Day of the Superfan Art Ninja

I'm Ricky.

I live in Bristol.

I work as an animator -

which is lucky, because I love art!

I live for art! I even dream of art!

I draw, I paint, I make things!

Nailed it!

I hang out with my mates,

Gavin, Rich and Sarah.

SHE SCREAMS

Most importantly, I make ninja moves.

Some people call me the...

Art Ninja!

Today, I'll show you how to shimmer with a shiny selfie.

There is a beautiful bouquet with a hidden surprise,

and things get daring with this dino animation!

Because today it's...

It's a new day.

I better get my ninja on!

And my clothes!

LOUD THUD

What's that noise?

GLASS BREAKING

It's coming from the kitchen... I need something - and fast!

CHOIR SINGS

It's all I could find.

Come on, Ricky, you can do this, you're brave,

you're a ninja! Slowly...

Slowly... I'm going to sneak up on our intruder...

CRASHING CONTINUES

Here they come...

Hey!

Gav! What are you doing here?

I came around to make you breakfast, mate.

And your door was unlocked.

So I just let myself in.

I thought I locked it last night.

Thanks for cooking me breakfast though.

-Where is breakfast?

-Yeah, about that, it's a bit tricky.

There's nothing here!

Not even my favourite mug?

Gone, too! But don't worry though, I did manage to find you this!

It's got corn flakes in it.

Oh, yeah, sorry.

Forgot the milk.

-Cheers.

-Cheers!

Gav! That's the cup I use to clean my brushes!

This is all too weird!

Who's taken my stuff?

Scissors, pencils, brushes, it's all here!

If I have been robbed, they haven't taken anything expensive!

Did someone say expensive?

-Who are you?!

-I am

Gustav Klimt from Vienna, Austria.

I am well known for using goldleaf in my work.

Here's an example now.

My portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer sold at auction

for 135 million dollars!

That is a lot of money!

-You're telling me!

-You didn't happen to see who took my stuff?

You should have set a trap!

That would have foiled them!

Foiled! Because you're on foil!

Ha-ha-ha-ha!

I'm going to make a shiny selfie inspired by you, Gustav Klimt.

-Good luck, Ricky!

-Thanks, Gustav!

I got myself a nice big printout of moi.

And I've got a bowl of old sweet wrappers.

I'm going to chop these in to strips.

Let's start with the red one.

You need a good handful of each colour.

Let's get this sort of light gold colour

and do the same. And I'm doing different widths.

Some quite thin, some quite thick.

So I'm using wrappers, but you can use anything shiny you like.

Need some blue, as well.

And some silver.

It's a good little pile to start with.

By using a glue stick, I'm going to fill in the red part of my top here.

I'm going to stick them on, but always going vertically,

because that's what Klimt was known for.

I'm using three different types of wrappers on this bit

to give it a variety of colour and texture.

Here we go.

Now I'm going to move onto the blue part of my top.

And that's going be a mix of this blue foil,

and some different textures of silver.

I'm going to add a stripy collar.

Here we go. Now I can cut away the background.

I'm also using this opportunity to

trim off the overhanging bits over the shoulders.

And I'm going to tidy up along the bottom.

Just to give it a nice straight edge.

How do I look?

Now I need to make a background, for my picture.

Klimt also experimented with using embossed backgrounds.

So I'm going to do the same here.

I'm sticking down some triangles.

I'm going to cut out some squares from these wrappers

to make my background.

When I'm going to make the triangles

I'm using the foil based material,

because it means when they're stuck down,

you can push them into the edges to bring out the shapes underneath.

I'm using three different materials with different textures,

and I'm layering them up to give them a Klimt feel.

I've also taken some different coloured wrappers

and layered them up as triangles and ovals,

and I'm going to stick them around in the background.

Now it's time to bring the whole picture together.

Bit of glue along the back here.

There we go, a shiny selfie inspired by Gustav Klimt!

And I think it's so good it deserves a frame.

I'm not sure this will fetch millions at auction, but to me,

it's priceless.

Fancy flowers!

-Who are they from?

-There's a note.

-Kiss.

-Wow! A secret super fan? And a kiss! This is exciting!

I wonder who it could be?

I don't know. It was just a delivery guy that gave them to me.

I think. I didn't really see him, to be honest.

Best put these down on the table.

Hang on, where's the table gone?

-What?

-Something fishy's going on around here.

Gav, you need to stay here and keep guard.

Definitely. Nothing or no-one will get past me.

-Keep guard, all right?

-Yes, sir!

Agent Gavin, at your service! Sir!

It's always nice to receive flowers.

But I hope this super fan thing isn't a joke.

That gives an idea!

I'm going to make...

..the Art Ninja joke flowers!

I got myself an old plastic bag here, that I've cut into two strips.

I'm going to fold them in half, long ways.

And then just pinch, and twist along the folded edge.

And I'm doing this at about 2cm intervals.

I don't want to do it too hard and damage the plastic.

And these strips will become the petals for my flower.

I got a strong, and on the bendy end,

I'm going to put a little bit of double-sided sticky tape.

And then I'm going to roll the plastic around it.

I'm rolling this as tight as I can.

OK. I'm going to do the other one here.

And I'm going to roll this one a little bit looser.

Make sure it's all flush against the top on the table,

I'm just going to tie around this with a piece of string.

Just shape it a little bit. This technique has given me a rose.

I'm going to put a little bit of

double sided sticky tape over the string.

And now I've got a little strip of green plastic bag.

And I'm just going to twist it round here, like this,

all way down the stem as I twist.

And cut off the excess.

Stick that down with a bit of sticky tape to hold it in place.

I'm going to make a different style of flower.

So I have some more pieces of plastic bag here,

cut into rectangles.

And I'm going to layer them up, alternating colours.

So, yellow and pink.

Now I'm going to fold these, concertina style.

So, just back and forth.

Using a pair scissors, I'm just going to round off the edges.

I've got another bit of string,

just going to tie it around the centre.

Just loosely to begin with, so I can slide another straw through it.

And I'm going to line it up with the bendy bit at the top of the straw.

Tie that much tighter. Bend both ends of the straw up,

and stick them together with tape,

catching the ends of the string as you go.

And now I'm going to fan out the petals.

And then I'm going to start separating the layers,

and that is what's going to give this flower its form.

And again, I'm going to wrap around

a strip of green plastic carrier bag.

Secured at the end with sticky tape.

Look at that.

And this flower is a peony.

But if I'm going to make a bouquet,

I'm going to need some more of these flowers,

so I'm going to use my ninja skills.

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

Thank you!

Now I'm going to stick the flowers around this kitchen roll tube.

Lovely.

And here's some leaves that I made by sandwiching a straw

between two layers of green plastic bag

and cutting them into long, thin, leaf shapes.

I'm putting these on the outside, using sticky tape.

I've got another plastic bag with a nice pattern to wrap the bouquet.

Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about this one.

This one is the special one.

It's the joke flower!

I've got a squeezy travel bottle here.

So I've got myself a balloon, and I'll chop the top off.

Here we go.

Don't need that bit.

Slide it up the stem.

And then just hold it in place with some sticky tape.

Put some water my travel bottle.

About half full.

And I'm going to put the end of my straw into it.

And I'm putting this balloon around the edges to seal the bottle.

This will stop any water escaping.

And slide that up.

Through the kitchen roll, into the centre.

Like that. I wonder what they smell like.

LAUGHTER

A lovely bunch of flowers, with a silly surprise.

Look out!

You don't have to mix squirty flowers like mine,

there's a whole bunch of ways you can make them!

How about making a splash with this underwater scene?

Or these fang-tastic monster flowers?

GROWLING

I wonder how Gavin's getting on.

None shall pass.

Gav, it's me!

Oh, sorry, mate! I didn't see you with these on!

So, did anything else arrive?

Nope, nothing.

Nada, not a sausage.

What about this then?

Kiss kiss. Two kisses!

I wonder what it is! Lift with your knees.

Let's open it up!

Oh, mate! Let me help you!

Let's get you sat down.

What? Where's the chair gone?

Must've been taken, too!

You need to up your guard game, mate.

OK, boss.

No-one needs to move this picture, it moves itself.

It's animated.

So, Ricky, what sort of animals do you think live here?

Crows, pigeons, squirrels...

Dinosaurs!

ROARING

Guys! It's just an animation!

So, to make this monstrous animation,

you'll need some modelling clay,

a mini manikin, a camera, some green fabric

and a computer with animation software.

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

Ninja move number one.

So first thing we need to do, is get ourselves

a bit of video to make our animation along to.

Now, we're going to need these guys to act out

being attacked by the dinosaur.

THROUGH MEGAPHONE: Duck, jump, throw the stick, run away!

Ninja move number two.

Now this bit's really fun.

You get to build your dinosaur.

I'm going to mould the clay over the mini-manikin,

and this will work as an armature.

An armature is basically a skeleton inside of an animation model

that helps it stay in place when you're animating.

You can pick up mini-manikins from any good craft shop.

Ninja move number three.

It's time to start shooting!

You remember that video we shot earlier?

I'm going to make the dinosaur's movements

join up with what Richard and Ella did.

Now, I have to splice my dino-less shot with my dino animation.

Oh, so excited!

And I've shot all of our dino frames,

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

ROARING

Mate, that was worth all the hard work.

-It did turn out great, right?

-Yeah!

-Yeah!

PHONE RINGS

Hi, Ricky. It's your mum.

Just phoning to say I'm missing you.

I miss you too, Mum. But I've always got your photo.

Hang on, where's it gone?

Make sure you don't miss what's coming up.

You won't be able to resist using a candle for this great picture.

There's a big surprise from this little guy.

-Magic!

-And you'll be involved in

some absolute ba-lunacy at the gallery.

Ricky, I'm not being funny, but I think someone's stealing your phone.

DIAL TONE

What on earth...?

Gav, did you see who took the phone?

What? No.

-I've been pretty busy.

-What's going on around here?

-Ricky, Ricky, Ricky!

-It's the ninja apprentices.

I wonder if they've seen anything?

Can you make art with a baked potato?

Sorry, I don't want to make art that's half-baked.

Aw...

-Hey! You, Ricky Martin! Art Ninja man!

-Oh, gosh!

Hacker, you're naked!

Well, what did you expect? I'm a dog, cocker!

-Fair point.

-Can you make some art with this scrubbing brush?

I'm sorry, but this time I'm going to have to give you the brush off.

See you!

Hey! What have you got?

Ricky, can you make art with a candle?

I've always had a burning desire to do that.

-I choose you.

-Yay!

-What's your name?

-I'm Caitlin.

-Lovely to meet you, Caitlin. And where are you from?

-I'm from Derry.

-Can I borrow your candle?

-Sure.

Great. I'll just go and get some more bits.

So I've got some paper, some watercolour paints

and obviously your candle.

And I'm going to snip the wick off.

And now I'm going to use it to sketch out my picture.

By the way, this is watercolour paper.

I've noticed you've got some art on the wall behind you.

I drew myself as an art ninja.

-Suits you.

-And then I've got the turtles.

I'm pleased you like turtles,

cos my picture is something that lives in a similar place.

I can't really see what I'm drawing.

If I look to the edge of my paper like that and let the light reflect

across it, I can see the reflection of the wax.

-Do you want to see it?

-Yeah!

Well, can you see it?

-No.

-But don't worry.

Soon everything will become clear.

I'm just going to grab some masking tape and tape it down.

Because when the paper gets wet, it might try and crease up.

I'm taping mine to the desk.

But if you want, you can tape yours to a tray.

And I'm going to start with a light orange.

Now what's happening here is the wax resists the water,

leaving behind white lines.

So, Caitlin, I really love your turtle picture,

-but what's your favourite animal?

-Baby pigs.

Can you do a baby pig impression?

SHE OINKS

Any guesses of what I'm drawing?

It hangs out in the same place as the turtle.

Fish?

It's pretty close!

Now I want to do some blue round the outside.

There's no need to be to neat here, and it's going to

end up with a messy edge,

but I think it's going to add to the picture.

I was always going to be an art ninja.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

A famous artist, a teacher, a pop star...

You're going to be busy.

Now I'm going to move on to some green.

And it's fading in nicely with the blue.

There we go. I'm just going to add some purple,

giving parts of my painting depth.

One last little finishing touch, a little bit of black.

Right, I'm all done here. I'll just take off the masking tape.

Are you ready to see it?

-Yes.

-What do you think?

It's so good!

-So what would you score it?

-I'd give it a...ten!

Ah, a 10? You must be a fan!

I'm so happy with that score, I'm going to give it a frame.

-Thank you very much for your suggestion, Caitlin. Bye-bye!

-Bye!

Here's a quick art tip of how to draw a 3-D object.

So I'm going to start by drawing myself a couple of dots,

and these are going to be guides,

because I'm going to make my objects 3-D by using vanishing points.

So I'm going to join these dots up.

Just rough for now. I'm going to draw a present,

which is basically a cube.

I'm just going to draw a line straight in the middle here.

And that's going to be one edge of my cube.

I'm going to draw lines from this point out my vanishing points.

Now I'm going to draw the two outside edges of my box...

..and join those up with the opposite vanishing points.

And that's the main body of my cube,

so to make this into a present I'm going to add a bow on the top

and I'm going to do this in pen.

Two nice big loops in the ribbon.

Just go over the structure of the box.

But I'm not drawing in the lines behind the bow.

Finally, just letting that ribbon continue down the front of the box.

There we go. There's a quick art tip of how to draw a 3-D object.

Oh, yeah. I know! I know!

Who's Gav chatting to?

Maybe he's caught my mystery super fan.

You're so right.

Cheers, Dave.

-Gavin?!

-Oh!

You're meant to be on the lookout

for stuff going missing and strange deliveries.

What's all this lot?!

What?! I can't believe it.

I literally have no idea how that happened.

Hm! I wonder.

I know. Oh...

Tell you what though, oh...

Did you see what he was wearing?

Hello? Hello?

Maybe that's how.

I'm sorry, Ricky.

It so won't happen again.

You need to sort your act out.

OK, OK. I'm on it.

Ommm...

It's the Grand Master.

Ommm... Whoa!

I'm OK, man!

-Greetings, dude!

-Hi, Grand Master.

You're one mystery intruder that I'm a big fan of.

Thank you! Lesson 721 to enlightenment.

Mystical monochrome to technicolour masterpiece!

Magic self-colouring picture.

Let's do it! Grab a colourful picture

and cover with a piece of acetate.

Use a black pen to draw around the picture and any dark features.

The simpler the picture the better, dudes.

Grab a piece of paper and cut a thin strip off,

leaving a little piece at the end.

Do this on two edges!

Cut this end into a wiggly line,

as it will help reveal your picture better.

Move the acetate and put the black paper on top of your picture and put

the acetate back on top.

Tape the two pictures together at one end

and these little edges at the other to stop the paper falling out.

Put a frame over the top of your picture

and use tape to hold it in place

on just three sides.

Slide the paper in and out.

Monochrome to technicolour magic!

Lesson number 721 complete.

-My mind is blown, man!

-FIREWORKS

I'm most enlightened.

Who took your paint pot?

Search me, dude.

Ommm...

Ommm...

I need to put a stop to this.

Wait! Come back here!

CRUNCHING

What was that noise?

Oh, a secret super fan!

Let's see who you are.

Gav? You're my secret super fan?

Sorry, Ricks. They got away again.

Gav! You better have a good explanation for this.

Well, actually, I spotted the lesser spotted chaffinch

and I started noting

it in my bird spotter jotter and...

Well, they left these.

"You've been invited to the Art Ninja exhibition

"from your secret super fan, kiss, kiss, kiss.

Mm! Three kisses.

Come on, Gav. Let's find out who my stuff-stealing super fan really is.

Let's go.

Ninja skills.

Where are we?

It looks like the Tate Liverpool.

The Art Ninja exhibition must be here.

Get your Art Ninja badges here!

Sarah!

This is all my stuff!

Are you my super fan?

-Er, you're all right...

-No, I mean did you put on this exhibition?

No. I thought you did.

I got this invite, so I thought I'd sell some Art Ninja merch,

-make a bit of money.

-Well...

Then who's my super fan?

I don't know. But they've gone to a lot of effort.

Although there's not that much actual art,

considering this is a gallery.

True, but we can put that right.

But first, we'd better get our Ninja on.

Art ninja!

Strike a pose.

-BOTH:

-Art ninja!

You're going to have to pay for those.

Let's make some art.

But we haven't got any materials.

We've got balloons.

Sarah, pop those badges down over there,

because pins and balloons don't mix.

Good idea.

Here you go. Take that and put little strips

of double sided sticky tape all along one side.

Come and put yours next to mine, parallel.

We're going to make a frame.

There you go, that's nice.

We want two lines of the darker blue,

-and then fade it out with the lighter ones.

-Fab.

You're my new mate! Not Ricky.

"We're way cooler than Ricky is!"

Er, Gav?

Ricky, check this out. Look what I can do to my hair.

Come on now, I'm bursting to get this art finished

before my super fan turns up. BALLOON POPS

-Where do you want this?

-Stick it there.

-There you go, mate.

-Ah, yes. Hold it still.

The finishing touch.

There you go, it's done.

Looks great, Ricky. Really pops.

Hey, Gavin. Come and have a look at the art.

That's not me. I'm over here.

Hang on, if that's Gav, who's that?

Nan? What are you doing here?

I'm not just your nan, I'm your biggest super fan.

So I've put on this little exhibition in your honour.

Oh, it's you!

You're my mystery super fan.

You're definitely my favourite grandson.

I'm your only grandson.

Shall we go and get a cuppa and one of your favourite sticky buns?

Good plan, Nan. Let's go.

Where was our invite?

# Art Ninja! #

Who'd have thought my nan would be my secret super fan?

Still, we made some pretty epic art.

But if I ever see another balloon it'll be too soon.

What's this?

Argh!

Head over to our online gallery and upload your masterpieces at: