Papercraft Low-Poly Woodpecker

This instructable will show you how to make this papercraft woodpecker. Just
download either pdf file and follow the steps. It will take a few hours but you can do it in one day. If you are new to papercraft, I linked a tutorial below that should be helpful. Enjoy!

- A printer

- Paper (5-7 sheets)

- Scissors

- Glue

- Sewing needle

- Thread

- Ruler (optional)

I used A4 paper sheets to make this woodpecker but you can use any size, it will just give you a different sized woodpecker as a result. With A4 paper the bird should be approximately 30 cm long. In my coloured version I used slightly thicker paper (130 g/m²) which my printer could still print on, but normal printing paper (70-80 g/m²) also works fine. My white prototype is made from this. It is a bit easier to fold, however the flaps tend to be visible when light shines through. Printing on black paper works well enough. If you can't read the numbers, just check in the pdf file. Of course you can choose different colours. Feel free to experiment and please put a picture in the comments if you do. As for the glue I guess everyone has their favourite. I prefer "UHU Alleskleber" because it dries very fast. Of course you also need a pair of scissors and optionally a ruler for folding also needle and thread for mounting.

You should have printed the attached pdf by now; Either the single colour or the multi colour version. They are both the same except that the single colour version should save you some paper.

If you have never done any papercraft, have a look at a tutorial first. I am not going into the basics here. This one by krummrey looks nice.

First cut out all pieces along the black, solid lines.

Then fold at the dotted lines. Placing a ruler on the line can help to get straighter folds faster.

But careful: folds can be a bit confusing. Remember: the printed side (lines and numbers) should end up on the inside of the model, so you can't see anything on the bird. Therefore most folds in this model will be mountain folds. (Or looking at it from the printed side: valley folds. As I said, confusing.)

Some flaps (especially at the beak) might be too big to fit when you want to glue them to the opposite part with the same number. Just cut them smaller at a sharper angle. I advise you to start with the head, then make the legs and the breast (look at the next section for the hanging mechanism!), then attach the tail, attach the head to the breast and then end with the back. [Or in therms of colour: Head: Yellow, white, black, red, green. Then body: white, black, attach head, green]. Remember: gluing the last flap will be hardest as you have no way to have your fingers inside to hold the flap. Therefore the last one should be an easier/bigger well accessible one.

Perform this step before finishing the whole bird!

When you have completed the front half of you woodpecker (the part including the feet), use the needle to puncture both feet and make a loop with your thead that goes through the inside of the bird (see fotos). Pull it hand tight and make a knot on the inside. The thread now connects the feet. Pick the thread colour so that it matches your wall/ shelf where you plan to hang the woodpecker. (Transparent fishing wire might also work nicely.)

When you have finished, you can either use tape to fixate the tread to your surface or hang it on a nail.

If you have a metal surface, you could also glue magnets inside of the feet.

I hope you like my papercraft project. If you make it, I would be glad if you shared a picture in the comments. I would also love to see different colour combinations. If you find any bugs in the template please also let me know so I can fix them.

If you are new to this, consider starting with the other low-poly bird I made, which should be a bit easier.

For the ornithologists: it is supposed to be a European green woodpecker.

If you want to have fun with the 3D model, I uploaded it here.

If you use the model or this instructable in any other context, please respect the non-comercial share alike license.

Hope you have fun making this.

Please vote in the sticky stuff contest if you like my instructable!