How to Make a Calvin and Hobbes Snowman

by splazem in Outside > Snow

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How to Make a Calvin and Hobbes Snowman

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The best snow sculptures were not created in the snow outside, but inside with paper and a pen by Bill Watterson. Some of his best strips were his snowman ones, and so after reading Calvin and Hobbes for so long; I decided to actually make one of the snowmen that Calvin made. You will enjoy making a snowman that was once seen by millions in the paper now in your yard. This is gauranteed to impress the neighborhood.

Materials You Will Need

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For this project you really don't need much, and it is easy to substitute items. We substituted some of the common items for things you would find at your workshop or at home.
For the tools we used:
                - woodsaw
                - shovel
                - a pair of hands

The materials include:
               - snow (obviously)
               - carrots (we used orange markers instead)
               - coal (we used electrical tape)
               - pebbles or small rocks
               - twigs

Making the Headless Snowman

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First, you want to make the base of the snowman. It should be big, but remember that you will have to put the body on, and the body is almost as big as the base. For now, don't worry about making it look perfect, we will get to that later.

Making the Bowling Snowman

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Next, we have to make the snowman who is bowling. To start out, you want to make a base the same or similar size to the beheaded snowman. You want to have it end up in front of the beheaded snowman. Second, you want to make the body, which is a little smaller than the base. When you put it on the base, you want to make sure it is overhanging off the base, so it looks like the snowman is leaning forward. The head of the snowman should be slightly off center of the body. When you finish, the snowman should look like it is leaning forward.

Adding the Arms

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The next step is to add the sticks for the arms. This is a crucial step, because if you get it wrong, the joke is ruined. For the beheaded snowman, you want two sticks that make a 90 degree angle. For the bowling snowman, you want to have one straight stick and the other stick should have an obtuse angle.

Making It Look Perfect

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Next, you want to make your snowman look nice. Use the saw to shave off clumps of snow that are too big and use your hand to smooth everything out.

Making the Face and Buttons

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Now we add the little stuff. Instead of coal, we did the DIY approach and used electrical tape. Take about two feet and wrap it into little flat circles. You will need eight of these. For the face of the bowling snowman, you will need black pebbles and a orange marker (or you can use a carrot). Place the materials as shown in the pictures.

Making the Beheaded Head and Bowling Pins

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At the end of the bowling lane, the first step is to make the beheaded head. Make a normal size head and put it down. Take a couple of small twigs and use them as crosses for the eyes. Put an orange marker for the nose between the eyes (but a little below). Then use your hands to scoop out a mouth. The last step is to make ten small bowling pins. These should be about the length of the decapitated head or a little smaller. Place them around the head and have some laying down and some standing up.

Making the Bowling Lane

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The final step of this project is to make a bowling lane. We did this by just stepping down hard in the snow in a straight line.

Finishing It Off

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You are done! You might need to make a couple of corrections or finishing touches, but it should look pretty good.