Lulu's belt pattern

Like I said before, up to a point (because some of them have a very specific shape) you are basically free to interweave the belts on Lulu's dress any way you like.

This is how they are woven together in the game, though, and I'll include the schematic in the instructions.

That way, you can stay close to the game, and you can be sure it will look okay if you're not comfortable trying to make your own pattern. ;o)

Stay tuned!

Lulu papercraft model final build!

Woohoo! Final build started! ;o)

I printed the backsides of some parts on regular printer paper, but most parts are printed on 200 gsm paper, which will make the final paper model nice and strong (but you can use thicker or thinner paper if you like of course!)

As far as tools go, all you really need for papercraft is glue and a knife, and for pre-shaping small parts, a toothpick.

And of course, to avoid ruining your tabletop, a rubber cutting mat. ;o)

Stay tuned!

Lulu last test build

The hands are the last parts I will test build, mainly to see how they would look inside the sleeves.

And well, I like it, ;o) so now I can start making the templates, so I can start the final build, after that I can make the instructions, and after that, I can release her!

Stay tuned!

Lulu test build, part 4

Here's Lulu with her head!

I won't test build her jewelry, because I'll simply make the necklaces and hairpins as flat parts, and well... 2D is pretty hard to mess up. ;o)

The last parts I will test build, are the hands. I've already made the changes I wanted to make after the test builds so far, so once I'm happy with those, I can start the final build!

Stay tuned!

New webpoll: unfinished builds

Sometimes you come across a great papercraft model, only to find that it's much more difficult and time consuming than you thought...

Or have you yet to find a paper model you couldn't build? ;o)

Did you ever...

...start a papercraft model that you ended up finding too difficult to make? No, I haven't found a model I couldn't build yet! Yes, and I threw away the parts. Yes, but I kept the parts to try again later. Current Results

Since some people like building lots of small and simple models, while others prefer building only big and complex models, it wouldn't really be fair to compare last poll's results (and papercraft isn't a race anyway! ;o)

So I think really the only conclusion we can draw from last time's webpoll, seeing how many models most people built, is that papercraft is a really fun and addictive hobby! ;o)



Have fun building!

Pepakura Lulu, part 4

One of the final parts that I will test build (after this, I'll do the hands).

For Lulu's hair, I want to go with a layered effect. Basically, the head will be made up from the face, the back of the head, the bangs and the ponytails.

Lulu has lots of jewelry, including several hairpins. I'll make those as simple 2D pieces, just like the belts.

Her necklaces can just be worn around her neck of course, and for the hairpins, I think it will be best to make a few small slits in the knot above her ponytails, and push them through.

That way, it will be closest to the "real" version, instead of just glueing them on top. ;o)

Stay tuned!

Lulu test build, part 3

The belts are a very fun part on this paper model, because putting them on really makes the "work in progress" instantly recognizable as Lulu! ;o)

I stayed pretty close to the way the belts are originally woven together in the game, but (to a certain extent) you could weave them together to your own liking.

At first, I was a little bit afraid that there would be too many holes between the belts that aren't so obvious in the game, but wouldn't look good in a paper model, but there are so many belts, that I really like the result! ;o)

I also re-did some parts of the fur and neck, because the shoulders were a bit *too* uneven. It wasn't a big change, but I think it looks better now.

Next, I'll unfold and testbuild Lulu's head and/or hands!

Stay tuned!

Pepakura Lulu, part 3

One of Lulu's most distinguishing features, the belts on her dress, are probably the easiest parts I have ever "unfolded". ;o)

Although at first, it may look difficult to recreate the complex pattern of belts, but you don't *have* to follow the game 100% exactly of course!

Once you realize that, it becomes much easier. ;o)

I'm also testing a few changes I made on the fur collar and chest+neck parts.

They're not big changes, but they're important parts for the look of the model, so I wanted to see them assembled again before I made up my mind.

Stay tuned!

Lulu test build, part 2

Lulu's dress wasn't be very difficult to build. ;o) I think I will include a separate, black part to be printed on thinner paper and glued to the inside of the dress, to cover up the white backside of the paper.

I think this method will work better than using double sided parts, with people having trouble with the alignment and/or feeding the sheet to the printer the wrong way, and of course the glueing tabs would still be visible as outlines on the inside of the dress that way.

For some parts like the backside of the belts and/or hair though, it will probably be easier to simply colour the backside with a magic marker, but I'll have to think about that.

Next up is a very fun part of the model I think, the belts! (it will be the easiest unfold I've made so far, I think ;o)

Stay tuned!

Pepakura Lulu, part 2

Instead of unfolding a paper model completely in one go, I always like to unfold my paper models in separate parts.

That way, the separate Pepakura Designer files are just a bit more orderly and easier to work with, especially with models that have a lot of parts and/or are very complex.

So this time, I've unfolded Lulu's dress, fur collar and chest+neck. They're the three parts that come together at the top of the dress, so I can check if they fit together the way I planned: link

After I've test built those parts, I'll do the belts, one of the defining features of Lulu's character design. The parts themselves aren't very difficult, but there are a lot of them, so I thought it would be best to test "build" them separately as well. ;o)

Stay tuned!

Leggy Lulu

My test builds always end up "a bit" sloppy to save time, but all in all, I'm pretty happy with how all the parts went together so far, so I won't have to change too much about the shapes themselves.

I do think I will br/l/ighten the textures a bit though, because as you can see, when printed they end up a bit darker than I'd like.

So far so good, next I'll unfold and test build Lulu's dress!

Stay tuned!

Pepakura Lulu, part 1

Test building a paper model is always a fun albeit time consuming step.

It's fun because you finally get to cut up some paper again (mwhuahaha...!) and time consuming because, well... papercraft is just time consuming. ;o)

Especially since you're likely to discover things you overlooked the first time around, so you'll have to go back and change them for the final build.

But she's worth it, I think (and it beats getting Thundaga'd by an unhappy Lulu...)

Stay tuned!

Laytoes' Challenges 001 solution

As promised, the Laytoes' Challenges minisite has been updated with the solution for the "Stackering Tiler" puzzle!

Most people were able to solve the first two parts of the puzzle (either with or without looking at the hints ;o) but not many saw through the third hint.

I think what made it extra difficult, was that the answer wasn't a simple letter or number, but a word (two or three, actually) while in the Professor Layton games, the answer format is usually kept much simpler.

Maybe I'll make another puzzle some time, and then I'll try to keep the answer a bit simpler too. ;o)

If you want to know if you got this one right, head right over to the Laytoes' Challenges minisite!

Have fun!

Lulu phase 1 complete (almost ;o)

The first phase of making Lulu's papercraft model, making a 3D model suited for papercraft, is almost done.

I'll touch up her hair some more and some other parts, and then I can start the second phase, unfolding and test building.

Stay tuned!

So many happy happy joy joy colours... ;o)

I just had to show you all those pwetty little colours... ;o)

My Little Pony Rainbow Dash by Kna on DeviantArt: link

Follow my Twitter tweets for many more papercraft models from other people!

Have fun building!