Crafting a Moving Bird Sculpture From Wooden Sticks and Balsa Wood

When creativity meets craftsmanship, magic happens. Today, we're going to explore the boundaries of creativity by building a stunning kinetic bird sculpture made from wooden sticks and balsa wood. This project not only pushes the limits of your artistic skills but also allows you to blend art with engineering.

"Creativity takes flight when imagination soars as high as a bird in the open sky."

Materials You Will Need:

1. Wooden sticks (toothpicks or similar)
2. Balsa wood
3. Sheets of paper
4. Wire
5. Instant adhesive
6. USB-A connector
7. 30 RPM gear motor
8. Alligator clip wires
9. Breadboard jumper wires
10. Switch
11. 5V power bank
12. Scissors
13. Pliers
14. Sandpaper
15. Craft knife (X-Acto knife)
16. Pencil
17. Tape

Use several sheets of paper to draw the four main parts of the bird: the body, the right wing, the left wing, and the tail. The size is up to you, but I opted to make the parts small enough to fit on half of a letter-sized sheet. Keep the design simple—these sketches will serve as the blueprint for where you’ll attach the wooden sticks.

Tips for Drawing:

1. Body: Draw a large curved line, almost like a wide smile. At one end, add a small circle for the bird’s head and a tiny triangle for its beak.
2. Wings: Draw a trapezoid next to a triangular shape with a curved side. Then, flip the paper over and trace the design to ensure the right and left wings are symmetrical.
3. Tail: Draw a fan shape. You can follow my simple designs, but feel free to get creative with your own!

Now it’s time to bring your bird to life. Using pliers, trim the tips off the wooden sticks, and start by attaching the first stick to the edge of the body drawing with instant adhesive. Repeat this process, cutting and adjusting the sticks until the entire outline of the bird’s body is complete.

To give the bird a three-dimensional structure, you’ll need to prepare some wooden sticks into arcs. The size of these arcs should match the different parts of the bird’s body, such as the head, central body, and tail. These will act as the “ribs” of the bird. Continue adding curved sticks between the ribs to form the full body. Pre-curving multiple sticks will make this process smoother.

For the beak, take three of the wooden stick tips that you previously trimmed and glue them together at a point. Attach this to the bird’s head, completing the facial features.

The wings consist of two parts. For both parts, use the same process, but construct them separately. Like with the body, attach the wooden sticks following the wing outline you drew. You can add extra design elements; for example, I glued the leftover tips of the sticks to the edge of the wings to mimic the bird’s feathers. Once the wings are fully constructed, peel them off the paper. If any paper remains stuck to the wings, use sandpaper or a craft knife to remove it.

Follow the same process as Step 5 to build the remaining wing and the tail.

To animate the bird’s wings, we need to build a mechanism. For the axis of the mechanism, use wire, and with the help of pliers, bend it into the shape shown in the images.

To hold the axis in place, we’ll create small supports from balsa wood. These supports are simple rectangles, in my case, measuring 4 cm x 2.5 cm, with a hole drilled near one end of each support. Glue the supports to the balsa wood sheet, which will serve as the base for the sculpture.

Cut a piece of balsa wood into your desired shape for the base; I chose an oval shape.

The mechanism will move thanks to a simple circuit consisting of a motor, a battery, and a switch. For now, secure the motor and battery together with tape, ensuring that the motor’s axis is parallel to the mechanism’s axis. Attach everything to the base.

Cut two circles out of balsa wood, making sure their diameter matches the distance between the axes of the mechanism. Cover the circles with sandpaper to create friction, which will allow the motor to transmit motion to the mechanism’s axis.

Glue the sandpaper-covered circles to the motor’s and mechanism’s axes.

On another balsa wood sheet, trace the shape of the base and cut it out. In this top layer, cut a large rectangle in the center to allow the wires from the mechanism to pass through. Also, drill a small hole for the circuit switch.

Using breadboard jumper wires, connect the USB cable and all other circuit components. The circuit is very straightforward, and you can refer to the diagram in the images for guidance.

To add an aesthetic touch, drill small holes along the edges of the base and insert wooden sticks to form a decorative wall around it.

Finally, using instant adhesive and the wooden stick tips, secure the top base layer in place. At this point, you’ve completed the base of your bird sculpture!

Now, let’s start assembling the bird. Use thin wires as small hinges to attach the wings.

With instant adhesive, attach the bird’s tail to its body.

Using the same thin wires, connect both wings to the body at the neck area. By now, you should see the bird’s majesty coming together.

To firmly attach the bird to the base, use a long wire. Pass it through the bird’s body and then through the base. To ensure the bird stays in place, carefully bend the wire without breaking the wooden stick structure.

Cut four long wires—two around 25 cm and two around 20 cm. Shape the ends into hooks.

Attach the longer wires to the outer edges of the wings and the shorter wires to the inner edges. Connect the other ends of the wires to their corresponding spots on the mechanism’s axis.

Cut small rectangles of balsa wood and glue them onto the sides of the mechanism’s axis to prevent the movement wires from slipping out of place.

The final result is a masterpiece worthy of a museum. Depending on the size of your bird, the motor’s strength, and the precision of your build, the bird’s movement will vary in fluidity.

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I hope this project inspires you to celebrate creativity by building your own kinetic bird sculpture from wooden sticks. You can also explore other shapes and animals beyond birds. I can’t wait to see what you create!