Basic tools and techniques

I usually start my instructions with the basic tools you need to build a papercraft model. And that's really not a whole lot!

All you really need, are the parts, a sharp knife and glue, and if you don't want to ruin your desktop, a rubber cutting mat.

Besides these basic tools, you can really use anything you happen to have handy: I often use a toothpick for those hard to reach places (or to pre-shape small fingers ;o)

Because toothpicks are quite small though, I also sometimes use a thin metal rod, which is a bit longer (and stronger... ;o)

I always print the parts on 200 gsm paper, which is about 2.5 times as thick as regular paper. Other people use 160 gsm, or 120 gsm paper though, or just plain printer paper. And some people even use different thicknesses for different parts on the same model!

The knife I use is an X-Acto knife with a #11 blade, but really any (hobby)knife will do, as long as it's very sharp! ;o)

The glue I use is called "Tesa hobbyglue", but they don't seem to sell it in a lot of other countries. But they're bound to sell other hobbyglues suited for papercraft!

Like I said, these are just the tools that work for me and you will figure out your own preferences soon enough after building a few models. Yamaha has some very nice video tutorials explaining several basic papercraft techniques, so be sure to check it out!

Have fun building!

SLM's and glue spillage tutorial

Last weekend with Easter and all, and the busy week I've had, I haven't been able to make any real progress on my Zora armor Link. I'm hoping to do so this weekend again, though.

But in anticipation, I made this little tutorial. For many of my SLM's ("Smooth Look Models" - the ones that don't need to have sharp folds, but that you can just curve) I make the arms, legs and torso out of rings stacked together.

Sometimes I put all the glueing tabs on one side, and this video will show you the difference between where you apply your glue. ;o)

Of course the best way to avoid glue spillage, is just to not use too much glue, and don't try to rush yourself. If you want to read along with the computer voice, you can download the script I used here.

Have fun watching!

How to keep your paper models from falling over

With the cape and the wing on his back, I foresee many e-mails in my future of people that might have problems keeping Cloud from falling over...

It is quite possible to have him stand upright though, and this is how; and it works on other models as well! ;o)

Stay tuned, release coming (real) soon!

(download the script for the spoken text here)

"Making small paper cones"-tutorial

Cloud's left hand has a glove with metal "claws", and I'll make them out of small cones instead of cylinders, to get that "sharp" feeling.

Making small cones is not very different from making small cylinders though, they only have a pointy end, instead of two open sides. ;o)

Here's the script for the spoken text again, and if you want to get start practicing already, you can download some practice parts here.

Have fun!

"Making small paper cylinders"-tutorial

Many people seem intimated by small parts on papercraft models. My Cloud model will also have some small parts again, mainly the fingers. They're basically just cylinders and cones though, which are normally not that difficult to make (they're just smaller ;o)

I'll show you how I make them using a toothpick to pre-shape them, so the parts basically almost "fold" themselves and all you need to do is apply some glue to the glue tab. ;o)

As with my other tutorials, I made a small txt-file so you can read back the spoken text.

Have fun watching!

Alternating (zipper style) glue tabs tutorial

I guess my Ganondorf is on hold until I finish moving my main website (where you can download all of my papercraft models).

Don't worry though, because that shouldn't be very long. All I have left to do for now is the hall of fame and the links section. The downloads are already be up.

In the meantime, I made this simple tutorial about alternating ("zipper style") glue tabs (where the glue tabs are on opposite sides instead of all on one side).

I'm not saying you should always use this method, or that you should never use it. But knowing the pros and cons of a method helps you decide whether or not it's a good idea to use it if you're making your own papercraft models.

As always with my video tutorials featuring a computer voice, you can download the script for the spoken text.

Have fun watching!

Papercraft "butt joint" (don't laugh!) tutorial

While I was contemplating ideas for my new Ganondorf project, I decided to make this small video tutorial about "butt joints" (don't laugh).

"Butt jointing" is again a very simple (and time consuming) technique for glueing together the parts of a papercraft model.

Normally, you use glue tabs to glue one piece on top of the other, and you will get a ridge because of the thickness of the paper (these ridges are also the cause of the white lines I told you about in my edge coloring tutorial).

With butt joints, the parts themselves don't have glue tabs, but instead, a seperate strip of paper that you glue underneath the parts acts as a seperate glue tab. That way, you can "butt" the edges together. And because there is no overlap, the seam will be flat and you won't get a ridge.

This technique is most often used on airplane fuselages, or space rockets, or submarines, with larger, tube-like parts. I don't think I'll be using it on my new Ganondorf model, though... ;o)

(if you can't understand the computer voice in the video, you can download the script I used here)

Ninjatoes' papercraft American McGee's Alice model

That's right, as you might have already guessed, my secret project was American McGee's Alice. I have been wanting to make this for years now, but somehow I kept making other paper models first...

When the game first came out, I really liked the dark tone of the game, and when I started papercrafting I came across the Alice model from Nikomi Zosui (Alice isn't available, but the White King is) and decided I would make one as well. Later, Killer094 had the same idea and so did Pixel-Kakashi (although I don't know if his is finished yet or if he's even still working on it..?)

But I never mind doing models that already exist, because I always have my own ideas. In this case, I wanted Alice to have a kind of mischievous look, pretending to be the good little girl from the Lewis Carroll's books, while hiding a big knife behind her back (well, not exactly hiding... ;o) so I came up with the pose she's in now.

The other things were just ideas on how to build the model: the shoulders were a big issue, because they were intersecting with other parts. At first I tried to cut away the shape of the shoulders from the arms and torso, but that looked "not so good"... So in the end, I completely re-modeled them in a way that I found quite easy to make actually!

While I was making this model, I liked the level of detail I was able to maintain, and I thought it would be a shame to not make the hands that detailed as well. Ironically, on models that already have 10 seperate fingers, I usually end up doing a lot of work making the hands easier to build, and on models that already have simplified hands (like this one) I end up making the seperate fingers myself... ;o)

As with many (old) games, to save computing memory, parts that you don't get to see, don't exist: meaning Alice didn't have a "bum". ;o) But because I didn't like the idea of having to glue the legs to her dress, I decided to make one. Of course I had to do lots of research to what kind of undergarments a girl like Alice would wear ;o) Bloomers and striped socks seemed appropriate. ;o)

The face/head always needs a lot of work, and this was no exception. I had some experience of course, and I'm quite happy with how it turned out. I had to change the texture because I wanted Alice to have a mischievous smile, and I don't think she ever smiles in the game... ;o)

And speaking of textures: the textures from the game were quite dark, and I didn't really like that. I made Alice's skin paler, (suits the whole goth theme I think) and I made the blue of her dress brighter. The white was *just* right for my taste, so I left that as it was.

And yes, I omitted the little skull on the back of Alice's dress: it was in the way of the arms, and it didn't really add a lot of extras to the model.

But enough chatter: you just want to download and build the model!

• download American McGee's Alice parts+instructions

And for those that are interested, I'm planning on revealing all the clues I left for you soon (if you didn't find them yourself already, that is: I really made it much too simple for you guys... ;o)

Release will be this week.

The last two days I, only spent an hour or two a day building my new paper model, but since I already started last sunday and everything is going so well, I'm already half way the final page!

Just one arm left to go: the first one went together easier than I thought, even the fingers. I pre-shaped them by folding them around a toothpick because they're basically just tiny cylinders, and this way they're not very difficult to make. You just have to take your time. ;o)

I think I will definitely be able release the model this week, as soon as I finish the instructions (I'm making those in parts as well, right along with my build) and a nice cover for the template. ;o)

(PS: You might want to click the "Play" button again.)

Edge coloring tutorial

I have been working on laying out the parts of the finished model on the templates in a logical fashion (you can be the judge of that when I release the model... ;o) but I also wanted to make a small video tutorial again on a technique to make your paper models look even better.

It's a very basic, but also very time consuming technique, so I don't normally use it. But I'm planning on doing so on this particular model, to see how it turns out.

And judging by the simple model I made for this video, it will turn out quite awesome and well worth it. ;o)

The voice is a computer voice. If you have trouble understanding it, you can download the script I used here.

Red Hollow Cylinder tutorial

The Red Hollow Cylinder. In it lies the soul of an evil papercraftsman, who could not find joy in the paper models he made.

Bittered and lonely, with his dying breath he put a curse on the last papercraft he ever made, and then he let it loose on the world. Its sole purpose: to frustrate those that cannot build it, no matter how hard they try, and rob them of any joy they have building paper models...

Now it counts as a test of skill for those seeking to prove themselves strong enough to become Papercraft Masters.

Do you have what it takes?

• download the Red Hollow Cylinder template

Good luck!