Introduction: Plastic Bottle Bee

By chaitanyak.com
About: Independant cg artist and educator. Formerly Co-Founder of a film and animation studio in Bangalore - falanafilms.com Formerly worked on various app and mobile game projects with one3one4.com Mostly a designer…

Make a cool Bee decorative model out of an old plastic bottle!


Step 1: Stuff You'll Need

1)old plastic bottle.. i used a gatorade bottle coz it was all i had left in the house this week :) you can use any 500ml bottle(works best with smal bottles)

2)scissors

3)paint as required. i used acrylics, but you can use enamel or a spray can

Step 2: Start Cutting

1) cut off the bottom.
2) make one vertical cut down the middle(see pic)

Step 3: Cut the Legs

UPDATE: I realised that it could have longer(more accurate looking) back legs by making some trickier cuts..  if thats what you want to make then skip this step and go to the next step.

draw a triangular shape.. this will be the chest area.. 
 the legs will come next..
 then 3 legs on either side.. see pics and further instructions on the pics

Step 4: Optional: Longer Back Legs

NOTE: This can be a difficult step for some of you, as cutting these shapes is a bit tricky (especially in small bottles).. if you find it tough, avoid it and go back to the previous step with the simpler legs

draw a triangular shape.. this will be the chest area..
the legs will come next..
then 3 legs on either side..

For longer back legs..
basically you have to cut the back legs differently (see pics)

 the rest of the instructable stays the same.. regardless of wether you do short or long legs.

Step 5: Cut the Wings

first cut a long strip.. all the way from where the wings will start to the end.. see the first pic for the shape.. this will be the back..
see pics for more details

Step 6: Locking the Abdomen

this is the tricky part..

we need to "lock the two abdomen flaps so that it makes the model more sturdier..
see images for detailed description.
will add diagrams to make it simpler to understand.

note: if your having trouble, just skip this step and use sticking tape to stick the abdomen flaps.

Step 7: Locking the Back Flap

this is where we add some finishing cuts and then lock all the loose ends..

first start with the side profile, and cut the back pointy bits off.. try and get that silhouette in the first pic..

note: again, if your having trouble, just skip this step and use sticking tape to stick the abdomen flaps to the top flap.

Step 8: Painting: Base Coat

as usual i like to put a base coat of white.. so that all my colors really "pop"
note the wings - you can either paint em or leave em transparent(with some detailing) like i did in the right wing.

now once the base coat is dry, go ahead and slap on whatever colors you like.. 
and for final touches/detailing you can use a marker. 

Step 9: Done!

Thats it!
i hope you enjoy it!

Step 10: Stuff Created by Kids

I occasionally do workshops with kids at schools or children's homes, here are some of their creations. sometimes i come up with new stuff like the scorpions you see in these pics

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