Funko’s dancing baby Groot vinyl figure is probably the cutest toy release of the year, and that’s because dancing baby Groot was part of one of the most adorable scenes in a film this year. We’ve seen costumes of fully grown Groot, but this is the first baby Groot ensemble I’ve seen. It’s by instructables user darcy3529, and the design is based on the vinyl figure. The costume is made entirely from paper, duct tape, and glue. I wouldn’t wear it out in the rain, but those materials means the project is affordable.
Here’s how she made the head:
I cut a large piece of paper that was 3 ft by 8 ft and made the base tube for the head about 5 ft around. Inside the base tube are 3 rings (also about 5 ft around) that are cut from sturdy cardboard that were used as ribs to keep the size and shape of the tube . The rings were duct taped to the paper base tube. The rings are placed about a third of the way from the top and the bottom and at the center . The tube is formed with 2 layers of paper wrapped around the rib rings . I glued these paper layers together.
Then I added one more layer of paper . The final layer of paper has vertical wrinkles in the of paper for a bark-like appearance . For the wrinkles I took a piece of paper the size of the headpiece and made a roll (about the size of a roll of gift wrap ). Then I squeezed the roll as tightly as I could until the paper was thoroughly creased. After opening the creased roll I tried to flatten it back out making sure that the creases were fairly even .
With the final creased layer laying flat on the ground I drew out flame-like branches at the top of the head. The flames vary from 8 to 10 inches and about 3 inches wide . They can be sketched on in pencil on the wrong side of the paper until the look is right. Once the look was right I simply cut the flames out with scissors. Then the top layer was glued on to the tube.
Read more and see additional photos at Instructables.
Adafruit publishes a wide range of writing and video content, including interviews and reporting on the maker market and the wider technology world. Our standards page is intended as a guide to best practices that Adafruit uses, as well as an outline of the ethical standards Adafruit aspires to. While Adafruit is not an independent journalistic institution, Adafruit strives to be a fair, informative, and positive voice within the community – check it out here: adafruit.com/editorialstandards
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7:30pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat and our Discord!
Python for Microcontrollers – Adafruit Daily — Python on Microcontrollers Newsletter: Open Hardware is In, New CircuitPython and Pi 5 16GB, and much more! #CircuitPython #Python #micropython @ThePSF @Raspberry_Pi
EYE on NPI – Adafruit Daily — EYE on NPI Maxim’s Himalaya uSLIC Step-Down Power Module #EyeOnNPI @maximintegrated @digikey
