This paper model is in a PDF file, created and hosted by Chokipeta.jp - a company very well known in asian and european countries for creating beautiful paper crafts.
Shigaraki Raccoon Dog Papercraft [Chokipeta.jp]
11 February 2006
Shigaraki Raccoon Dog Papercraft
Here is a cute paper model of a Shigaraki Raccoon Dog papercraft, now you may ask what is a Shigaraki Raccoon Dog? to be brief, Shigaraki is a village in Japan that used to be its capital waaaaay back in the early days. A raccoon dog, also known as a "tanuki", is a dog which for all arguments resembles a raccoon, including markings and body structure. The Shigaraki Raccoon Dog is a local celebrity in Japan, in which they create figurines for it. The man who started this was Tetsuzo Fujiwara, a ceramic sculptor who focused most of his work with ceramic raccoon dogs that have different facial expressions and unique shapes, which in turn started a tradition of this loveable Shigaraki Raccoon Dog dolls and figurines.
This paper model is in a PDF file, created and hosted by Chokipeta.jp - a company very well known in asian and european countries for creating beautiful paper crafts.
This paper model is in a PDF file, created and hosted by Chokipeta.jp - a company very well known in asian and european countries for creating beautiful paper crafts.
Alternative Software
As I've mentioned in my previous post that you need Adobe Acrobat Reader to open PDF files, I forgot to mention another free software that I use on my other computers for PDF files. It is called Foxit Reader, and it is from a company called Foxit Software. The reason why I'm mentioning this is for those paper crafters who have an old computer with less speed, cpu power, and hard drive space that can't handle Adobes' bloated and slow startups. Foxit Reader is free, it requires no installation, is less than three (3)megabytes, and the best part is that it supports all of Adobe Readers most important features.
I have also mentioned on my previous post that you will need to buy Adobe Acrobats' standard or professional edition in order to create your own PDF files, but thats going to cost you between 299 to 449 bones, another free alternative software for creating PDF files without shelling out big bucks is PDFCreator. This software installs as a printer driver in Windows and lets you specify output settings (paper size, resolution, etc.) This means that you can create PDF files from any Windows program that's capable of printing. How this works is after you've created a document from any Windows based program (Word, Photoshop, Powerpoint, etc.) you will use the Print command on that software and choose "PDFCreator" as your printer, a dialog box will show up and ask you to specify a filename and other optional information, just fill em in, click Save, and choose a location to save your file. After saving it, your document is now converted to a PDF file - easy, simple, and free.
I have also mentioned on my previous post that you will need to buy Adobe Acrobats' standard or professional edition in order to create your own PDF files, but thats going to cost you between 299 to 449 bones, another free alternative software for creating PDF files without shelling out big bucks is PDFCreator. This software installs as a printer driver in Windows and lets you specify output settings (paper size, resolution, etc.) This means that you can create PDF files from any Windows program that's capable of printing. How this works is after you've created a document from any Windows based program (Word, Photoshop, Powerpoint, etc.) you will use the Print command on that software and choose "PDFCreator" as your printer, a dialog box will show up and ask you to specify a filename and other optional information, just fill em in, click Save, and choose a location to save your file. After saving it, your document is now converted to a PDF file - easy, simple, and free.
PDFCreator - FREE - www.sourceforge.net/projects/pdfcreator
Note: All software programs mentioned in this post is Windows based, if you are having trouble downloading or with installation, please leave a message and I'll try to help you the best I can.
10 February 2006
Paper Craft File Types
Before you get started with your paper craft project you need a pattern, this pattern comes in different formats, but I'll talk about the two(2) prominent ones that are mostly used.
First, we have the most widely used pattern, the PDF file, as I've mentioned before, the PDF file is an Adobe technology for formatting electronic documents so that they can be easily viewed, distributed, edited, and printed on different systems while preserving the layout(fonts, images, graphics). To view a file on PDF format, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader which you can easily download for free from Adobe's web site. This free PDF viewer is only good for viewing and printing PDF files, if you plan on creating or converting files to PDF format, you would have to buy either the standard or professional Adobe Acrobat software, in which case, you would be paying between $299 to $449 - so unless you really need it I suggest you stick with the free reader for now. Once you've downloaded the free reader and installed it, it will automatically start whenever you view a PDF file.
The second most widely used paper craft pattern is the PDO file, the PDO file is from a Japanese company called Tama Soft, their software is called the Pepakura , there are two varities one is the Pepakura Designer and the other is the Pepakura Viewer, like Adobe's software, the Pepakura Designer (as the name implies) is for creating PDO files and is worth $38, the Pepakura Viewer on the other hand is free, which is what I like the most ( I guess we all do).
The other paper craft formats, but not widely used, are in JPG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) and GIF (Graphic Interchange Format), these are really just picture formats that came from a converted PDF or PDO file. They can be viewed with any graphic editing/viewing software such as Microsoft Paint, IrfanView, Google's Picasa, etc...
First, we have the most widely used pattern, the PDF file, as I've mentioned before, the PDF file is an Adobe technology for formatting electronic documents so that they can be easily viewed, distributed, edited, and printed on different systems while preserving the layout(fonts, images, graphics). To view a file on PDF format, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader which you can easily download for free from Adobe's web site. This free PDF viewer is only good for viewing and printing PDF files, if you plan on creating or converting files to PDF format, you would have to buy either the standard or professional Adobe Acrobat software, in which case, you would be paying between $299 to $449 - so unless you really need it I suggest you stick with the free reader for now. Once you've downloaded the free reader and installed it, it will automatically start whenever you view a PDF file.
Adobe Acrobat Reader - FREE -
The second most widely used paper craft pattern is the PDO file, the PDO file is from a Japanese company called Tama Soft, their software is called the Pepakura , there are two varities one is the Pepakura Designer and the other is the Pepakura Viewer, like Adobe's software, the Pepakura Designer (as the name implies) is for creating PDO files and is worth $38, the Pepakura Viewer on the other hand is free, which is what I like the most ( I guess we all do).
Pepakura Viewer - FREE - English Version
The other paper craft formats, but not widely used, are in JPG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) and GIF (Graphic Interchange Format), these are really just picture formats that came from a converted PDF or PDO file. They can be viewed with any graphic editing/viewing software such as Microsoft Paint, IrfanView, Google's Picasa, etc...
Dragon Papercraft Illusion
Here's a FREE paper model of a dragon (optical illusion) with a head that seems to follow you around when you move about. You simply cut the pattern, glue or tape it together, and put it on a table or any flat surface, then move around and watch it's head follow you. This paper model is downloadable as a PDF file. Please note that this paper dragon is the property of Binary Arts, which is now known as ThinkFun.
Dragon Papercraft Illusion [Grand-Illusions]
09 February 2006
Paper Craft Tools
I received a lot of inquiries from people that are just starting or new to paper crafts about what particular tools and paper I use, nothing fancy here, I just bought my entire paper craft tools from walmart. Here is a list of basic tools for starting with paper craft:
- Craft Knife - If you want a knife that would last, I recommend the Fiskars brand, the one with the ergonomic shape, replaceable blade, and SoftGrip technology for maximum comfort and control (I use blade #11).
- Craft Mat - this is where you are going to do your paper cutting, I prefer the "self-healing" mats. (I use a 9"x12").
- Scissors - any kind of narrow tip/blade scissors would do.
- Glue - any type of crafting glue would do, but I prefer the ones that dry clear ( I use Elmer's white glue)
- Small Plastic Paint Pallete - this is optional, I just use this to hold my glue in small amounts.
- Ruler - any 12" would do.
- Printer - any type of colored/bubble jet printer or you could also get your stuff printed at your local print shop.
- Paper - you could use any brand of paper, as long as they are:
- Heavy A4 (210 x 297 mm) or regular (215.9 x 279.4 mm) paper
- 110 to 135 lbs (0.16 to 0.18mm thick) - this is also known in the U.S. as Card Stock Paper
08 February 2006
About Paperkraft.net
Who are you?My name is Ron Rementilla and I run Paperkraft.net to help guide people find the best free papercrafts on the web and promote the works of prominent and up-and-coming paper modelers, even the obscured ones.
I started blogging in February of 2006 after a friend saw some of my papercraft collection at home which included books, kits, and printed patterns from the internet, she put the idea in my head about sharing it through blogs. Prior to this, I've been collecting papercraft books and kits since I was a kid, most of the old ones that I have are of the punch-out type and paper automatas. My collection of free downloadable papercraft patterns from the net only started in 1997. I'm based in the U.S. and work in the technology field.
What's with the Name?
The term paperkraft doesn't have any specific meaning, just a short unique name. But ever since we've started back in 2006, "paperkraft" has now been synonymous to "papercraft" and can even be interchanged.
The Content
Sometimes new readers get confused with the content that we have and it's because of the word "papercraft". Depending on your geographic location, papercraft can refer to a lot of different things, but I want to point out that the main focus of this site is on 3D (three-dimensional) paper models. Whenever you see the word "papercraft" it refers to "3D paper models". The types of genre included are anime, manga, video game, PC game, cartoon, and film. Also included are origami, paper automata, pop-up cards, and dioramas.
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