Some designers make this easy by numbering the pieces, but others don’t. This will help to narrow your results and enable you to find the right type of file more quickly without trawling through hundreds of results.Īfter you’ve downloaded a Pepakura file and opened it in Pepakura Designer, review which components need printing and which pieces need to be cut out and glued together. If you’re looking for a specific Pepakura design, it’s a good idea to use speech marks in your Google search - “…what is Pepakura design” for instance.
Here you’ll find all manner of Pepakura designs that are completely free to download - from movie characters to famous buildings and landmarks. The best place to go to download the latest Pepakura creations is the shareware site, .jp. We’d recommend starting your Pepakura project by creating a model shared by someone else. Now thatyou know what is pepakura and you’ve ticked off all the items on your Pepakura shopping list and downloaded the correct program, it’s time to get stuck in. Just ask for some in your local DIY or craft store. Polyester Body Filler: If you’re looking to create truly stunning Pepakura designs, it’s a good idea to invest in a tub of polyester body filler to give your model complete support and sturdiness. We’d recommend buying yourself a craft knife, cutting mat and a metal ruler to ensure complete precision. Some Pepakura experts also use rubber cement, but this is only suitable for advanced designs.Ĭraft Knife: Pepakura requires complete accuracy when it comes to folding and cutting, and a pair of scissors just doesn’t quite cut the mustard. Glue: The next thing on your Pepakura shopping list is glue, of which we’d recommend hot glue or high quality super glue. Pepakura Designer File Viewer will only allow you to download and print other designs, whilst Pepakura Designer allows you to create your own printable models - for a price of course.
Pepakura: Depending on how seriously you plan to take your new hobby, you’ll need to download Pepakura Designer or Pepakura Designer File Viewer. Here, we list what you’ll need to buy, collect and download prior to your first Pepakura pursuit: The process of folding, cutting and sticking all the components of a 3D model together can be a little tedious, and things can get messy when you add glue and children to the equation.īut, if you’ve an ounce of patience and a steady hand, Pepakura is a worthwhile way to spend some free time and put that dusty old printer to good use once more.Īs you’d expect, there are a few things you’ll need to invest in before you delve into the colourful world of Pepakura. However, we’d like to note that Pepakura isn’t necessarily for everyone. Then, you print it on to cardstock using your normal household printer, and set about folding, snipping and ultimately gluing it all together. You create or download a 3D design using the aforementioned Pepakura program, which uses the 3-dimensional data to create a 2D design. Secondly, the process of Pepakura is actually very straightforward.
But for simplicity’s sake, we’ll just keep calling it Pepakura. What Pepakura refers to is the program you’ll need to download in order to create and print the 3D models on to a 2D sheet of paper. But before you go about printing your own Pepakura models with reckless abandon, there are a few things you need to know about how the process actually works.įirstly, Pepakura doesn’t actually refer to papercrafting itself - that’s just… modelling. OK, so we’ve successfully piqued your interest.
The practice has become particularly popular among cosplayers, who have used Pepakura to create all sorts of amazing designs - from storm trooper suits to iron man costumes.īut don’t be deterred by the geekiness - Pepakura is lots of fun, and there are a range of designs you can download and create for free by paying a visit to one of the many public Pepakura shareware sites available on the Fancy giving Pepakura a go? Then read on for our guide, which includes information on how it works and where you can get started. Essentially, Pepakura is a new, fandangle form of papercrafting that lets you create incredibly detailed 3D models using a piece of card and a standard household printer. Indeed, until a few weeks ago, TonerGiant hadn’t either. Most people will probably have never heard of Pepakura.