PEPAKURA in prop making

Fetts.Sobriquet

Fetts.Sobriquet

Well-Known Member
To me pepakura used to be something only the Halo guys used. Now I'm starting to see some really great pepakura projects. Finhead's IronMan is fantastic. Zabana's helmet is awesome. They make it look so easy! I'm sure a lot of it is talent with the final finishing phase but it does seem to save a lot of time in the initial sculpting phase. Sculpt it digitally, unfold it in pepakura, cut/fold/paste, glass and finish. Et Viola! No clay needed! No real clay sculpting talent. Do you guys think that this will bring high quality props, like full scale Iron Man, to the masses? Will really expensive projects now be affordable thanks to this? Or, do you think that only the most talented folks can make the most out of this method, that pepakura is too time consuming and cumbersome to be adopted my the masses? Now that pepakura is starting to mature in the prop community, what do you think it means? Will it change things dramatically?
 
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Re: Peperuka in prop making

Good question! I think this is thenew way to make armor, helmets and all aruond large intriquite props.

I think with peperuka you get a more uniformed look.
 
Re: Peperuka in prop making

I never took this stuff seriously. More for the teens and younger folks. The "big boys", in my mind at least, were the ones who took on the sculpting, fiberglass, etc....not starting with paper for goodness sakes. After seeing some of the recent work though, I am starting to take this seriously though. The results I've seen really are incredible!
 
Re: Peperuka in prop making

obiwan2 said:
I never took this stuff seriously. More for the teens and younger folks. The "big boys", in my mind at least, were the ones who took on the sculpting, fiberglass, etc....not starting with paper for goodness sakes. After seeing some of the recent work though, I am starting to take this seriously though. The results I've seen really are incredible!
Click to expand...

This is my feeling as well.
 
Re: Peperuka in prop making

The spelling is "pepakura". ;)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepakura

It is an inexpensive way to make a real-world representation of a 3D object.
You can make a 3D computer model of the item, use Pepakura Designer (or another program) to print out templates for the paper models and then fold/glue it together.
Once you have a paper model, you can reinforce it with fiberglass/resin/bondo and continue sculpting from there.
Many in the Halo costuming community wear their paper helmets. Those who can, cast the sculpt in a more resilient material.

I think that in many cases, instead of paper, you could use styrene from the start. I and many others have scratch-built costume parts out of flat pieces of styrene glued together with proper plastic adhesive, but so far, most of them have been quite simple. I have yet to seen a costume part made of styrene made from a pepakura template.
 
Re: Peperuka in prop making

I like pepakura.

but it does have its limitations.
like all else, its only a technique, and to get a proper finsihed prop, you still need to put in a lot of hard graft.

where the HALO amateurs (ie not the serious prop builder) fail is when they build ultra detailed pep, do a basic smooth and think its a finished prop. but thats ok - as the HALO costumers accept everything from the casual to the ultra-accurate guys (which in a way isnt that bad a concept as well). By the same token there are serious HALO builders as well.

a proper pepakura prop piece can be a complex shape, but the detailing on it is often fairly simple, with the maker adding on the detailed bits to a pepakura 'framework' by traditional ways eg bondo, clay sculpted add on's.

I think pepakura is just another tool in the prop makers armory. I dont like working with oil-based clay. So I do use lots of pepakura and bondo for my peices. But as each day passes, I must admit, I am wanting more and mroe to learn to work with clay.

Nate
 
Re: Peperuka in prop making

obiwan2 said:
I never took this stuff seriously. More for the teens and younger folks. The "big boys", in my mind at least, were the ones who took on the sculpting, fiberglass, etc....not starting with paper for goodness sakes. After seeing some of the recent work though, I am starting to take this seriously though. The results I've seen really are incredible!
Click to expand...

Agreed. I think it is definitely an up-n-coming trend that we are only going to see more and more of, and why shouldn't we? As more and more props become CG, why not recreate them using a computer? And do we care about how something is made or that the final product is great? Does this take away from an artist who uses pepakura as a base? Not in my mind. While it may give them a head start and a good base, there is still a lot of work and talent involved to bring the final product from blocks to perfection. I applaud it and encourage it as it may help bring a lot more people into the world of sculpting and creating their own pieces that they would have never otherwise attempted due to the fear many associated with sculpting in clay.
 
Re: Peperuka in prop making

I think it's going to become wider adopted. I agree with Jedifyfe, it really lends well to armor. I'm excited to see where this goes.
 
Re: Peperuka in prop making

It works for some things, but the "kids" also use it on things with organic shapes... which just seems stupid.
 
Re: Peperuka in prop making

To Jedi2016 and trekprops.de, he's basically asking about the papercraft method of creating props.

To the original poster- I've seen papercraft models that are pretty dang impressive. Indy Mogul even recommends the papercraft method in creating props for amateur/independent feature films. They did Halo armor, and depending on how much time you put into it, it does have high quality. Here's the video, which also has the link to the test film they made with the papercraft+fiberglass armor: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1WK26NHx0o

Basically, it's just another method in creating props from scratch, much like how vacuum forming and mold making are methods in creating props from scratch. And with enough time, someone can create impressive props and outfit pieces using this method. It's just as time consuming, just like vacuum forming and mold making, but the end result depends on the person who uses it.
 
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Re: Peperuka in prop making

Pepakura (Pay-puh-ku-rah) started its use in 1:1 props with the original Pulse Rifle prints and then Jedifraz got the idea that it could be used with armor on the 405th (then mjolnirarmor.com).

With my experience in Pepakura, a good prop is all about a good model, good unfold template, and proper scaling (cardstock is also quicker and easier than styrene especially if you slush cast a little urethane into it) . It's all in the finishing though like folks have already said. Here are some of the ones I own and more proud of that started as paper (cardstock). And some of these are old going back a few years to the beginning of us using pepakura when we had no idea what we were doing and were just using old game models.

IMG_1338.jpg


IMG_1568.jpg


IMG_1359.jpg



IMG_0703-1.jpg


currenthelmstats001.jpg



And here's how they started.

IMG_1177.jpg


IMG_0713.jpg


HPIM1201.jpg


HPIM1073.jpg


etc.


The oldest oldie of mine (2007)

MkVsuit003.jpg
 
Re: Peperuka in prop making

Sigma-LS... Your Fallout 3 helmet would tempt me to take a shot at making something from a pepakura model. Do you have a source for the original work?
 
Re: Peperuka in prop making

Heatshock said:
I like pepakura.

but it does have its limitations.
like all else, its only a technique, and to get a proper finsihed prop, you still need to put in a lot of hard graft.

where the HALO amateurs (ie not the serious prop builder) fail is when they build ultra detailed pep, do a basic smooth and think its a finished prop. but thats ok - as the HALO costumers accept everything from the casual to the ultra-accurate guys (which in a way isnt that bad a concept as well). By the same token there are serious HALO builders as well.

a proper pepakura prop piece can be a complex shape, but the detailing on it is often fairly simple, with the maker adding on the detailed bits to a pepakura 'framework' by traditional ways eg bondo, clay sculpted add on's.

I think pepakura is just another tool in the prop makers armory. I dont like working with oil-based clay. So I do use lots of pepakura and bondo for my peices. But as each day passes, I must admit, I am wanting more and mroe to learn to work with clay.

Nate
Click to expand...
I like pepakura - especially on cottage cheese! :love

Jedi2016 said:
Paprika-what?
Click to expand...
Potatoes! :lol Seriously - I want to try my hand at Halo armour someday,but I need more materials than I have access to in order to make this possible.
 
Re: Peperuka in prop making

Darth Lars said:
The spelling is "pepakura". ;)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepakura

It is an inexpensive way to make a real-world representation of a 3D object.
You can make a 3D computer model of the item, use Pepakura Designer (or another program) to print out templates for the paper models and then fold/glue it together.
Once you have a paper model, you can reinforce it with fiberglass/resin/bondo and continue sculpting from there.
Many in the Halo costuming community wear their paper helmets. Those who can, cast the sculpt in a more resilient material.

I think that in many cases, instead of paper, you could use styrene from the start. I and many others have scratch-built costume parts out of flat pieces of styrene glued together with proper plastic adhesive, but so far, most of them have been quite simple. I have yet to seen a costume part made of styrene made from a pepakura template.
Click to expand...


I like the idea of it being a base. I can see someone doing a life sized jabba with it and putting it together. It's all about the details for sure

I just found the newest D/l for it..will have to give it a try, pretty cool
 
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Re: Peperuka in prop making

ART ANDREWS said:
Sigma-LS... Your Fallout 3 helmet would tempt me to take a shot at making something from a pepakura model. Do you have a source for the original work?
Click to expand...

I modified the Fallout 3 game model and had a friend (1manbattalion) unfold it for me (Belakor has since picked up messing with the models for the rest of the armor). You can find my file at....well damn the server just had a seizure again. Anyway just go to 405th.com/forums then Creation subforum and the Fallout Armor files should be in a sticky. T51b helm file is in the first post.

I also have that helmet molded if you want to save some headache.:love
 
Re: Peperuka in prop making

I'm starting to wonder if Iron Man statues will become a dime a dozen if pepakura really has made the whole suit reasonable to make time/money/skill wise. I guess we won't know until various skill sets attempt it. Finhead is having great success but he also has a lot of talent. Others might not. I wish someone would make a robocop pepakura so I can finally afford to own one. :lol

How much does a whole pepakura costume weigh? One that is glassed, and has plenty of body filler all over it smoothing it out nicely. Would a head to toe robocop/Iron man suit be impractical? Are these statues or costumes?

I suppose you could always make a mold from the finished product an cast it in resin/fiberglass to cut down on the body filler weight.
 
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