Introduction: Spongebob & Friends Papercraft – the Whole Collection

By kamibox Papercraft

Four full years ago, I started the Spongebob Papercraft collection with Patrick Star, the first craft using a new technique that allowed rounder shapes and less flaps. Oh yes, papercraft is such a sophisticated science…
And today, I present to you the result of four years of elaborate research, in shape of the seven main characters from Nickelodeon’s flagship: Spongebob, Patrick, Gary, Plankton, Squidward, Mr. Krabs and Sandy.

On that note...
Are ya ready, kids?

Step 1: You Need:

  • Paper: Attempts to print the templates on grave stones and artificial turf failed. I still recommend using paper. Paper with 160 g / m2 is not necessarily needed, but it makes your models look more valuable. (normal paper has 80 g / m2)
  • A Printer: Attempts to draw the templates by hand failed. I still recommend using a printer or a copy shop.
  • Crafting Stuff: Attempts to tear the paper into the right shapes and hold it together with bubble gum failed. I still recommend using scissors and glue. For some parts, I suggest tiny pins, tiny scissors, an X-Acto knife and tweezers.
  • The Templates: Attempts to rebuild the templates using the reference pictures failed. I still recommend downloading them from kamibox.de.
In general, it is enough to print page two from all of the PDFs, that saves ink and paper and, by implication, the planet.

The models are in order from left to right on the picture and don’t follow any chronological order. You can make any figure that you want first.

Step 2: Sandy Cheeks

Let’s begin with the underwater squirrel:

    SANDY CHEEKS

Her helmet caused a lot of trouble. The first ones were from transparency foil, but this way it looks a lot more like the original drawing.
  1. Dashed lines mean you have to make a mountain fold, so the printed side is facing you. When there is no dashed line, there is no fold. Her head looks better when you glue the flaps together and let the head find its own shape. This way, it looks much more organic. Follow the steps on the first picture and glue the flaps of the mouth on the white areas on the head. This way, the head gets in shape automatically. Bend the ears a bit towards you.
  2. When you bend the arms along a round pen or edge of the table first, it helps to get a smooth round shape. Glue the two flaps to the other side, so that the red rings are complete. The blue ring doesn’t need to be glued, you can just leave it rolled up inside the arm when you connect the two sides with the elbow-flap. Connect the hand to the flap and repeat with the opposite arm.
  3. Roll up the body, but don’t attach the black part yet. Glue the helmet to the grey areas, but be sure to pre-define its shape first, while rolling it along a round pen for example. Cut out her (very long) neck and glue it to the head from the inside. Before you close the black part of the body, glue the arms to its bottom (not on the body itself, that would make them stick out) and the head on top of it. Then you can glue the two remaining flaps to the body.
  4. Roll the legs to tubes and craft the shoes as depicted. Then glue the legs inside the body, but be sure that she can stand before the glue dries. Then you can attach the shoes (They aren’t parallel, they have an angle of about 70° between them)
  5. Make her feminine with the flower.

Step 3: Sheldon Plankton

The next figure is Mr. Krabs’ main antagonist:

  SHELDON PLANKTON

Plankton is so small that I made him steal a Krabby Patty, so that he gets noticed at all.
There are two versions of Plankton: The real-size Plankton, scaled to fit the rest of the crew, and the bigger, stand-alone Plankton.
  1. Plankton itself is just one piece. You will need tiny scissors or an X-Acto knife to cut him out properly. Roll his body along a round, thin object like a knitting needle to give it the right shape, then glue the long flaps to the body. Let it dry and glue the tiny flap with the "a" to the corresponding face. It is a fiddling.
  2. The lower side of the Krabby Patty is easier. Just make a cylindrical shape and roll the "meat" around it.
  3. Define the shape of the bun, before you glue it together, flap by flap. When everything has dried, put it on top of the other half and glue everything on Plankton’s hands. The antennas can support the weight of the quarter-pounder.

Step 4: Squidward Tentacles

He may not want to be built at all, but for integrity:

  SQUIDWARD TENTACLES


Probably one of the more difficult models, because of the tight tubes and small parts.
  1. The head is basically only one part. Fold and glue it as you see on the picture. Be sure to glue not more than two flaps at once! Difficult shapes as this one have to dry before you can succeed, they gain their shape from the gluing process. You can pre-define the round shapes with a pencil first, that makes it easier to assemble. But remember, only fold the edges that are lined (mountain fold) or dotted (valley fold). After that, you can attach the face.
  2. For the shirt, roll the three tubes first: The body and the two sleeves. Then, you can put the part with the sleeves on top of the body. The shape of the hands is created when you glue the flap at the end of the arm on the back of the hand. Make the two arms, the neck and the collar and glue them to the white areas on the shirt.
  3. The tentacles have to be rolled really tight. You can try to roll them around a ball pen refill for example, or just around theirselves. When you are done with the two pairs, you can glue them together at their backs.
  4. Put the whole Squidward together and admire his appearance.

Step 5: Spongebob Squarepants

Time for the main character:

    SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS

He is sitting, because his legs are so ridiculously thin.
The whole model is quite self-explaining. Spongebob has an ideal shape for papercraft.
  1. Fold along the dashed lines and glue the pants together. Cut out the tie and attach it to the front.
  2. Before you glue the body together, cut a slit into the nose area and push the ...
  3. Nose through the slit from the back. You can fix it with tape from the inside. The body itself looks better if you don’t fold but gently bend the edges, so it doesn’t look that edgy. Pull the body over the pants and fix it.
  4. Roll the sleeves to a tube and glue them sleeves onto the body.
  5. Gently cut out the arms, this is where the tiny scissors can help you. Attach the flaps inside the sleeves on the body and bend them , so that they touch the floor.
  6. The second part of the pants consists of two tubes that are linked with a middle part. Glue the green to the green and the purple to the purple arrow. Then glue the bridge-part to the bottom of the pants from step 1.
  7. Fold and glue the sides of the legs together before you cut the shape out, that saves 50 % of work and looks better. Glue the flaps to the body.


Step 6: Patrick Star

…and his best friend:

  PATRICK STAR

He is the easiest of all models.
  1. For the body, roll Patrick’s top half in its right shape first. Then, glue the two long flaps to their corresponding sides, but remember not to fold them, to keep the round shape. Glue the ring around the hip together and the bottom, and fix everything with the six remaining flaps.
  2. Roll the tubes of the pants together and attach them to the body, so that the flower pattern is right. Roll the legs and attach them to the body inside the pants. Try if Patrick stands properly before the glue dries.
  3. Make the arms the same way you made the upper body. When they have dried, glue them onto the light areas. 

Step 7: Gary Snails

The next model will be Spongebob’s adorable pet:

    GARY SNAILS

You can see Gary’s structure in the third picture.
  1. Bend the part with the mouth and eyes so that it resembles the photo. You only need to fold the dashed lines, so try to fix the two flaps above the mouth on the corresponding area without folding them. 
  2. Bend the neck and glue the red flap to the red area and the purple flap to the purple area.
  3. Bend the back and fold the flaps, then glue them to the bottom.
  4. Attach the back end of the body.
  5. Glue the snail shell together. This time, you should fold the flaps, but be sure to bend the parts with the spirals a bit, so that it looks a bit inflated. After the glue has dried, fix it on the body.
  6. Wrap the bottom ring of the shell around the edge and glue it together. No need to fix it on the snail itself.

Step 8: Eugene Krabs

The last figure will be Spongebob’s sympathetic boss:

  EUGENE KRABS

Ironically enough, he has a coin in his stomach to help him stand safely.
  1. The body resembles Patrick’s body. Before you glue it together, make slits along the white lines and push the...
  2. Eyes and...
  3. Nose through them. Before you cut out the nose exactly, you should fold and glue the sides together, so that they are 100% congruent.
  4. Cut a slit along the white line in the claw and glue it together, but only one flap at a time. Push the white end of the arm through the slit and attach the claw anywhere on the body. No need to fix the flap of the arm inside the claw. Repeat with the other side.
  5. Roll up the sleeve and put it around the arm, before you glue it together and attach to the body. Repeat with the other side.
  6. Make the legs and glue them onto the body. You can try whether Mr. Krabs can stand alone as long as the glue is fluid, and correct the position of the legs. After everything has dried, you can also correct the edges of the feet with your scissors to make him stand better. It helps to push a coin through his waist, this lowers the mass center and makes him stand safe.

Step 9: Bonus: Diorama

Who doesn’t remember the episode when Squidward becomes super handsome after Spongebob had slammed the door in his face?
You can have this epic piece of TV history right on your desk. Just follow the link in step 1!

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