Tokay Gecko Deadly Art

My name's Steve Backshall and this is Deadly Art.

I'm lucky enough to travel the world tracking deadly animals.

But in this show, my team of artists take my killer moment...

..and turn it into art.

We'll reveal another unique creation.

Along the way, you'll get to pick up some tips, tricks and techniques

so you can make some art yourself.

This is no ordinary art show, this is Deadly Art.

Coming up on Deadly Art, I take on a tough challenge

to see if I can compete with today's deadly animal.

I'm never going to make it!

The artists recreate a killer piece of art using glass.

With a simple bend, the glass breaks.

And we'll show you how to draw another deadly doodle

to impress your friends.

What if I was to tell you that today's animal had superpowers

just like Spiderman,

with stick-on feet that enable it to climb any horizontal wall,

excellent night vision and amazing agility and speed?

This is the Tokay gecko.

Its name comes from the very loud call it makes at night.

"Tokay! Tokay!"

Especially when it's out on a hunt.

Many geckos are content to snack on things like moths and mosquitoes,

but the Tokay is so large, it's capable of eating

the largest of insects and even other lizards.

Found in the jungles and cities of Asia, this is no ordinary gecko.

But, then again, this is no ordinary art show. Time to meet our artists.

So, who's taking on the Deadly Art challenge today?

I'm Michelle and I love working with different materials.

I'm all about getting stuck in.

I'm Jo. I'm a painter, sculptor and a general mess-maker.

Michelle and Jo will be representing the Deadly Art team,

who are always up for a challenge.

Here's today's killer moment to inspire the artwork -

when a gecko catapults itself in a display of super-strength

and stick-on stealth.

For me, it's the feet. I love the way they stick to walls.

The claws will work really well in stained glass.

It's something we've not done before.

It's going to be tricky, but really beautiful.

Time for some more Deadly Art.

This is a design for the stained-glass window.

I need to divide it into sections to show where the glass will go.

The head will be in five sections.

We've got orange glass for the eyes and green for the body.

Using glass is a first for our art team,

so let's hope it comes together.

One of the great things about travelling

is that some animals aren't hard to find.

The Tokay gecko is found all over Asia in forests and cities.

It's their climbing ability

that makes them worthy of

a place on the Deadly 60.

Let's get a closer look at the feet that are clamping down on my thumb.

On the end of every one of those toes is a sharp claw,

almost like the talon of a bird of prey,

and that'll cling to tiny imperfections in bark or in bricks.

But, even better than that,

every one of those toes...is lined with something even more miraculous.

Each toe is covered with fine hairs you can only see under a microscope.

They allow it to cling to vertical surfaces or even overhanging ones.

The Tokay gecko is, to my mind,

the finest climbing insect killer in the world.

That on its own ought to be enough to get on my list,

but we don't just tell you how cool animals are, we like to show you.

Our Tokay gecko is munching its way through the local moth population

up there. So I'm going to go and join him.

I'm going to climb that building later.

Back to Michelle and Jo in the Deadly Art studio.

Cutting glass is easier than you think.

I've drawn a shape onto the glass

and now, I'm using a scorer to go along the line.

Although you can't really see the score mark...

..with a simple bend, the glass breaks.

I love how easily that glass snaps, but remember,

Michelle has been trained and is wearing protective gear.

-You mustn't try this at home.

-Fits perfectly.

-Is that ready to go?

-Yeah.

I'm going to take off the sharp edges using a polishing machine.

When I've finished, they'll fit in the frame.

It wouldn't be Deadly Art without using machinery.

Now Jo's going to show you a Deadly doodle.

This Deadly doodle is a colourful Tokay gecko.

As always, we're going to start with the basic shapes.

Our first one is an oval.

And then, from the bottom of that,

a large curve, which will be the bottom of the gecko's jaw.

Coming out the top of that oval will be a big C shape for its body,

all the way around to the tip of its tail and then back up again.

And for its legs, I'm going to put in arrow shapes.

And then, for its feet, they are just circles

with little circles around them where his toes are going to go.

On to the big round eyes. This one that's close to us is just a circle,

but the one further away is more of an oval shape.

And then, to add some detailing to its mouth.

Its jaw comes down, and then another curve under like that,

and then put in his tongue.

OK, now I'm going to go over it with a marker pen. Let's get some eyelids.

And those reptilian pupils.

I'm going to put two lines coming down...

to his nose and some tiny little nostrils.

Around his head. I'm just going over the guidelines I already made.

Now the back of his body, and he's got ridges going all the way along.

Right up to the tail.

And where those circles are for his toes,

I'm going up and around, up and around, in a big wiggly line.

And then over to those spiky claws.

For his back leg, I'm just going to give him a little curve

and another little wiggly line for a few toes and claws.

-Let's give it some colour.

-This is the fun bit.

Jo's using a wax crayon to draw the dots.

All the markings are so individual, you can do whatever you want.

Now, for his eyes, I'm going to go for the bright yellow.

And then brush it all over with watered-down paint.

There we have it. A lovely, spotty Tokay gecko.

Great gecko, Jo!

We visited Port Talbot in Wales on a Deadly day out.

Here's how some of you got on with this doodle.

Our first shape is an oval shape.

Now for those legs.

-ALL:

-Deadly Art!

I enjoyed drawing the claws

because that's my favourite part in animal bodies.

I liked drawing the spikes because they're like the top of the castle.

-ALL:

-We love geckos!

You're all budding Deadly artists. Very impressed.

Remember to keep on doodling.

Let's get back to the studio and our stained-glass window.

We're fixing the shapes into the frame using a method called leading.

This is lead cane and it's used to join the glass together.

First, I cut it to the right length... It is a really soft metal.

..and bend it around the glass.

That is the eye and it's ready to slot into place.

When the glass and lead are in place, they're ready to be glued together.

I'm using a soldering iron and lead - the soldering iron melts the lead

and when it cools down, it's fused together.

In Thailand, it was time for my

Tokay gecko climbing challenge.

Let's see how the best of British, me,

compares to the wizard of the wall, the Tokay gecko.

My first problem is balance.

Something the gecko solves easily with its tail.

And I can't get my fingers into the cracks

between these bricks. They're just too small.

Fingernails on the end of every toe for the gecko,

perfect for hooking into imperfections in bricks.

I'm never going to make it!

That's one small victory, at least.

Yay! Thank you very much.

My next problem is sweat.

I've got sweat getting into my fingers, stopping me gripping,

and the gecko doesn't have to deal with that at all.

This is the really hard bit. Up over the top.

Geckos cling effortlessly

to overhangs.

For me, it's near impossible.

Look at that! There's a little gecko

climbing right alongside me.

That's just showing off!

Almost there.

Woo-hoo!

I did it in about four minutes,

compared to the super gecko,

who does it in around 30 seconds.

Over to Michelle, who has a cool gecko DIY for you.

I'm going to show you how to make your very own gecko fridge magnet.

I've grabbed Jo's doodle, stuck it to the back of some cardboard

and cut around it.

This is going to make our fridge magnet sturdy.

Next, separate the top half of the head from the bottom half.

I'm going to use a scalpel. You can also use scissors.

Very carefully, you're going to cut around the top half of the head.

You must have adult supervision to do this.

Just following those lines of the doodle all the way around.

That should nice and simply pop out.

I've got a small piece of card.

I'm going to stick the remaining part of the body on to this card.

I've got some glue here.

Very carefully stick it down.

Once that's stuck, we need to build up the rest of the gecko's mouth.

As you can see,

you've got the nice black bit and the red around the edges.

Michelle is using a wax crayon to colour the inside of the mouth.

There you have the inside of the gecko's mouth.

All you do next is cut round the rest of this white cardboard.

Now you've got rid of the excess cardboard,

you're going to get a clothes peg

and stick this to the back of the gecko's mouth.

You can use craft glue, but it takes a little bit longer to dry.

You're going to run a thin strip of glue along the top part of the peg,

grab the top part of the gecko's face and stick it on the top.

Give it a little press.

This is really clever, because the gecko's mouth can open and close,

so you can put different notes inside or reminders - it's wicked.

We need it to stick to something,

so we're going to get some magnetic strips,

which you can get from any craft store, and stick these on the back.

And there you have your very cool, very funky gecko fridge magnet.

I'm going to put a little note inside that one. I love geckos!

Back to our stained-glass window,

and Jo and Michelle are racing to the finish,

sealing the lead into place with solder and painting those dots.

This was a really different way of representing a killer moment

and that gecko looks like it's walking up the glass.

The colours really show off the gecko's skin.

-Let's hope it looks impressive with a light shining behind it.

-It will.

So it's nearly time for the big reveal.

I asked the team to recreate this killer moment and turn it into art.

Let's take a look at the finished result.

Oh, that is glorious!

The spots really stand out

and the feet just seem to be sticking to the glass.

I love the way this window lives in the vertical world,

the same way a gecko does.

It's actually very beautiful, but let's not forget, deadly.

Well done, team.

What an incredible creation! Make sure you try the doodle and the DIY

and we'll see you next time for more Deadly Art.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

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