Create Your Own Funko Pop!

Shelbie Marks By Shelbie Marks, Teen Librarian, Metropolitan Library System July 26, 2019, 1 comment

Funko Pops are a very popular way to display your love for a specific character or fandom. These adorable big-eyed figurines come in practically every shape and size, and cover most popular media types. This DIY program is perfect for all ages of teens, and requires very little planning.

I ran this program as a one-time Summer program for teens ages 12-18.

Type: Active
Age: High school
Optimal size: 11-20
Estimated cost: $100+
Planning time: <2 hours
Frequency: One-time

Learning outcomes

  • Connect and collaborate with others
  • Build relationships with peers
  • Engage in personal expression
  • Think flexibly
  • Innovate
  • Create original work or responsibly remix existing content to make something new

Instructions

You can purchase DIY Male and Female Funko Pops online or through local retailers. I thought this might be one of our more popular programs on the summer, so I went ahead and purchased 20 DIY Pops. Just a heads up, Funko's are not particularly cheap, and it can be difficult to buy them in bulk. If I was going to do this again I'd probably try to purchase through a local retailer instead of on Amazon. Amazon only allowed me to purchase 3 at a time.

Supplies:

  • DIY Funko Pops
  • Modeling Clay
  • Permanent Markers
  • Acrylic paint and supplies
  • Modeling tools

The modeling clay that we used was an air-dry type from Crayola, so it did not require any baking to set. I found that the teens were more likely to use the sharpies than the paint, but it was handy to have plenty of options. 

Each participant picked out a DIY Funko Pop and got to work. I made sure to have some example pictures printed out as well as some character examples for inspiration. A few of them decided to make themselves into a Funko!

Evaluation

This program was a total hit! Like in many programs, the teens started out very quiet but soon they started chatting and getting to know the others. The teens had varying levels of skill, but everyone was very willing to dive in and learn something new. They were not able to completely finish their Pop in the time we had, so I would run it a little longer if possible. If you can allocated a full two hours they should have plenty of time finish their project.

While it is a little more on the expensive side, this program requires very little planning. Overall it was such a fun program and the teens had a great time creating their own little Funko buddy.

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