General Kiting

I started this kite back in October 2010 and fresh from finishing the last in my Calvin & Hobbes series, was searching for a new look.

As you'll know, if you've seen any of my previous kites, cartoons have a special place in my heart. But this time I wanted something a little more contemporary; something that spoke to a wider audience than Calvin.

Of the plethora of choices Family Guy stood out head & shoulders above the rest: it has a synergy with the Calvin strips of Watterson, not visually perhaps, but more in the way it comments on our world. Perfect fodder for a kite then.

I knew from a very early stage that there was only one image I wanted to adapt; something from a scene in which Lois, dressed in fetish gear, says "the safe world is banana", before smacking Peter, fully bedecked in a leather gimp outfit, in the mouth.

That wasn't quite enough though. Great for one side of a kite; but what of the other?

In stepped Quagmire: who better to be on the reverse of the kite, watching Lois & Peter at play?.

Knowing what I wanted to do, I then needed to think about the kite to use as the basis of the build. My love affair with Ozone's snowkites is well known, and so it was only natural that I expand my quiver: this time though I evicted the moths from my wallet and splashed out on a brand new 12m Manta M3.

Two days after the kite arrived it was deconstructed into its component parts (having never been flown), and adorned the every available space in my flat.

Very shortly after dismantling the kite the delays started. I blame my friend Mark for the first of them.

We were in my study one afternoon, looking at a few of the time lapses I'd shot for the early parts of Kite Making Three, and discussing our plans to visit Nevada in early 2011, when Mark pipes up "you should build one of these for the guys at NABX you know".

That conversation was responsible for diverting my attention (I'm easily distracted) for at least three months!

January rolled round as the NABX kite progressed and brought some excitement with it, in the form of an ambulance ride to A&E. A week in hospital, and strict instructions to take it easy after that, meant more delays. I finally finished the NABX kite in March, and was looking forward to getting back to work on my own kite, when yet more hospital time beckoned. Two weeks this time.

My health improved to the extent that NABX was back on the cards and during the event I meet so many wonderful people, and started so many video projects, that it was not until the end of May 2011 that I picked up work on the Family Guy kite.

All the delays proved a boon though. I'd been through a steep learning curve on the NABX kite, and with the video work, so much so that when I came back to this project I found that I was able to progress very quickly - whilst filming the entire process without undue delay. Even so, it was still several month's work until the day finally arrived when I closed the trailing edge.

Now it's over I'm still glad I did it, still happy with the design and quietly proud of the result. I do think this is my last cartoon though. Time to move on I think!

That kite looks incredible, the detail is amazing, I love Family Guy.
How did you the different colours and out lines? Are they glued onto a base sheet or are they all individually sewn together?

Hows she fly?

Giggdy Giggdy Good Kieron

You have out done yourself again, that has to be the best kite and video you have turned out to date.

Love how you worked Quagmire peeking in the window on onside and the view from outside the window on the other.

The video really shows off just how much work you put into each one of these kites.

"Yeah... its Quagmire... it's stuck in the window this time.'


Stunning work there on the kite, and some very nice videography with the stage zero dolly!

A craftsman

T...How did you the different colours and out lines? Are they glued onto a base sheet or are they all individually sewn together?

Hows she fly?

I'm glad you like it! Each colour is a separate piece of fabric, sewn together. It's not glued to a base as the kite would be way too heavy as a result. I wanted it to fly as near to the original as possible - so keeping the weight down was important; I think that be having more seams in my kites that the original I'm adding about 3 to 5% to the weight, when compared to the original: it doesn't seem to make a difference to how she flys though: just like a Manta 3!

Here are a few photos taken the other day:

It certainly stands out in the sky and looks great in the stills

How many hours do you reckon you spent just sewing it all together?

Can't believe you took a new kite and just pulled it to pieces to make it that would make most kiters shudder.

Thanks! This one took me 300 hours.

Whew that's a lot of hours hunched over the sewing machine, definitely a labour of love.

Kieron i take my hat off to you for your patience and creativity. Those 5D cameras are the ducks guts , aren't they.
I still have to get around to that dolly you use . Great work mate , very entertaining to watch .
Sluggo

Wow looking for the right word here..."inspirational" will do!
Well done Kieron a great job well done.
Thanks for posting it.
Cheers,
Dave