This makes the paper build process much easier. Minimise the number of sides, these are the things that need to be cut out, and folded.This is a technique used in games and cartoons to ensure things are recognisable. Design the models with silhoettes in mind.When I am building the model I try to keep a few things in mind. In the future I would like to texture objects properly, maybe even paint the texture in Blender, but I need to get a bit more confident with Blender before I attempt that. I made the images in Acorn and then combined the images in Sketch. The crown uses quite a detailed texture that’s based upon photos of the real Crown Jewels.
#Mesh unfolder demo how to#
If I continue making these then I will see if I can work out how to export textures so that I can make more detailed things.īrush Ninja was mostly solid colours, which made it quite easy to put together. This can take a bit of tweaking to make sure things line up. Unfolder supports importing and exporting textures from Blender but I haven’t done much of that so at the moment I am drawing the textures and adding them in Sketch. Texturing is all about adding the colours and patterns to the outside of the model.
Especially since I’ve not done this sort of thing before. I suspect as I do this more I will start adding some of these things in the vector editor, but being able to edit them in 3d makes it a lot easier to visualise. The Unfolder interface as I arrange the flattened 3d model.
On the crown I added tabs around the bottom to strengthen the brim a bit, and the cross on the top is double sided – these were all made as additional polygons so that Unfolder would see them. For example in the Brush Ninja model I made the legs use 2 lots of polygons so that they would be stronger, and so that I could colour both sides. I might do this to have double sided printing, or for the strength of the model. It lets you rearrange the model splitting on and joining on folds, and adding/ removing/ tweaking the tabs for gluing. My initial build is done without thinking about how the paper will be cut and glued, but as I get further along I change the digital 3d model so that it more closely resembles the paper models structure. I use Sketch because, as a web designer, that’s what I am most comfortable with but you can use any vector app.įor step 4 there’s a few things I do to make the model ready. Once happy I export the model as an SVG and then import into Sketch to add colours, tweak the paths (round corners on some shapes), and add instructions. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until I’m happy with the model.Back to Blender, I can now adjust the model again based upon what I saw when I folded it.This time I print and build the paper toy so I can see what I want to change. Tweak the Blender mesh and then unfold again.From here I can work out how the mesh will fold and what I want to change or tweak. Use Unfolder to unfold the Blender mesh.Design the mesh in Blender (I started learning Blender in the new year – I want to do more 3d stuff).So far I have designed 2 models so I suspect things will change but currently my process is: I’ve been thinking about making my own designs for a while, I wanted to make something for Brush Ninja, and from the first time I made someone elses model I’ve been considering how I would design and create the models and I’ve slowly come up with a method that seems to work well. You can see some of the FoldUpToys models behind the little fellow. You have to cut out the shapes, then score the fold lines, then pre-fold, before finally gluing the thing together. The actual building of them is quite therapeutic. Most of the designs I have built are from FoldUpToys – a paper toy designer I’ve been following for a while. In fact, I’ve recently gotten into making papercraft toys, both building, and designing them.
To celebrate Queen Elizabeths Platinum Jubilee I designed a little papercraft version of her crown. JBen Jubilee Crown Papercraft – and how I made it