How to Create a Character From a Cardboard Box

How to customise a plain card board box into a character.

This is a quick activity to get you creating your own characters and making them into storage for your room or as fun plaything.

Follow these easy steps to creating your own character by reusing and recycling a flatpack cardboard box.

You will need

1.a clear box folded flat. / acrylic pens (posca pens) or equivalent, pencils or coloured pencils

2.draw out the character on to the box.

3.draw the face, both side elevations.

4. paint it in(no black pen).

5. use black to outline the character

Watch full video below.

Figure out which is the Front/ Side and Back panels of your flat packed box

What would you place on the front? Is it eyes, a mouth or a face?

Consider where the arms are going to go...Are you going to have attached things pasted to the box (great idea for adding arms or anything else)

Remember to use the panels as your guide to what goes where...Front Panel/Side Panels and Back panel.

i.e.

sides could be for hands or could be for ears or things like wings or limbs if you are creating an animal character or creature.

NOTE:

ONLY USE PENCIL AT THIS STAGE.

This will help you to mark out the character and to correct yourself as you go along. Do not use inks at this stage as you cannot erase them

Connect the lines from one panel to the other.

Paint, stick and paste or colour in the spaces you have drawn on the box. Try to use different colours to create your character.

Please try to colour in the spaces to separate the features of our character.

As you paint over the lines the character becomes more defined and starts to look more like the character you designed.

Once you have coloured in the character, it is time to draw the outlines in to highlight the character.

If you are using black, this is when you go over the lines first drawn in pencil and act as a guide for your characters features. At this stage you dont have to use black, anycolour that is contrast to your originals colours, depending on the colours you have used try something other than black...ie white outlets, neutral colours or vibrant colours work well to present you character.

Well Done!!

Go and create a family of characters for yourself!!