Paper Art with Google Sketchup

Have you ever wanted to make your own paper art and didn't know how? Or just found the process too difficult from the get go. Well with the Sketchup Unfold Plugin developed by Jim Foltz the process of designing your own paper art is easier then ever.

Why spend all that time and effort manufacturing your model with a 3D printer knowing that it might printout with errors when you can do it cheaply and easily with paper. With a paper design in hand for visualization, moving onto more advanced manufacturing methods would be cost- effective.

So lets get started developing paper art with Google Sketchup.

Visit my blog for other creative ideas!!! OpenHead

Step 1 Materials

Here is what you will need to successfully complete this project.

Software

Download and install a copy of Google Sketchup

Download a copy of the Unfold Plugin

Download a copy of the Buckyball from the 3D Warehouse that we will be unfolding for this project.

Other Materials

Scissors - Something to cut paper with.

Paper - Better to use stiff paper.

Tape - I found that using Scotch tape is easier.

Comments

[zombiefire]

what sketch up version did u use

[frisbeechamp1983]

he seemed to use, since the file is SketchUp 7

[Musicman41]

I can't find the plugin menu. Is it not in version 8?

[the gizmoman]

Darn My computer (mac mini) doesn't have all the hardware require for google sketchup 8

[slick8086]

Some already mentioned pepakura for glue tabs, but there is also another sketchup plugin for adding gluetabs (called gluetab.rb BION)

http://github.com/rschenk/Sketchup-Glue-Tab-Plugin/

[hardlec]

Openhead:  The link to your blog is busted.  I would like more info on unfolding drawings/making 3-D paper models.

[TangMu]

Another way to make sure you have tabs is to import the sketchup file into pepakura designer and unfold there. You can also separate the model out into parts so you can make a model larger than a4....
also google nicepapertoys for a good community of toy builders

[Sxkyilu]

Yeah, but first you need to save your SketchUp file, then export to KMZ extention which is for Google Earth because Pepakura cannot read SketchUp files.

[urill]

you can use the invisible( frosted) tape

[jakebuck]

if you leave make tabs when cutting it out on the sides you want to join, you can use glue to attach the tab under the adjoining surface for a more polished look

[sun2407]

Yeah using scotch tape is probably not a good idea. Using some kind of adhesive will make things look much better.