Introduction: Making the Ladybird

About: posting more would be cool

In this tutorial I'll be showing you how I made the Ladybird, from the universe "Better Tomorrow".

I apologise for the lack of photos, but I guess I got ahead of myself and forgot to take pictures during the process.

Step 1: What You'll Need

I don't have any pictures for this as I feel like it helps people's creativity if they do things their own way, so just use what you have available.

You'll need:

-any kind of smooth-ish textured ball

-a ball smaller than the other one (but still with decent proportions)

-thin plastic rods or metal wire

-a metal weight (small screws work well)

-flat 1mm plastic

-small tubing

-PVA glue

-hot glue gun

-spray primer

-assorted acrylic paints of your choice

Step 2: Sketching a Design

So to begin, you'll want to come up with an idea of what you want the model to look like, and transfer that idea to paper. It doesn't have to be a good sketch, a quick 5 minute one is all you really need.

It's also a good idea to come up with a range of ideas and pick the one you like most.

Step 3: Construction

1. So, for my design, I used a small EVA foam ball (I think it's a cat toy), and a smaller plastic ball embedded into it. To do this I simply cut a dent into the ball, filled it in with hot glue (don't use too much or it will overflow) and pushed the plastic ball into it.

2. Then, to make the legs, I bent 4 lego sticks to an appropriate shape, and use a small round file to pierce 4 holes on the body that I had marked. I then used hot glue to stick the legs in at the right angles, but I wanted the holes to overflow just a bit, to create a welded/weathered effect.

3. The arms were constructed from shapes cut out of an old credit card (hint: OLD), and I just used a slice of plastic tubing, along with some hidden hot glue, to connect the joints.

4. Lastly, I made another hole in the lower back of the body, and stuffed a screw in it, to balance the model. However, I didn't glue this in as metal tends to have difficulty sticking to the glue. The friction should hold it in anyway.

Step 4: Sealing the Foam (ignore If Not Using Foam)

This step is fairly simple. All you need to do is remove the screw at the back, find a way to support the model in the air (I used a paintbrush taped to a can) and brush a layer of PVA glue onto it.

Then, using the same stand, spray 2-3 coats of primer onto the model. You may also want to prime the screw as well (just once), as you'll be painting that so the metallic paint looks consistent across the whole model.

Step 5: Painting

For the final step, all you need is your paints. I'd suggest having at least black and silver, along with a couple of different colours. Since this model is called the Ladybird, it seemed only fitting to give it the traditional red with black spots, however you can paint it in any style.

A couple of really helpful painting techniques are dry-brushing and washing.

Dry-brushing is basically when you dip your brush in paint (here I used silver), and rub most of the paint off on paper until the paint is fairly dry. You then just apply it to areas of your model you think would need it most.

Washing is when you take a colour (in this case black) and thin it down with water. Then you brush it on in certain areas. You can leave it as it is, or if you think the colour is too strong, you can use a tissue to dab a bit of it off.

So, there you have it! Your very own Ladybird styled model!

This is my first instructable so if there's any mistakes just let me know. c: