Baseball Cap Template

A template for a paper baseball cap isn't a new thing.  There are others that have been designed previously, but I wanted to make one that is less "Chibby" style & more realisticly shaped.

After building the test model pictured below, I removed all the fold lines from the template, apart from the glue tab fold lines.  I didn't make any folds on the actual model itself, so I decided the weren't required.  The result was a nicely rounded cap with a peak that has a bevel to it, just like a real one.
There are a lot of design possibilities with a baseball cap, so have lots of fun with it.  The download below contains both .png & a CS4 .ai formats, and I would love to see some customs of this one.

Download your blank Paper Baseball Cap template Here

Series One of the customs is also now available.

Paper Jumping Bean

I've decided not to number the toys any more, as not all the templates I make are toys.  That way there is less categorising.

Anyways, on with the posting.  This is a template I wanted to do from the beginning, but favouring other models, & wanting to get more experience 1st.  I only got round to completing it over the Xmas holidays.

The concept of a small Jumping Bean toy was around when I was a small child, & that's a long time ago.  Im sure that that wasn't the 1st time either.

The original jumping bean is an actual bean found in Mexico.  A species of Moth lays it's eggs inside the bean & as the larvea moved around, the bean has the appearance of jumping.

There is a very collectible plastic collection of jumping beans currently on the toy Market called Mighty Beanz.  As you will see from them, the customisation possibilities are very great.  So, here is the Paper version of an old school toy.  You will require a large marble or large rubber super ball, to make it work, but it's a lot of fun once built.

Once built, try rolling it down a sloped surface for best results.

Download your blank Paper Jumping Bean Here

Enjoy the toy, & as always Share any custom templates or pics with me to place on this blog

iPhone Wallpaper - Logo Version

I am starting to experiment with basic digital images, as part of my journey to become a self taught Graphic Artist.  Wanting to try various different things along the way, iPhone Wallpapers came to mind.

Here are a couple, & I will definitely do more.  As I pick up new techniques along the way, I shall play around with more elaborate images.  These are fairly basic, but they get the job done.  Feel free to download the images & use if you have an iPhone or similar.



The dimensions are the standard 320 x 480 pixels for the iPhone screen, & the image is actual size, so you can just right click it & "Save Picture as".  The format is .png as this is better quality than a .jpeg, but if your phone requires a .jpeg, just open the saved image in any art program & re-save

Toy No.10 - Shrunken Head

Ok, Toy No.10 already.  This one was originally planned to be for Halloween 2010, but it got shelfed for a while in favor of other templates.  I didn't want to wait another whole year before finishing it off, so here it is.

I wanted to try something uncommon with this template, meaning the Hair.  I like to experiment, & see where it goes.  I was very happy with the outcome of this.  I have built 1 for my own collection as always, but I used Pre-textured paper to print on to get the custom effect.

I'm currently on a 6 month subscription to Lynda.com, after which I will hopefully begin to concentrate more on customising existing templates rather than designing new blanks.  For now though I have this one & a couple more up my sleeve still.
As you can see the hair is crazy on this model, and is most definitely the focus point.  The beauty of this is, you can use any color paper you want for the hair as there is no actual template, just instructions to follow.  Once done, you can even try styling it.  I always like to give options for uniqueness.

Download your Shrunken Head template Here

Enjoy the toy & don't forget to Share customs or pics with me.

Getting the most out of my Blank Templates

I've been posting for 4 months now, & I hope if you are a returning or a new follower of this blog, that you enjoy the templates I have produced for download.  I have been experimenting with the whole process of creating paper toys, from the designs through to the finished product.  Although I still have a long way to go, including custom digital designs, I want to share a few points I've picked up with regards to building a blank template.  Getting the most out the design & the finished toy, without any custom art being applied.

The 1st step is to think how you want the finished toy to look.  The more thought you put into this before you start, the better result you will get.

Paper
Choosing the right paper is important.  I normally use 160g White paper if im test building something or even building a model from another artist.  However, as this is a post on how to get the most from blanks, I would suggest to use either 160g Colored paper & for some parts, pre textured/patterned paper, normally used in scrapbooking.  This can achieve a completely decorated toy with no effort, & the outcome can look stunning.

There are so many patterns available in craft shops, choosing the right one can take time, but it is time well spent.  Another option, is to print an image of your choice onto a white sheet, then use this paper to cut from.

Printing & Cutting
I attempt to include the .PDO file produced via Pepakura when I can.  The benefit to this is printing straight from Pepakura can help at the cutting stage.  If you are lucky enough to have access to a cutter, for example, a Graphtec Craft ROBO.  This can work in conjunction with Pepakura to cut line free templates perfectly & also score them for you.  You can use the Craft Robo software to cut out a template, even if it's not from Pepakura, but then scoring will have to be done manually.

If you need to cut manually, I would suggest to use a craft knife & a small pair of scissors, & change between the two for best results, depending on what it is you are cutting at the time.

Building
Ok, so you chose your paper, & the template has now been printed & cut-out.  My only building tip is to not rush it, & don't over glue.  Take your time to line up the flaps as best you can.  The more effort you take to build, the better the result.

Over-glueing can be a messy affair, as this will get on your fingers, & transfer to the outer skin of the model.  This is something that I had problems with when I started building, & it's not pretty.  It doesn't take long to learn the right amount though.

Finishing Touches
It may be that the model really could do with some basic facial features.  Here are a couple of examples of Paper-toys built following the above process.  On the Shrunken Head Template I used a marker pen to add the features, Whereas on the Hex Template, I used a set of Googly Eyes, which are also readily available from craft shops.

Here is a Textured sheet you can download, by clicking on the image to get the full size version, then "Save As".  I did a version with the pattern on its side, as some template parts are printed this way.


Have fun experimenting as I do, & I hope you found this small tutorial useful when it comes to blank templates.