I Painted an NFL-Themed Football Helmet (Custom Helmet Art)

Name: I Painted an NFL-Themed Football Helmet (Custom Helmet Art)
Uploaded: 2023-02-03T19:06:42+00:00
Duration: 5 min 1 s
Channel: Ryan Maloney
Description: In this YouTube video, Ryan Maloney documents his first attempt at customizing a football helmet, working alongside his 9‑year‑old son Luke. The video…

3 Feb 2023 · 5 min

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5:01

In this YouTube video, Ryan Maloney documents his first attempt at customizing a football helmet, working alongside his 9‑year‑old son Luke. The video opens with Ryan acknowledging that he bought a helmet that’s too small for Luke but suitable for a female recipient, and he enlists Luke’s help to brainstorm a design—ranging from graffiti‑style NFL logos to a realistic puppy. After a brief, playful planning session, Ryan jumps straight into preparation: he sketches the concept directly on the helmet, emphasizing a fluid, improvisational approach where ideas evolve as the work progresses. He then paints using Arteco acrylics, Grog medium, and Posca pens, describing the intimidating first coat and sharing a museum‑inspired lesson that perfection isn’t the goal—artists’ works show visible strokes up close, and the same acceptance should guide his own work. Over several weeks Ryan adds layers, applies thin black Posca ink for line work, and finally sprays a clear sealant before revealing the finished piece. The reveal includes a brief validation from Luke, who praises the result despite the helmet’s size mismatch. Throughout, Ryan blends instructional commentary with personal anecdotes, offering both a step‑by‑step guide and reflections on creativity, collaboration, and the joy of making something unique.

Chapters

All right, so I've never done this before, but I've always wanted to customize a football helmet. I've been thinking about it for a while and I decided, you know what, it's time. And as soon as I bought that helmet, my son was on me like a hawk. That's Luke, age 9. He's going to be very mad that I froze the video on this frame. He's also a football and a YouTube expert, so I need his help to plan out this drawing and make this YouTube video. I've already messed up by buying a helmet that's too small, but it fits her, and that's all right because she's gonna need it. Yep, doesn't fit Luke. Sorry about that, but we can still customize it, so help me plan it out. 8, 5, 5, and 15, 20. Should be a character on it, like graffiti style, like mix it all together, blend it all together. Logos? You want to do Roblox? Really? Just NFL teams? Big logos on it? Or I could do a realistic puppy.
So make that like really small, or all the other ones really small if you want to do that big buffalo. If we have space or something, we can do a big buffalo breaking pad.
We'll start with that. Even after the planning, I still don't have any idea what I'm going to draw on this, but I just make the leap and I start preparing the helmet anyways. Helmet ready, it's time to sketch. With a project like this, the initial idea can get you going, but once you start, you realize that it's going to turn into something totally unexpected. And the best way to get there, the quickest way to get there, is to not think and just let it flow out and figure out the puzzle pieces as you go. Once the sketch is done, I move on to the painting. I'm using Arteco, Grog, and Posca pens to add some color. The first coat of paint is enough to scare you and make you want to quit. But back in my day in college, I used to go to the art museum and I would go up to the most famous paintings and get as close as they would let me get. And what I would realize is those artists weren't magicians at all. They didn't paint perfectly. Their art was not perfect. I could see pencil lines. I could see paint strokes. When you step back, everything looks great, but when you get up close, nothing is perfect. So don't try to make anything perfect, just try to make it as good as you can today. I paint the helmet over the course of a couple of weeks, and now we're pushing through to the final coat and the final details. I'm using a thin Posca pen for the black ink lines. Once you start inking, this is the way to pull the drawing together and add a ton of personality. The helmet is done. Now all I have to do is spray it before my kids get home. Lift it off. Wait, before I do this reveal, I once spent 3 years making a graphic novel and I asked Luke what he thought of it. And this is what he said.
Good.
So we're not going to get our hopes up, right? Finally. Ah, he liked it. What do you think? Ah, and he validates it. Smells a little bit. That's all right. The helmet still doesn't fit him though, but it does fit her, and that's all that matters because she's gonna need it.