How to Make a Papercraft Project

For this paper project, we will be making a low poly paper raft project. For this example, I will be making a wolf. There are thousands of different animals and objects you can do but I chose this one because it is up to scale and looks extremely cool when finished.

Step 1: Supplies

The first thing your going to need to do is gather your materials. What you’ll need is...

An exacto knife and or scissors (I highly recommend the exacto knife because it made this project way easier)

A printer to print out the template on

Printer paper or any type of paper you would prefer

Time. You will need lots of time for these projects. Not as much as some but more than others

Glue gun or glue. I would recommend a non water based glue.

Spray Paint or non water based paint incase you don’t have colored paper

Step 2: Print

Printing this project is the most important part of this. If it isn’t printed right than it isn’t going to work out. Sometimes it will print to big and you will then have to draw out the rest. Usually it will only overlap a little but just incase have spare paper

Step 3: Cutting

Your then going to have to cut out the template. This is the most time consuming yet important part. If cut wrong than your going to end up with a holey mess. You are going to want to use your exacto knife for the most part. It will go way quicker.

Step 4: Folding

Next, FOLD! You need to fold this right or it will turn out wrong. Fold the small dotted lines inward, or just turn the numbered side towards you, put your finger on the dotted line, push away from you, and pinch on the line. Same thing for the uneven dotted lines. You will do it opposite though.

Step 5: Bringing It Together

Then, you want to start the fun part, glueing. This is what will create the shape of the creature. If you are confused by the numbers, then I will tell you what to do. First, find two of the same numbers so in this case, 4 and 4. Then, find the 4 that has a tab under it. You will want to glue this to the the other 4 without a tab. Keep doing this until it starts to take shape.

Step 6: Oh, There It Is

Now, the creature or object should begin to look like what it’s supposed to be. For me, I like to glue the creature upside down because in the wolf, you’re glueing the face then the ears until you get to the neck. It is like this on most projects.

Step 7: Checking for Mistakes

Next, you’re going to want to either one, take a picture of the inside of the model and look for any loose or unglued tabs, or, take a look yourself. This is a way to tell if your piece of work is going to fall apart or not.

Step 8: Finally, Paint 🤗

This part I actually didn’t do because I didn’t feel it at the time but if you don’t have colored paper you may want to. It adds just the right sparkle to your model. If you used printer paper though, you may want to use fabric hardener so it doesn’t fall apart.

Step 9: It’s Perfect

This is the best part of the whole project, finding a spot to hang it. I hung the wolf above my bed it looked spotless there. Right now it’s in the kitchen with the fox I made. Usually looking back at the piece of art just fills my head with wonders. I hope that if you do this project, it to will make yours.