Introduction: Vampire Robot Papercraft

About: I am a Graphic Designer by trade and a passionate crafter, tinkerer, and inventor at heart

Say hello to the Instructables Vampire Robot! He will be the first of many Halloween companions to make your acquaintance in the coming years. This compact papercraft is easy to assemble and is a great activity to get you in the Halloween spirit. Get your family, friends, or students involved too!

If this little guy isn’t exciting enough on his own, Instructables is also running a fun Halloween Photo Challenge & Giveaway! Two creative winners will have the chance to win a Kodak Digital Camera or Cat Ear Phones. You can also post an 'I Made It' in the comments section at the bottom of this project for a chance to win an Instructables prize pack. Instructables staff will choose winners based on creativity, so remember to have fun with it!

Here's how to enter: (Closed now)

  • Create your (ultra-cute) Instructables Vampire Robot by following the detailed instructions in this project. (You can skip printing if you signed up to receive a Halloween postcard in the mail. The template is on the front!)
  • Set the scene and create a Halloween background for your Vampire Robot to hang out in. Post a photo of your Vampire Robot in all of his glory to Facebook and/or Twitter. Remember to hit the 'follow' button — only followers can win!
  • In your post, tag @instructables and use #VampireRobot
  • You have until 11/6/17 to post your entry!
  • Winners will be announced on our Facebook Page and right here on this project on 11/8/2017.

If you only make one thing this Halloween, let it be this. Good luck and have fun!

Step 1: Supplies

  • Scissors
  • Xacto knife
  • cutting mat

Optional:

  • ruler
  • glue
  • black marker

PAPER CHOICES:

If you signed up for the halloween postcard this year, your paper craft will be mailed to you! But if you didn't sign up this year, or want to make your Vampire Robot some friends you can print the PDF attached. For printing you have two options, both with their own benefits and faults. Viewed above is a side by side comparison of a cardstock vs. regular printer/copy paper robot.

1. Cardstock (left robot)

I used 100lb paper for demos and this is also what the postcards have been printed on ( a little lighter cardstock will work fine too, but if you go too much heavier it will start to make your folds too bulky). The heavier cardstock is wonderful for adding support and structure to your robot and will allow enough resistance between the tabs and slots that you don't need to add any glue to hold your little guy together. That being said, because of the nature of paper, using a thicker cardstock will result in some cracking along the edges ** see pro tip at the end for some black marker magic to cover this up.

2: Regular printer/copy paper (right robot)

regular printer/copy paper is 100% ok to use, and because it's a thinner weight paper, there will be no cracking along the edges. Woohoo! The downfall here though is that it will require a little bit more patience and care when assembling your robot such that you don't accidentally squash him. I would highly recommend using a glue stick to lock those tabs in place during assembly as they tend to slip out easier when using regular printer/copy paper.

PRINT PDF:

1. Small: This is the original sized papercraft that will yield a 2.5 inch vampire robot.

2. Large: If dexterity and working with small objects is a challenge, this larger sized robot will make assembly easier for you.

3. Classroom: This printable contains two robots per standard 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper and is ideal for classroom settings.

** Note: as per the awesome suggestion of user "jwhit" in the comments, I have uploaded black and white versions of all the pdf's. File names starting in: BW

Step 2: Cutting

Cut along the outside edge of all of the papercraft pieces. This can be done with either an Xacto knife on a cutting matt or with scissors. ** personally I prefer using scissors to do this step.

Step 3: Special Cuts

Once you have cut along the outer edge of all your pieces there are two special cuts you need to make.

1: The cape collar

  • On the body piece, cut along the red and black edges, stopping before you hit the yellow. Do this on both sides.
  • Once this is complete, fold the red portion back so that it is no longer visible. This will be the outside (black) and inside (red) portions of your collar.
  • Now cut two small triangular pieces out of the inside collar, to give that collar some flare.

2: Fancy hair

  • On the head piece, cut along the black edge, stopping before you hit the yellow. Do this on both sides.
  • Once this is complete, fold the black portion at an angle. This will create your fancy hair spikes.
  • Depending on the angle you choose to fold at, you may have some white paper sticking out of the edge. Trim this off.

**Note: if you're opting for a more permanent hold and using glue, feel free to glue these pieces down.

Step 4: Slits and Optional Fold Lines

In order to prepare for assembly you will need to make some slits. These are indicated on the paper craft as black lines with a bar on either end. Because the cape and hair are also black, some of these may be difficult to see, and I've included a guide image. On the guide image above, the slits appear as red dotted lines. I also like to score my fold lines in order to ensure I'm making nice crisp folds in the right places. This is NOT required and I don't expect most people to do this step. But if you're like me, a bit obsessive and you like precision, the fold lines appear as blue solid lines on the guide image above.

Cutting Slits:

  • Cut along indicated lines with an Xacto knife on a cutting matt.
  • Be carful not to go past the lines when cutting. These line length are well suited for receiving their recipient tabs during assembly and overshooting them may increase your chances of needing glue to hold it all together
  • **Theoretically this could be done with scissors, but in my experience this involved having to bend the paper in areas it shouldn't be bent and was not ideal.

Scoring the Fold lines:

  • Line a ruler up to the edge you wish to score (you can forgo the ruler and eyeball it if you have a steady hand)
  • Take a fine blunt object that will not cut the paper ( I used the end of a mechanical pencil with no lead showing)
  • Run your fine blunt object along the line applying light pressure (if you do this too hard or you may rip or cut the paper)

Step 5: Assembly Tips and Tricks

After assembling a few of these, I picked up some tricks that made it go a little smoother.

1: Pre-gouging your slits

After you cut your slits, they will be a little tight. I found that by pushing my Xacto knife through the slit, it made it easier to push the tab through it.

2: Using your Xacto knife as a guide

Some of the slits require you to push your tab through a parallel slit. This was made easier by putting my Xacto knife into the slit first and then slipping the tab in behind it. Remove the blade and Voila your tab is in place!

Step 6: Folding the Head

  1. Fold the upper most square down
  2. Fold the second square down
  3. Fold each side pieces inward towards the center
  4. Fold the side tabs inward towards the center
  5. Do NOT fold the bottom tabs

Step 7: Assembling the Head

  1. Fold the two upper squares so that they make the beginning of a box.
  2. Fold each side piece up to become the side of the box, and slip the tabs into the back slits provided on the back of the head. A into A1 and B into B1.

Step 8: Folding the Legs

  1. Fold the yellow legs down
  2. Fold the black rectangular shape down
  3. Fold the red trapezoid shape down
  4. Fold the little white tab down
  5. Slot the white tab through the slit provided (C into C1)
  6. Bend yellow legs and base of cape so that it stands upright
  7. Fold the two side white tabs at a 90 degree angle upwards

Step 9: Folding the Body

  1. Fold the upper yellow box down
  2. Fold the smaller black rectangle UP
  3. Fold each side piece inward towards the center
  4. Fold the black tabs inward towards the center
  5. Fold the bottom black square up
  6. Fold the bottom yellow square up

Step 10: Assembling Your Robot

  1. The upper yellow square of the body contains two slits (D1 and E1). You will know its the upper yellow square because it will be attached to a small black rectangle. Push the two white bottom tabs of your head piece (D and E) through these slits. Then fold the tabs inward on the inside of your robot to lock them in place (You can add glue here for a more permanent lock- but it's not needed to stay in place).
  2. Slot each arm piece tab (F and G) into the slits on either side of the body (F1 and G1) until the white tab is no longer visible. Once in place, hold the arm flat against the body and bend the inner tab downwards (Glue can be added here)
  3. Slots the two thinner side tabs of the leg piece (H and I) into the slits on yellow bottom of the robot body (H1 and I1). Then slot the larger back tab (C) into the slit that runs along the edge where the black and yellow squares meet (C2). Then fold the tabs inward on the inside of your robot to lock them in place (Glue can also be added here)
  4. The collar slot is a little tricky to explain, and the images above will be very helpful, but I'll try my best to give some verbal aid here. On the top yellow square ( the one that now has your head attached to it) you will see a smaller black rectangle. Take the identical red rectangle found attacked to the back body piece and place it over the black rectangle, while sliding the red tab ( J) into the slot between the black rectangle and yellow square (J1). Fold that tab from the inside to lock it in place (Glue! if you're into that kinda thing).
  5. Now wrap those side pieces around the body and slot the tabs ( K and L) into the back slits (K1 and L1). (You guessed it - Glue 'em down if you're using it- but you might want to add the glue before slotting the tabs in, as you won't have access to the inside after they are slotted in)
  6. Stand your robot upright and set them down using the back cape and legs as balance points. You can adjust the angles of each of these to your desired preference.

TADAAAA! It's alive ! Congratulations you are now the proud parent of your very own Vampire Robot

Step 11: Protip for the Fanatics

As previously mentioned, if you opted to use cardstock for sturdiness, you may notice some cracking along the fold lines. If it bothers you, it can be covered up with a little cosmetic surgery. Run a black marker along the edges and you'll never see those cracks again.

Step 12: Enter the Halloween Photo Challenge & Giveaway!

Two creative winners will have the chance to win a Kodak Digital Camera or Cat Ear Phones. You can also post below as an 'I Made It' in the comments section at the bottom of this project for a chance to win an Instructables prize pack. Instructables staff will choose winners based on creativity, so remember to have fun with it!

Here's how to enter:

  • Create your (ultra-cute) Instructables Vampire Robot by following the detailed instructions in this project. (You can skip printing if you signed up to receive a Halloween postcard in the mail. The template is on the front!)
  • Set the scene and create a Halloween background for your Vampire Robot to hang out in.
  • Post a photo of your Vampire Robot in all of his glory to Facebook and/or Twitter. Remember to hit the 'follow' button — only followers can win!
  • In your post, tag @instructables and use #VampireRobot
  • You have until 11/6/17 to post your entry!
  • Winners will be announced on our Facebook Page and right here on this project on 11/8/2017.

If you only make one thing this Halloween, let it be this. Good luck and have fun!

Step 13: GIVEAWAY WINNERS

The votes are in and the grand prize goes to Mike Walk! He will 'walk' away with Kodak Digital Camera. A very close first prize goes to Claire Mander who will get to start jammin' with her Cat Ear Phones! Wannabemadsci is taking home a prize pack as our "I Made it" winner and a special surprise prize will be sent to Martin Mander‏ for their awesome instructable!

Thanks again for all of your entries and effort. We're looking forward to next year!