Grooving Skull – 3D Halloween Decor

Hi, I’m Arush, and I’m currently pursuing a B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering.

With Halloween around the corner, I wanted to create something spooky yet artistic. This project was inspired by an artwork I found on Pinterest — I decided to bring that 2D illustration into the third dimension and make it real, while also adding my own personal touches and style.

In the end, I created a skull vibing to its favorite tunes with headphones on, joined by its creepy little centipede buddy. 🎧💀

Software used:

1. Blender – for modeling
2. Pepakura Designer 6 – for making the printable template

Materials and tools:

1. Scissors
2. X-Acto knife
3. Glue and super glue
4. 300 GSM paper
5. Craft paper
6. Scale or ruler
7. Pencil and pen
8. (Optional) Cutting mat or tweezers for finer details

I got my inspiration from an artwork I found on Pinterest. Using it as a base, I sketched a few variations — changing the clothing, accessories, and details — before finally deciding on a simple skeleton wearing headphones with a centipede crawling on it.

To get the proportions right for the skull and the centipede, I searched for some 3D models to use as references. I found a low-poly skull and a centipede model on Sketchfab and downloaded them.

For creating my final model, I used Blender. I imported both 3D reference models along with my sketch and the reference images to guide the overall shape and design.

After scaling and positioning the reference models to my liking, I added a cube for the skull. I made a few loop cuts and applied a mirror modifier, then started shaping the cube to match the proportions and overall form of the reference skull — while keeping the low-poly look intact. I used the Boolean tool to cut out the eyes and nose, and finally modeled the teeth from a simple plane.

The headphones were pretty straightforward to make. I started with a dodecagon, resized and extruded it to get the basic shape, then connected both sides together. As a final touch, I added a small ghost logo on the headphones to fit the Halloween theme.

For the centipede, I wanted it to be articulatable, so I modeled it in interlocking sections. The final design had two head segments, twelve identical body pieces, and three tail sections. This made the centipede flexible and more lifelike while still keeping the low-poly aesthetic consistent with the rest of the model.

After finishing the 3D model, it was time to paint it and bring it to life. I switched to the Texture Paint tab in Blender and, in Edit Mode, selected everything using the shortcut ‘A’. Then, I created a UV map by pressing ‘U’ and choosing Smart UV Project.

Once the UV map was ready, I created a new image and started painting different sections — the skull, the headphones, and the centipede — each with its own details and colors. When I was happy with the result, I exported the texture as a .PNG file to use later in Pepakura.

To create the printable template for the model, I used Pepakura Designer 6. I first exported my 3D model from Blender as an .OBJ file and opened it in Pepakura. After adjusting the orientation and dimensions, the model was ready to be unfolded into a template — or so I thought.

I ran into an issue with the model’s topology. Some vertices were unintentionally connected, forming unnecessary faces that caused problems during unfolding. On top of that, the texture I had made wasn’t applying correctly to the entire model, which made things a bit trickier to fix.

The issue was caused by the n-gons that formed while modeling the skull. To fix it, I connected multiple vertices to divide those large multi-sided faces into triangles and quads. The final model might not have perfect topology, but it works well enough for this project — and that’s what matters most.

To fix the texture not loading properly, I had to repack the entire model after making changes to the topology. To do this, go to File > External Data > Pack Resources in Blender. This step compiles all the textures and objects together, ensuring everything stays linked correctly.

Once that was done, I exported the model as an .OBJ file and imported it into Pepakura Designer to generate the final printable template.

Now that all the issues with the model were resolved, I unfolded it in Pepakura Designer and divided the larger sections into smaller, more manageable, and symmetrical pieces. I arranged them in the order I’d need for assembling later.

After that, I exported the unfolded model as a PDF and made a few adjustments — such as duplicating the centipede’s body sections to create multiple copies. Once everything looked right, I printed the template on 300 GSM paper for better strength and durability.

I first cut out all the skull pieces and scored the fold lines using an X-Acto knife. Since I printed my template without visible fold lines to give the final model a cleaner look, I identified the folds by constantly cross-checking the model preview in Pepakura Designer.

After scoring each piece, I carefully glued them together, again referring to the Pepakura preview to make sure everything aligned correctly. For the final details, I added an outline around the skull’s teeth to make them stand out more.

Making the headphones was pretty similar to the skull. I cut out and scored all the pieces, then glued them together while cross-checking the model preview in Pepakura Designer to ensure everything fit correctly.

Similar to the previous two parts, I started by cutting out all the pieces and grouping them according to their sections so they wouldn’t get mixed up. I first assembled the head sections, labeling them as H1 and H2, and then the tail sections, marked as T1, T2, and T3.

Next, I cut out the pieces for the 12 identical body sections that make up the main part of the centipede.

To achieve articulation, I connected all 16 sections using thread. I glued one end of the thread to the first piece, passed it through each section, and glued it in place to keep them linked while still allowing movement.

Since I didn’t model the legs, teeth, or antennae, I made them out of colored craft paper. I cut small triangular pieces and folded them into cones for the legs and teeth. For the antennae, I simply used thin paper strips, and for the eyes, I cut out four small circular pieces. Finally, I applied super glue to the eyes to give them a shiny, reflective appearance — just like real insect eyes.

Even after putting everything together, it still felt like something was missing. I wanted to add a unique touch — something that would contrast with the dark, decayed look of the skull. I’ve always liked combining elements of life with symbols of death, similar to what’s seen in Día de los Muertos celebrations or floral horror art.

So, I decided to add a Red Spider Lily (also known as Higanbana) to my model. This flower is often associated with death, farewells, and the afterlife — a perfect match for the theme.

To make the flower, I used the same red craft paper, cutting it into strips of various sizes — some thick and some thin for the petals. I arranged and layered them to capture the rough shape of the flower. For extra detail, I added a few small yellow paper pieces to act as the anthers or pollen, giving it a more natural and complete look.

And with that, my Halloween model is complete! It turned out great — I was able to make the skull in the art style I wanted, and since it’s scaled to my own head size, it even works as a holder for my headphones. The centipede holds its shape really well and gives off just the right amount of creepy, while the Red Spider Lily ties everything together beautifully and adds a unique touch.

I’m so happy with how it turned out.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read through my project — I truly appreciate it!

Happy Halloween! 🎃👻