Creating Cartoon Characters with Aluminum Foil

Here is a lovely story about a young boy in India who creates miniature cartoon characters with aluminium foil. I found the article at Daily News and Analysis and was immediately fascinated. 

It shows how the creative instinct can find inspiration in the most unusual things.

Below is an excerpt from the article – I am sure that you will be just as fascinated as I was to read it. It’s an example of innovation that is sure to inspire your own creativity.

Creativity with Tin Foil

“So what do you think a standard VI student does with the aluminium foil that his mother uses to wrap food in his lunch box?

Many would say he would throw it in the dustbin without giving it a second thought.

But not 11-year-old Punmeet Tiwari who not only collects the aluminium foils that his mother uses to pack his food but also makes miniatures out of them.

Punmeet has made more than 500 miniatures of cartoon characters such as Spiderman and Superman, stone-age man, sportspersons, a cricket field and many other toys with the used foils.

3D Models

“My elder bother Harsh is good at drawing. He would encourage me to make 3D models of the characters he would draw. I took it as a challenge to use foils to make the models.

Now the art is a part of my life,” says the standard VI student of The Bishop’s School. He adds, “I have also made various tops with the foils. My friends love to play with the flying top I have made.”

Creativity at School

Punmeet’s involvement with the aluminium foils begins during the lunch break every day when he collects the used foils from his friends’ tiffin boxes. Then is the time to think of a new character to be modeled. “When I come home from school, I start thinking of what to make.

I put on the television and pick up an image. While watching cartoons or any film or even a dance show, I just roughly sketch the image on paper and then take foil and mould it accordingly,” says Punmeet.

“On my birthday, Punmeet made masks and caps as return gifts. He had made motorbikes from the foils that we gave our friends and were liked by all,” says Harsh. He adds, “Sometimes Punmeet becomes restless when he cannot think of anything to replicate. On an average he creates one miniature every day. He can concentrate on his studies only when he has made a miniature for the day.”

Punmeet loves to share his creativity with others. “During the lunch break when my friends get time, they learn to make miniatures from me. This way we exchange our creativity,” he says. “On Teacher’s Day, I gifted my class teacher a music system made of foil,” adds the boy.”

I knew you would like this story!  I am only sorry that the article didn’t provide us with a picture of some of his aluminum foil cartoon characters.  Anyway, his enthusiasm and innovation already boundless at such a young age is an inspiration to all of us.