

So it doesn't move around, I'm going to masking-tape it to my picture.

I'm going to stick it down to the table so it doesn't move.

Just holding it still. OK.

I'm going to use the thread to trace around the line of the bike,

in one continuous line.

So I'm going to start here on the stem of the seat.

It's quite sticky.

-What would your picture be of?

-'A shark.'

A shark? I wish I'd done a shark - that's a really good idea.

I am putting my finger down on the thread as I go,

and then pulling it taut to make a straight line.

It means I can get some really crisp lines there.

So I'm just getting on with the back wheel here.

You don't have to use cotton - you could use string or wool.

Just anything that keeps a continuous line.

I'm just going around the chain of the bike now.

It's getting quite fiddly - this is quite a small bit -

so I'm taking my time a bit more.

Last little snip.

Just fold that in and tidy it up.

You wouldn't know where it began and where it ended.

I've got this lovely bit of blue paper here.

And I'm going to put it over the top of my picture,

and it will stick to the sticky-back plastic.

Rub it down. I'm a little bit nervous.

I'm going to slide this out from underneath.

Bye, bike.

OK, Joe, you ready to see it?

Fingers crossed. What do you think?

'Wow! That's awesome.'

What would you give it out of ten?

'I'd give it 9.999 recurring.'

Wow! A continuous mark for a continuous line drawing.

Do you know what? I'm so happy with it, I think it deserves a frame.

Thanks for your suggestion, Joe. You've been awesome.

-'Bye, Ricky.'

-Bye-bye.

Right then, yeti, if you're up there, I'm coming for you.

SNORING WHISPERING: I can hear it sleeping.

I'll sneak up on it.

MYSTICAL RIPPLING

Hang on. What's this?

Om...

-Whoa!

-CRASH!

I'm OK.

Greetings, dude!

It's The Grand Master.

Can you turn your Zen down a notch?

WHISPERING: I think there's a yeti upstairs.

Yeti-schmetty.

Step number 667 to enlightenment -

item in which to shake pleasing precipitation.

Snow globe.

Right, let's do this.

Grab an old toy.

Draw on a ninja headband.

Yeah!

Get a jar and bottle-top.

Use strong glue to stick the bottle-top to the lid of the jar.

Stick the toy to the bottle-top.

And let it dry.

Fill the jar with baby oil.

Now sprinkle in glitter.

Yeah, sparkly!

Put the lid back on tightly.

Huh?

Ha-ha!

Ah!

Shake it!

Item in which to shake pleasing precipitation.

Lesson 667 complete.

Thank you, Grand Master.

I am enlightened.

There's SNOW doubt you're the man!

Ha! No, YOU'RE the man!

-No, you're the man.

-No...you're the man.

You are the man.

No matter. You are most welcome.

Om...

SNORING

Oh, what? It's my dad!

-What are you doing?

-More like, what are you doing in my bed?

Mum's been keeping me awake with her snoring

and I needed to catch up with some zeds.

Monster slippers?

I thought you were the yeti of Bristol.

I know I'm hairy, but that's a bit much.

I've got art to make and YOU had better make my bed.

OK, then.

Maybe I'll find the yeti in the woods.

Ninja skills!

An unscheduled ice cream stop.

If I do meet the yeti of Bristol, maybe I could distract him with one.

Excuse me, one ice cream, please, kind sir.

Sure.

Hmm. A yeti's pretty big.

-Can you make that two ice creams, please?

-Sure.

-Here's one.

-Thank you.

And there's two.

-Thank you.

-Thanks.

-I think it's the right change.

-Thank you.

Whoa!

This is going to be tricky.

Thanks for coming down, guys.

Have you heard of the yeti of Bristol?

Yeah. I heard he's been spotted around here.

You brought the ice cream, right? You know they love ice cream.

Oh!

Ugh!

Yeah, I've got the ice cream.

Ah! Don't mind if I do!

Anyway, you guys can help me make some epic art

-to capture the yeti, right?

-You betcha.

We'd better get our ninja on.

Art Ninja! Strike an abob... pose.

-Strike an abob... Bob... MUFFLED:

-Abominable!

(Thanks, mate.)

To make art to capture the yeti,

we're going to need a couple of trees and a load of this.

-Clingfilm?

-Yeah. We're going to make a clingfilm canvas

and we're going to paint on it.

So, can you roll that out, please, Rich?

-I can't find the end.

-Let me have a go.

Oh, there it is.

W-w-whoa!

THE OTHERS LAUGH

CRACKING

-What was that?

-Just you falling over, wasn't it?

There it goes again.

It might be the yeti. We'd better get a move on with the art.

Come on, guys.

Pull it out. That's it. Now, we're going to wrap it around the tree.

-OK.

-Go as low as you can.

-OK.

The clingfilm looks so transparent. I think the picture's going to be

amazing with this nature backdrop behind it.

We're going to have massive muscles after this.

What do you mean, "going to have"?!

MICHELLE LAUGHS

Nice one, Rich. Right, guys, there's our canvas.

It's time for us to mask up.

Right, let's get painting.

All right, Richie, we need to get a good outline here.

-I think you start on the back, run round to the tail.

-OK.

What we're going to do here, guys, is do a nice bit of orange fading,

come back in and add some darker tones and little highlights

-of the other colours. You guys happy?

-Yeah.

-Cool.

GROWLING

TWIG SNAPS

WINGS FLUTTER

-Did you hear something?

-Yeah.

Ooh, it's looking good. Are we nearly finished?

Not YETI! Ha-ha-ha!

I don't know about yeti, but you are the abominable JOKE-man.

Hey, Rich, seeing as you've got the steadiest hand,

would you mind doing the fine details?

-I'll give it a go.

-We'll direct from back here.

-All right.

That's nice, Rich. Just have the tops of the brows

popping down to the side a little bit more. And then fade up.

Come on, Rich. Come and have a look.

-So what do you think, guys?

-Wow! I love it.

It looks brilliant.

-And you, Matt?

-Absolutely amazing.

It is awesome, isn't it?

Check out our wild beast of a picture.

-Now what?

-Ice cream?

Well, I think we all deserve one.

-ALL:

-Yeah!

Come on, guys.

Ooh, shoelace. D'you know what? I'll catch you up.

-OK.

-OK. Through, under and around and back.

Yes! Seeing as I'm here,

I might as well grab a quick selfie with our wild art.

Hello!

Ooh! Rich, Matt, Michelle?

Wait for me!

OWL HOOTS

It's OK. I made it.

Today has taught me a valuable Art Ninja lesson.

A yeti may enjoy an ice cream feast

but we captured an entirely different beast.

Time to get some sleep.

Hang on. What are those?

Ah, Dad probably left them here from earlier.

GROWLING

Oh, and now there's two pairs of feet.

HE LAUGHS NERVOUSLY

Oh, now three pairs.

There's yetis everywhere!

Aargh!