Make Your Own Mix-and-match Character Maker! - Parents' Toolkit

Using just a few paper cups, some pens and a lot of imagination, your child can create an awesome mix-and-match character maker.

They can use some of their favourite characters for inspiration, or draw their own and make something truly original.

This activity, bought to you in partnership with , is a great way to get creative juices flowing.

In this activity you have to use scissors to cut up the paper cups, so please supervise your child and help them out.

Here are the instructions for you and your child.

A man in a plaid shirt holding up 3 cups to form a mix and match character maker

You will need

5 paper cups
Scissors
Pens and pencils in lots of colours

Ed is an illustrator at Beano Studios - in this video he shows you how to make a mix-and-match character maker. Scroll down for the instructions!

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Let's get started

Step 1

Cut off the bottom of two of the paper cups, so you have two much shallower cups compared to the other three.

Someone drawing a person across 3 cardboard cups using a marker pen

Step 2

Place these shallow cups upside down in two of the full-sized cups. Then stack the three full-sized cups on top of each other.

You should be able to spin the top two cups around smoothly.

Step 3

Plan your drawings. On the top cup, you should plan to draw three or four heads. The middle will have the same number of bodies, and on the bottom cup you will draw the legs.

Mark the places where you will need to draw all of these parts by drawing a little dot on your cups. They will need to be able to line up when you turn them.

Step 4

Draw the separate character parts out. You can copy your favourite characters, use pictures you’ve cut out from magazines, or even design your own!

Step 5

Your mix-and-match character maker is now ready to go! How many different characters can you create?

Let's get creative

Once you've had a go at making a character maker, why not get even more creative and design something weirder and wackier.

How about turning the cups on their side and creating a mix-and-match animal maker? Each image doesn't even have to be of the same thing. Ever wondered what a unicorn crossed with a banana would look like? This might be the time to find out!