Day of the Ancestor 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...

-Go, art!

..Gavin, Michelle, Rich, and Sarah.

-It's me!

-Most importantly, I make ninja moves.

Some people call me the...

Today, I'll show you how to make a "Perry" nice vase.

We get prickly with this cactus photo frame.

And there's a giant creature coming to life in the sand.

Because today, it's...

Yawn! It's a new day.

I'd better get my ninja on...

..and my clothes.

QUACKING Aw!

Ooh!

MOBILE RINGS

Hello, Ricky speaking.

'Hello, I work on a TV show called Who On Earth Are You?

'It's where we find ancestors of famous people off the telly.'

Famous people...off the telly.

'We're a bit short of famous people,

'so would you like to be on the show?'

(Typical.)

Er, yeah!

I think your show is relatively good.

Get it? "Relatively"?

'Mmm, I'm afraid I don't. We'll text you updates.'

Maybe I should do a bit of my own family research.

According to this family-tree website,

I come from a long line of ninjas!

I wonder which one's my great-great-grandfather.

There's a chef that cooked really quickly.

Cake Ninja - maybe it's him?

Cake is served!

CRASH!

'Not cool.'

He can't be my ancestor.

Wow! If I get to be on Who On Earth Are You?

I'll be able to find out about my ancestors

and maybe write a bestselling autobiography.

An artist that used autobiographical details

in their work is Grayson Perry.

He was known for making vases.

So, I'm going to make one of my own.

-All right, Ricky.

-Oh, hi, Grayson.

-Nice of you to turn up.

-Did you say "Turner"?

Yeah, I did win the Turner Prize in 2003.

-And you're looking smart.

-I know, I put my best dress on especially.

I do have a CBE award, you know, for services to contemporary art.

Here's some of my work now.

Wow, you'll be a Sir next, or should I say "Sir-ramic"?!

Yeah, stop with the jokes, Ricky! I'm...glazing over.

All right, I'll pop you back over here.

So, I've got myself just a normal party balloon

and I'm going to blow it up to about the size of a melon.

There we go. Tie that off.

I've got myself a snack tube.

Take the lid off and with a pen, and quite carefully,

I'm going to draw a circle

around the bottom of the balloon over the knot.

And at the top, too.

And these two circles need to be perfectly in line with each other.

I've got some newspaper and some glue mix here -

three parts glue, one part water - and I'm going to papier mache

around my balloon, leaving the two circles on the top

and the bottom empty.

If you find it tricky,

put a little bowl down to hold your balloon in place.

If you're doing this at home, you need to put newspaper down

to protect your surfaces, and you'll need to do several layers

to make sure it's nice and strong.

I'm making sure that my papier mache goes right up to my drawn circles,

up to the very edge.

Looking good. Now, I need that to dry.

There we go. Ninja skills!

Chop the end of the balloon off.

IT PARPS Great noise!

Slide in my snack tube, so it sticks out either end.

I'm going to hold it in place with some masking tape.

I'm using my same glue mix from earlier.

I'm going to cover in it in a layer of coloured paper.

And paper gives it a lovely texture.

While it's still wet, I'm going to add my autobiographical features.

Pictures of my friends and my life, just like Grayson Perry.

Some long strips of coloured paper to wrap around the top.

Just slide it underneath that silver bit.

I could wait for this to dry before I add some finer details,

but I'm going to use my ninja skills.

There you go, ninja skills!

And I've added some black pen detail.

An autobiographical vase in the style of Grayson Perry.

You don't have to make a vase like mine. Make it personal to you.

How about one with your favourite things?

Mine shows skateboards, pencils and pizza.

Or how about showing the family pet?

Hey, look! A dog! Woof!

Right! Back to the family tree.

But which one's my great-great-granddad?

How about this fella?

He was a surgeon that dressed wounds super fast.

Maybe it was him?

Oh, ow!

Really not cool!

I've always had my ninja skills, even as a baby.

TEXT ALERT

Hey, it's a text from Who On Earth Are You?

They've found something interesting about my family tree.

Oh, but they haven't said what it is.

Anyway, I prefer cacti to trees.

I know, that gives me an idea to make...

the Art Ninja cactus photo frame.

So, I'm going to need some pictures from a photo album.

Me, my dad and mum. And a nice big bit of card.

And I'm going to dot around my pictures as a guide.

I positioned my pictures and I'm putting a dot at each corner.

Now using a ruler, I'm connecting the dots.

I'm going to go round on the inside

and draw another box about half a centimetre smaller,

because that's the bit that's going to hold them in place.

Now, using the frames that I've drawn as a guide,

I'm going to sketch out my cactus shape.

I want a big border around them, like that.

Remember, cacti come in all shapes and sizes,

so you can do yours any shape that you like.

Right, get that cut out.

Now, you might find it tricky,

cutting out this large shape on the cardboard.

If so, just get someone to help you.

And don't worry about it looking scruffy,

because you're going to papier mache it later.

There we go. Don't need these bits.

And I need to cut out these smaller rectangles here.

To get into them, I'm going to put a bit of modelling clay underneath

and poke through with a pencil.

Now I can slide in my scissors and cut that out.

There we go. Now, to give my cactus a bit more shape,

I'm going to add some newspaper to really puff it up.

I'm just going to scrunch it up and hold this in place

with a bit of masking tape.

I'm going to wrap the newspaper, just under and in on itself,

to give it a nice rounded shape.

Now I'm going to do some papier mache but with a difference.

I'm going to be using some kitchen towel

and I've got some glue and water mix.

Two parts glue, one part water.

And the great thing about kitchen towel is it means

I don't have to do a base coat of white, and especially for this,

it gives it a lovely texture.

Now, this is pretty messy.

So, if you're doing it at home, make sure you put some newspaper down.

Now, I need that to dry and to give it some colour

but I'm going to use my ninja skills.

Check it out. Lovely green on this side,

slightly darker on the back, just to tidy it up,

I'm going to add some extra detail by fading the two colours in.

So, start with a bit of the dark paint.

And I'm going to mix in a little bit of the lighter stuff.

Now, fading these two colours into each other,

makes it look more 3D and gives it a lovely finish.

Right, I'm going to put that to one side now.

I've made a back for my photo, using a piece of card.

And this little lip here will stop the picture from sliding around

and falling out when it's put into our frame.

I'm also using these cardboard lips to attach the frames

to the back of the canvas with double-sided sticky tape.

First one.

There you go.

It's nearly ready for photographs

but I'm going to add some finishing touches

and for that, I've used an egg box.

And I've used the bottom bits that hold the eggs to make flowers,

which I've painted and outlined in black pen.

These triangle bits here become some nice spikes.

And I'm just sticking these on with a bit of double-sided sticky tape.

Now it's time to add my photographs.

They slide nicely into our little pockets.

Dad's there. There you go, Mum.

Now I'm going to add a stand, so I can display it.

For that, I've got a strip of card that I've painted green,

a little bit of double-sided sticky tape, and the top bit

just leans against where the top sleeve is.

There we go.

You don't have to make a family cactus.

These egg box bugs look blooming great!

Or you can branch out with a blossoming tree.

Crumbs! Did that picture move?

I think it did. That's because it's animated.

What's Anna doing?

Hello, what are you up to?

Just leaving this bag of clothes for the charity shop.

-Are you sure that's just clothes?

-Yeah.

GRUNTING

Whoa! Better call the fashion police!

Nah! It's just an animation.

Now, to make this trendy animation, you'll need a load of old clothes

and a tablet with an animation app installed.

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

Ninja move number one.

Pick out some old clothes and put together some outfits

to make your characters.

# Vogue!

# Vogue

# Go with the flow

# Ooh, you've got to... #

But you don't actually have to put the outfits on.

< Aw!

Ninja move number two.

Now, lay your clothes down on the floor and set up your shot.

If you like, you can use a mini fish-eye lens,

just to help you get more of the action into your field of view.

Now is a good time to plan what your animation's going to be.

So, get those creative juices flowing.

Ninja move number three.

It's time to start shooting.

Now, remember, the distance you move your clothes

will affect how smooth the animation is.

So, we're just moving them a tiny amount, and each time we move them,

we take a frame.

OK, we've shot all of our frames, I think it's time to take a look

at our mini masterpiece!

GRUNTING

Oh, I'm really happy with that!

-What do you reckon, Rich?

-I'll take my hat off to that.

Nice.

-Nice outfits!

-Thanks.

PHONE RINGS

'Hi, Ricky, it's your mum.

'I've been doing some research into jeans.'

Wow! Everyone's at it!

'I prefer the stone-washed jeans myself

-'but they're not fashionable any more.'

-Oh, wrong genes.

'So, I bought myself some super-skinny purple ones instead

'and here's what you've got to squeeze into today.'

"Oil" be impressed when you make some fruity art.

Whoa!

This guy's off to a flyer with his origami Frisbee.

And there's epic sand art, that's totally beachy.

'Right, I've got to go and squeeze myself into my new trousers.

'Those skinny jeans won't wear themselves!

-'Bye!'

-Ricky, Ricky, Ricky!

-What can I help you with?

-Ricky, can you make art with a mirror?

-I can't see myself doing that, not today.

-Aw!

-BOTH:

-Hi, Ricky.

-Hey, it's Sam and Mark.

No wind-ups, all right?

We just wondered if you could make something out of these eggs.

Here, catch.

Oh! I knew it was a rubber egg.

Anyway, I can't make anything with this,

you having a laugh?

Erm, yeah, that's kind of what we do.

Fair enough.

-BOTH:

-Ricky!

What have these guys got?

Ricky, can you make art with this oil?

OK. I choose you!

-BOTH:

-Yay!

-What are your names?

-I am Emily.

-And I am Lillian.

-Nice to meet you, guys, and where are you from?

-Wales.

Oh, lovely. I'm going to grab a few more things, I'll be right back.

Right, guys, I've got a piece of paper,

a couple of bowls, some cotton buds

and a little bit of kitchen towel.

Over there. And I've also got some colouring pencils and a pen,

cos I'm going to do a still life of this bowl of fruit.

So, I'm going to start by drawing a sketchy line drawing of the bowl.

-So, do you guys like to do art? BOTH:

-Yeah.

-What kind of things do you do?

-I drew a wolf once.

A wolf is my favourite animal.

When you're drawing still life,

it's always important to look more at your subject

than you do at your paper. It's all about studying it.

Now, I'm using pen to do my sketch and you'll find out why later.

OK, do you want to see how the sketch is looking so far?

-BOTH:

-Yes, please.

Here you go.

-BOTH:

-Whoa!

You think it looks good now, well,

it's going to look even better when I've added some colour.

-That is art.

-Thanks, guys.

These are just normal colouring pencils.

I'm just going to scruffily add some colour.

What fruit shall I do next?

-Orange!

-Grapes!

-Orange!

-Grapes!

-Why don't I try and do both?

-Yeah!

-Yeah!

Double-handed colouring, risky!

Starting with the lighter colour on the orange,

and I'm just giving the bottom parts of the grapes

a little bit of shadow there, and I'm going to come back

with a lighter one on that one. OK, I'm going back to one-handed.

Going to add some darker orange and I'm just really sketchily doing it,

because I've got a trick up my sleeve with that oil.

So, I'm adding a lot of different colours

that you wouldn't think you'd find on here but if you look closely,

there are little bits of blue and purple on parts of the pineapple.

It's surprising what colours are hiding in there.

It looks so arty, and cool!

I'm really hoping it's going to be pretty cool.

So, now, I've coloured in my picture with pencils,

it's time to use the oil.

This oil is not for babies today.

I'm going to use little cotton buds, I'm going to dip it in the oil.

Get the excess oil off and I'm going to start

fading in and blending in the colours.

But all the separate sketchy colours are now blending in

all nice and smooth, giving it a lovely paint effect.

And when I'm changing colours,

I'm using either the other end of the cotton bud

or a new cotton bud, so you don't smudge the colours together

and the reason I used a permanent pen earlier

is because the oil doesn't make the ink run.

So, I'm making my way down the pineapple now.

And all the other colours you wouldn't expect to see there

are blending in nicely to create shadows and some highlights.

And now, I'm just finishing up by just blending in the bowl.

OK, girls, are you ready to see it?

-BOTH:

-Yes!

What do you make of this?

-It's really cool!

-Ah, yeah.

You know what, I'm so happy with it, I think it deserves a frame.

So, what would you guys give it out of ten?

-BOTH:

-We give it a special ten!

Oh, like a bunch of grapes.

I "vitamin C" what you did there!

Thanks for your suggestion, guys, you've been awesome. Bye-bye!

-BOTH:

-Bye, Ricky!

Here's a quick art tip, how to draw a pirate ship.

So, I'm going to start with the water line.

That's just joined-up curves.

I'm going to draw the hull of the ship,

so it's going to have a curve at the front, a rectangle that juts out -

that's going to be the bow.

Down here to make the deck and then a rectangle

that sticks out of the back and a similar curve for the stern.

Now, I need some cannon holes.

It's a pirate ship having lots of sea battles.

Just a couple of detail lines here because the ship is made out of wood

and these will be the planks.

Now, some nice big sails push it along.

I'm going to angle them like this like they're catching the wind.

I'm going to draw these two masts.

Connecting up my sails.

And, at the very top, these little flags, as well.

It wouldn't be a pirate ship without a skull and crossbones.

There we go. Another quick art tip.

QUACKING

Argh!

Oh! TEXT ALERT

It's that researcher from the Who On Earth Are You? show.

He says my great grandfather could be a notorious ninja pirate.

Argh!

That's more like it! I can see myself as a pirate.

Now I can LITERALLY see myself as a pirate!

Om!

-Om... Ooh!

-CRASHING

Greetings, ninja pirate dude.

It's the Grand Master, ancestor of all ninjas.

Step number 1066 to enlightenment!

Flying object of many thoughts.

Origami Frisbee!

Yeah.

Get yourself some memo notes.

Take one and fold it, like this.

Corner-to-corner, into a triangle.

Bottom point up to the top corner.

Make three more of this colour, dude.

Grab some different colour memo notes.

Pink! Fold four of these the same way.

You need eight to make a circle, dude.

Take one of each colour.

Put the big point of one inside the small opening of the other.

Repeat with all of them.

Alternating the colours until you have a circle.

Make it stronger with pieces of sticky tape.

Kerblammo!

A flying object of many folds.

Lesson number 1066, complete.

Wow! Nice one, Grand Master.

I am enlightened.

You are most welcome.

Such big ideas for a man of such small stature.

Om!

If my great grandad was a pirate,

maybe I can make some sea-worthy art.

I might have to ditch this hat, though.

-PHONE RINGS

-Hi, Ricky.

Ahoy, me hearty!

Or should I say, "me arty"!

Meet me at the beach for some art to treasure!

Aye-aye, it's Sarah!

Ninja skills!

-Hey, Sarah. Can I come under?

-Yeah, it's a bit soggy.

-Yeah.

Why are you wearing an eye patch?

Because I've got pirate ancestors, which makes me the Arrrr Ninja.

Which means I get a parrot.

Check it out. "Polly want a cracker?

"Oh, shiver me timbers!

"Pieces of eight."

Pieces of skate, more like!

You're the first skateboarding pirate ninja.

Oh, thanks. Oh, Polly!

Oh, Polly...

Anyway, the reason I've brought you here

is to make some really epic seafaring art.

Like, it's going to be quite hard graft,

-so we're going to need a lot of muscle.

-It's all right.

I've got a load of mussel, like, I've got a mussel here,

got mussel there, a whole bucket of mussels.

Oh, give me strength. It's the sort of thing Gavin would say!

All right, well, look, before we get our ninja on,

can you put some sun cream on my nose?

-Really?

-Yeah. I burn really easily.

Please!

Well, let's get our ninja on.

Art Ninja!

-Strike a pose.

-Art Ninja!

Yeah!

My great-great-great grandfather, he had the sea legs.

But a pirate's life is not for me. I'm going to bail.

Well, come on, Sarah.

Hey, Tom, me old, salty sea dog.

-Hey, Ricky.

-You all right?

-Yeah, great.

You up for helping us make some epic sand art?

-Definitely. Let's do it.

-Awesome.

But, first, I've got a gag from one of my old ancestors.

Oh, yeah?

What happened when the sea weed?

Look, let's not rake out old jokes. Grab that and get to work.

OK, Tom, so what are we up to here?

OK, Ricky, so we're right at the top of our drawing at the moment

and this is just a tiny part of it.

-It's massive, isn't it?

-It's really big.

So, if you want to start here, Ricky,

and Sarah, if you start over there.

So, we're just doing the outline now,

it doesn't look like much, though.

Well, it doesn't look like much now,

but once you stand up on the promenade over there,

you'll be able to see when it's all finished.

Ricky, I'd like to say it's coming together

but I don't know what it's supposed to be.

Let's just say, this picture's going to be pretty crackin'!

You see this? This is a pro rake.

This part's for doing the main lines, and this is for the shading.

And for better coverage...

..it's got a trick up its sleeve. And if it looks dangerous,

it probably is.

Hi, Tom, what bit shall we do next?

So, at the moment, we're colouring in.

So, if we can find this mast here and shade that in with your rake,

-that'll be brilliant.

-Awesome.

Ricky, I still don't know what this is supposed to be.

Well, let me just add the last little finishing touches,

and you remember I said it was "cracking"?

Well, behold our giant, beautiful kraken!

Oh, that looks amazing!

I know, right? So, if you want to get a better view,

-why don't you look through this?

-OK.

HE LAUGHS

What? Have I got something on my face?

Just like my ancestors.

The old ones are the best.

ROARING

I may not have found any treasure but the art was priceless.

Today has taught me a valuable Art Ninja lesson.

When taking a look at your family tree,

watch out for surprises from under the sea.

It's time for some rest.

Oh, I've left my socks on.

SEAGULL CALLS

SHIP'S FOGHORN

'If this sand doesn't stop soon, I'm going to scream!'

Arrrrrrrgh!