What is papercraft?
Papercraft or Pepakura is a hobby that dates back to the 17th century and is a derivative of Origami and Kirigami. Papercraft is the art of building complex creations out of paper or cardstock on which the parts of the model are printed, cut out, folded, scored and glued together. Because people can create their own patterns, paper models are limited only by their designer's imagination and ability to manipulate paper into forms. On this website, you will only find papercrafts from the Legend of Zelda series of video games, but you can visit our Websites page for more.
What kind of tools do I need?
Here are some of the basic papercraft tools you will need:
- Paper or cardstock
- A craft knife
- Scissors
- A self-healing cutting mat
- A scoring tool
- Glue
- Toothpicks
- Colored Markers (Optional)
What kind of paper should I use?
The bigger your Papercraft is, the thicker the paper you use should be. Lighter paper leaves less apparent edges and is easier to fold, but might not last as long as heavy, thick paper which is sturdier but has visible edges and is harder to work with, especially for small parts. Overall, you should stick to a paper of a weight between 120gsm to 200gsm while avoiding common printer paper (80gsm) as it is too weak, can tear easily, get soggy with glue and will definitely not stand the test of time.
What should I score and fold?
Usually, any fold that has a 90° or less than 90° angle should be folded. Polygonal models with a lot of angular faces such as Nintendo 64 and Playstation models greatly benefit from being folded while more detailed models with a lot of round shapes should be left untouched. Scoring means running a blunt tool along the fold lines to create an imprint, which makes folding easier and leaves a cleaner crease. Some examples of scoring tools include a dry ball-point pen, the blunt edge of a knife or an embossing stylus.
What kind of glue should I use?
Standard white glue such as Elmer's Liquid School Glue works perfectly for Papercraft. Other craft glues such as Aleene's Tacky Glue also do an excellent job. You should only apply a small amount of glue on each tabs, then evenly spread it on the surface using a toothpick, leaving only a thin layer. Using too much glue can lead to overflowing and longer drying times.
What can I do to make my models look better?
To improve the quality and the look of your Papercrafts, you can use colored markers to color the edge of the tabs and the edge of the paper itself before glueing the pieces together, effectively getting rid of all the visible white lines on your model.You can also protect your Papercrafts by coating them with a matte spray to preserve the paper and ink as well as waterproofing the model to a certain extent.
What are .PDO files?
.PDO files are basically interactive instructions to help you figure out where each parts of the model goes with a full 3D view, folding / unfolding animations and more. These files can only be opened with the Pepakura Designer and Pepakura Viewer programs which you can download for free on their official website. Since all our .PDO files are unlocked, feel free to resize or modify the templates to suit your needs as long as you credit us for the finished product.
