Tutorial: DIY Pokéball

Pokémon are everywhere! But how can you catch them without any pokéballs?

Here’s a quick and easy guide on creating your very own pokéball to complete any pokémon themed costume!

Items you’ll need:

  • Clear plastic fillable Christmas ornament (the kind that split in half)
  • Red and white gloss enamel spray paint (If you can’t find gloss enamel, any spray paint will work)
  • White and black craft foam
  • Hot glue gun (or any type of glue that will work on both plastic and craft foam)
  • Lanyard (optional)

First, split the ornament in half and use spray paint to paint the exterior of the ornament. Paint one half red and the other half white (You can also use other colors to create different types of pokéballs!). After the paint is dry, glue the two halves together.

Next, measure along the join line, leaving a gap for the ornament hanger (in our case, the length was about 12 1/2″, but your ornament could be sized differently). This will be the length of your first piece of foam. We estimated the width of the foam just by eyeballing it (which came out to 1/2″), but you can also work out the exact measurement on your own using a reference image. Just make sure the foam covers up the join line nicely. Cut a strip of black foam to match your measurements, then mark the halfway point (of both length and width) using a pen, pencil, sharpie, or other method. This will be your guide for gluing on the rest of the foam. Starting next to the ornament hanger, glue your foam strip over the join line making sure to cover it completely.

Next, you’ll need to measure and cut some circles. For best results, the inner white circle should be 2 times the width of the previous foam strip, and the outer black circle should be 1 1/2 times the diameter of the inner white circle. In our case, the black strip has a width of 1/2″, so the white circle has a 1″ diameter and the black circle has a diameter of 1 1/2″ (You can also eyeball these measurements as well).

If you’d like a smoother fit for the two circles, you can cut out a circle inside the black circle equal to the size of the white circle, then squeeze the white circle inside this hole. Otherwise, glue the white circle on top of the black circle doing your best to center both circles.

Finally, glue the combined circles on top of the black strip using the mark you made previously as a guide.

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The finished pokéball!

You can add a lanyard to the ornament hanger to make your pokéball more portable! Then you can attach it to your belt, wear it around your neck, or pretend to throw it at people without actually hitting them.

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Back of the ball with lanyard attached

Now you’re ready to catch ’em all!

Published by

MrsGryphon

Anna (a.k.a Mrs. Gryphon) is a web developer with various interests including video games, webcomics, sewing, arts and crafts, and costuming.

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