Categories
Design

How to create your own Papercraft

A tutorial to make a papercraft initial(s). Of course you can spell whole names with it, but I suggest (strongly) to start with one letter en work you’re way up to you initials.

In this tutorial you don’t have to spend any money except for the paper you print it on.
It’s written for windows (sorry Apple users)

Update #1: Another post about Pepakura and Google Sketchup: Pepakura: Make Anything in Papercraft

Shortcut to:
Programs | What are we going to build? | Step 1 | Step 2 | Step 3 | Step 4

Programs

For this tutorial you need a couple of programs, which are for free to get from the internet:
Pepakura designer v2 .1.2 – program that creates flat versions of a 3d model

Google SketchUp 6 – very simple 3d modeler

Optional (I will explane this later): PDFCreator – creates PDFs from any Windows program

Update #3: There are a lot of very good/ free 3D programs out there.
To name a view: Blender, Wings 3D, Metasequoia and there are probably a lot more.
The only reason I choose for Google SketchUp because I got it to work in a couple of minutes…

Google SketchUp is freeware, PDFCreator is open source (free) and Pepakura designer is shareware.
So the only limitation you have is Pepakura designer: in the version you can download and try out, it’s not possible to “Save” and “Export”. But I found that it’s possible to print, so a legal way to export what you have build in Pepakura is PDF.
This has of course some limitations, and the biggest one is you are not able to save you changes (which you can unlock for a lousy US$38).

What are we going to build?

Google Sketchup - MCK 3D logo
Lets make a text logo and I really want to use the logo I made a while back, but I realize that’s not for everybody….So lets make a logo out of freeware fonts, and find a font suitable for what I want.
I want to make a 3d version of mck and because I know how difficult it is to create round corners (“c”) I am looking for a bold/stong blocky font .

We could make a complete text logo, but when I started writing this tutorial I found out that with more then one letter, it started to be quite complex. Which is not bad, but quite difficult to point out how things work. So for this tutorial I will explain just one letter and we will make it 3d.

Step1: download and install

Except the programs discussed above (Pepakura designer v2.1.2, Google SketchUp 6 and PDFCreator) you also have to choose a nice font to create your initial/character in.

So lets search a nice letter with a nice “M” or “m” (or whatever letter you want).

For example a couple of font of dafont.com/:
Cowboys – big/strong and very little curves
Kroftsmann – big / strong and no curves
Aerojones nf – big / strong and round courners

But make this tutorial even easier I have chosen for a pixel-font from 04.jp.org named 04b-19.

MCK pixel font

Download the font(s) you want to use, and copy it in:
C:\WINDOWS\Fonts

Remember: a curly/round/thin font will look very pretty, but will be hell to build in a papermodel. So choose a continuous, bold, square font!

Step 2: Modeling in 3d

This is easier then it sounds so lets do it in little steps:

1. Google Sketchup - start Google Sketchup Start Google Sketchup
You will see a little dude just standing there, forget him. He is there just for the scale purposes and will not be seen in your end result.
2. Google Sketchup - Tools > 3d Text’ /></td>
<td>Goto: <a href="http://www.matthijskamstra.nl/blog/wp-content/uploads/googlesketchup_02.png" rel="flashbox[papercraftcharacter]" title="Google Sketchup - goto Tools - 3d Text">Tools – 3d Text</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>3.</td>
<td><img src= Find your font and change the Height and Extruded (when I doubt: try to follow the picture)
4. Google Sketchup - place the character and Export Press on place and place the character.
5. Google Sketchup - place the character and Export That’s all to it. Now save your file: for example “character.skp” and export to character.kmz (google earth 4)
Pepakura Designer can open .KMZ files but they have to be google earth 4!

Step 3: create papercraft

It’s too easy will the get difficult? No!

Update #2: when I tried to import the PDF into illustrator, I noticed that the PDF wasn’t a vector file. Luckily there is a solution: change the default print mode to Vector Print (see point 3a.)
1. Pepakura - Open Pepakura If you’ve done what I asked, you have Pepakura installed (and if not, now is the time).
Open Pepakura
2. Pepakura - open the file Open the character.kmz file you just saved on you’re hard drive
3. Pepakura - Unfold Oke lets see what Pepakura does with this simple example: press “unfold’
Yep, it’s that easy!
3a. Papakura - Print and Paperconfiguration Make sure that you change the default print setting, this will improve the quality of your print and makes it possible to import in Illustrator.
Papakura – Print and Paperconfiguration
4. Pepakura - Print Start you’re printer….. jadajada, you know what to do: Press file – print
(prepare to export to PDF read this)



Step 4: start building

Grab you’re glue and scissors and start building.


Export

This is for people who want to “export” the papermodel/papercraft to a file and modify it in a vector program like Illustrator. (Perhaps Inkscape will work too, but I don’t have that installed)
Instead of printing the model to paper, you can print it to .PDF. And this file is easy to import in Illustrator.

The only thing that you have to do is install: PDFCreator.
This program is opensource (doesn’t cost anything) and works the same as your printer.
Instead of printing to a printer, which is connected to you computer or network, you print to PDFCreator. And this will create a PDF for you on you’re computer.

Categories
Urban papercraft

Urban papercraft: All City Style

This is something I wanted to create, but now I find out it already exists… bad for me & good for me, and you: it combines two hobbies: papercraft and one of the-four-elements-of-hiphop: graffiti.

All City Style: if you don’t get it, you probably never will.
So to catch up: graffiti / tag and read this book: Subway Art

Not feeling so brave (or getting too old for that shit): here is an legal way to create your top-to-bottom!
And you can do in the comfort of your home, using crayons, finger-paint, or whatever you got laying around.

All City Style Blank Subway Car.

Two images to show what’s possible: [1] | [2]

Download the “All City Style Blank Subway Car” and start tagging!

Categories
Urban papercraft

Shin Tanaka – Spiky baby [series 6] is out

SPIKE BABY series from Shin Tanaka is starting with SPIKE BABY[SERIES 06].

So you know what to do, t it out


Shin Tanaka papertoy series are only active for a short time and you missed it 🙁

And start downloading: the download pages for you on a platter:
assad
i
k
p
s
t
y
Bryan_Rollins
claupre
ELGIROGRAFICO
Gaurav
GGG
HELENA
Hixtri
LUNA
MSB_BLUE
MSB_GREEN
MSB_PINK
ocularinvasion
SB06_BOX_

Categories
Urban papercraft

Urban papercraft: Ghettopaper

GhettoPaper logo

This project combines two other interests of mine: HipHop (kinda indirect, but it is there) and papercraft:

Ghettopaper gives you the opportunity to design you own ghetto blaster.
Ghetto Paper - blank template

And because the viewer in GhettoPaper isn’t all that (not really true, because you can also visit the website/mail the artist and download the file) you can view everything here my viewer:
GhettoPaper gallery

Image dump:
GhettoPaper gallery: b_1.jpg
GhettoPaper gallery: b_2.jpg
GhettoPaper gallery: b_3.jpg
GhettoPaper gallery: b_4.jpg
GhettoPaper gallery: b_5.jpg
GhettoPaper gallery: b_6.jpg
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GhettoPaper gallery: b_19.jpg
GhettoPaper gallery: b_20.jpg
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GhettoPaper gallery: b_50.jpg
Categories
Urban papercraft

Urban papercraft : Toypaper

I love this! It’s a combines two of interests: papercraft and Flash.

Toypaper homepage

Toypaper from the little guy has some modification (custom) versions of ReadyMech but are not just a copy.

Besides having created some models which are already designed, there are also some, but will come more of them.
Toypaper examples

Customizable models are (for now):
Customkami (which is more or less a standard ReadyMech model) and Toypaper prototank 1 / Toypaper prototank 2.

Prototank is more an original, and looks like a lotta fun to customize.

Categories
Urban papercraft

Shin Tanaka: Mask Hoody [series 02]

Shin Tanaka has started with Mask Hoody [series 02]

You can download them, and the nice guy I am: this is what you get in Series 02:

Shin Tanaka papertoy series are only active for a short time and you missed it 🙁









Happy building

Categories
Urban papercraft

Urban papercraft: Paper Robots

Optimus PrimeIn one of my rss feeds I came across the papermodel of Optimus Prime (yeah: nerd I know..)
I am truly amazed at this papermodel: it’s almost as good as a action figure. It has joints that move freely and smoothly but the best of it all is: it transforms into a truck: this papermodel is a real transformer.



blank robotPaperrobots1999.com has 4 models with the same flexibility, but I want to focus on the blank robot version.
I’ve written about my definition of urban-papercraft and I was not sure if this model would fit my definition.



Kami RoboUntil I read the story about another model of Paperrobots1999.com: the Kami Robo the Birdman.

This model is based upon the works of Tomohiro Yasui, who created over 200 of these papercraft wrestlers with there own name and a well-defined personality. And these wrestlers slug it out at kami-robo.com so check that out.



And so I started to realize that the blank robot is indeed a urban papercraft.
And for the inspiration you can check out the gallery of wrestlers made by Tomohiro Yasui.

Here two of my favourites:

Genie (King of evil)

Shark Hawk

And check out the rest of the wrestlers






















Our check this video at YouTube – Kami-Robo Part 1:
(thx Kamiel for pointing me to this video)

[swf]http://www.youtube.com/v/yDgLpzKoeKc,425,350[/swf]
Categories
Urban papercraft

Urban papercraft: Speakerdog

Update: Ben added five new designs of Speakerdog, check it out in this little gallery
7
6
5
4
3
2
1

Ben (the illustrator) is obsessed with Speakerdog. It started as a one-off canvas but the little chap got under his skin.

Ben made a papermodel of Speakerdog and shared it with us.

You can download them here:
Speakerdog originalSpeakerdog original

Speakerdog SantaSpeakerdog Santa
And for the really creative there is also a blank version:
Speakerdog BlankSpeakerdog Blank

Categories
Urban papercraft

Urban papercraft: Fwis Readymech series 002

I know: it took me a time to post this (busy busy)

I’ve told you about Readymech, and it seems that they started on Readymech series 002.

There is not much to tell you about this project, so I’ll show you some:
tentaclopse
thunder_eater
headhunter
jules_pink

So don’t stand there, start cutting.

No? oke view some images from readymech server with lightbox:
1 t/m 20
20 t/m 40
40 t/m 52
52

Categories
Urban papercraft

Shin Tanaka – Spiky baby [series 5] is out

You need to be quick… the SPIKE BABY series from Shin Tanaka is starting with SPIKE BABY[SERIES 05] and before you know it, it’s gone and series 06 is there.

Dark horse

This time with :ad:86 , addfueltothefire , Angello , ANO , DARK HORSE , LACKO , PHONETICONTROL , PLAY HARD , Triclops

View all









Shin Tanaka papertoy series are only active for a short time and you missed it 🙁

And the total download list is here:
box
AD86
addfueltothefuture
Angello
ANO
Dark horse
LACKO
PC
PLAY HARD
TRICLOPS
S
P
I
K
Y
S 2
P 2
I 2
K 2
Y 2
box