Cheap and Easy Pokeballs for Children's Party

Most instructables out there is for creating high quality realistic Pokeballs, but I wanted to create a whole bunch of Pokeballs for a children's party.

The goal of this instructable is:

Create many Pokeballs, at least 50 pcs.
Limited budget, no more than €30.
The Pokeballs should be durable enough to throw at things.

The outline of the process is

Buy plastic balls.
Paint one side.
Use black plastic tape for the details.

Step 1: Shopping Balls

As base for the Pokeballs I used "play balls" for from my local play store. The purpose of these balls is to make you own ball pit at home.

The biggest advantage for these ball is the price: I payed about €10 for 100 pcs (on sale). The size is also rather good for the price, the diameter is 65 mm.

The disadvantage is the weight: they are too light to be thrown with accuracy any greater distance. But since the price is so low I decided to go with this type of balls anyway.

Step 2: Masking

Next step is masking. I used a wide masking tape to cover half of the ball. The masking tape will also work as a stand while the paint is drying. The play balls I used had a distinct line making it very easy to mask exactly half the ball.

Step 3: Painting

The biggest challenge was finding the right paint. Normal hobby spray paint can not be used on a glossy plastic surface, the paint will crack very easily.

I found a great alternative called Plasti Dip. This paint will create a rubber coating that is very flexible and will not crack. It will also stick on a glossy plastic surface without preparing it in any way.

The disadvantage is the price, It is very expensive compared to normal hobby paint. One can of spray is about €15, more expensive than the play balls. But since the paint works without any preparation of the surface I highly recommend it.

One can of spray lasted for 2 layers of paint for 45 balls. If you are more careful than I was during the first layer, you can probably make it last for 50 balls.

Step 4: The Black Details

The black band around the pokeball is really easy, just use black plastic tape (called Insulation Tape). Be sure to find one that is narrow, normal width is 20 mm and that is a little to thick for a 65 mm pokeball. I used a 15 mm wide tape.

Next step is to make the black area around the button of the pokeball. Use something round to draw half-circles on pieces of black tape and cut them out. This is the hardest part to get right, and it is also the most time consuming.