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10 Best Anime Papercrafts That You Can Build

Syeda S Syeda S

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As an anime fan, you’ll likely want to express your passion artistically. Fortunately for you, one way you can do this is through papercrafts!

Perhaps you’re looking to try something new or maybe you’ve never developed the skills to draw in an anime style yourself. 

If so, paper crafting is an enjoyable way to physically recreate your favorite anime characters and items.

Let your creativity run wild!

What Is Anime?

Anime is the name for animated shows and movies from Japan and their distinct, culturally rich style. The popularity of this animation style has spread far outside Japan and gained fans all over the world!

Anime shows and movies are a broad category; they encompass various story genres and are targeted toward different demographics. 

These shows and movies have varied sources, too! Some of the most iconic anime of today are adapted from manga comics and video games.

What all anime has in common, though, is great art and style which has artistically inspired many people over the years. It’s this aspect of anime that’s left an immense cultural impact on the world.

Papercrafts and Anime: Why They Go Together

Papercraft is a form of craft that involves the construction of 3D artwork out of paper. It’s great both as a relaxing activity and as a form of artistic expression.

Anime is also a form of visual art – one that’s drawn and inspired many others. Lots of people mimic an anime style in their drawings or create fan art of characters from their favorite anime. 

Papercraft’s uniquely crisp shapes provide a distinct look to artwork created out of it. This makes it very suitable for recreating anime’s blocky lines and sharp corners in an exciting physical form.

Many anime fans, inspired by the art of their favorite anime, like to create art themselves. If you’re one of them, paper crafting is another excellent way to express your passion for anime!

It brings a unique style to your artwork, and can turn your 2D favorites into a real-world 3D form. 

It’s not too hard to get started with, either. While they may seem like quite distinct art forms, papercraft inspired by anime works surprisingly well.

10 Best Anime Papercrafts Out There

Looking to get started on your next anime papercraft masterpiece? Take a look at some of the many awesome papercraft projects out there! 

Papercraft 1: Totoro Papercraft

You can make your own mini papercraft replica of these iconic creatures from My Neighbor Totoro with this template. 

They make for cute yet quirky decorations on your work desk, living room table, or wall shelves.

Papercraft 2: Pikachu Papercraft

Pokémon fans will especially love this Pikachu papercraft design. 

This craft is relatively simple, involving only cutting and gluing different parts of the iconic electric mouse Pokémon. If you need them, the designer has included detailed instructions as well!

Papercraft 3: Naruto Uzumaki Papercraft

You can make your own miniature figure of Naruto Uzumaki, the main character of the Naruto series, with this papercraft model

It’s quite intricate, but the resulting model is detailed enough to be worth the effort.

Papercraft 4: Gundam Robot Papercraft

As a change of pace from plastic models, have a go at building this papercraft GAT-X105B/FP mecha from Gundam Build Strike!

While it looks intimidating with the many parts it seems to have, it’s actually a little simpler than most other Gundam papercraft models.

Papercraft 5: One Piece "Thousand Sunny" Ship Papercraft

If you want to try a bigger project and really put your skills to the test, try out this papercraft replica of the Thousand Sunny ship from One Piece. 

It’s complex enough to have three separate parts! After completing this masterpiece, set it up on your shelf for all to see.

Papercraft 6: Spirited Away "No Face" Papercraft

No Face, a character from Studio Ghibli’s Spirited Away movie, has an iconic and haunting mask pattern. Now you can make a replica for yourself in papercraft form with this design

Papercraft 7: Dragon Ball Z "Goku" Papercraft

Using this template, you can make the iconic Goku from Dragon Ball Z as a papercraft model

His action pose is so dynamic that he looks like he jumped right out of the page!

Papercraft 8: My Hero Academia "All Might" Papercraft

All Might, a character from My Hero Academia, stands tall and proud in this papercraft model

It’s intricate enough to challenge your skills, and certainly a rewarding design once you’ve put it together!

Papercraft 9: Attack on Titan "Colossal Titan" Papercraft

This papercraft model of the Colossal Titan isn’t quite as colossal as the famous villain from Attack on Titan. 

It’s still a pretty big project, though, and works great if you’re looking for a very unique decoration in your home.

Papercraft 10: Sailor Moon Papercraft

Finally, this mini papercraft model of Sailor Moon can be made with just one double-sided piece of A4 paper. 

The template comes with an elegant stand as well, for display purposes.

5 Tools Needed to Build Anime Papercrafts

After finding a design you like, you’re just about ready to get started on the project. Before proceeding, however, you should make sure you have the right tools.

If you want to DIY your own papercrafts, you will need the following:

  1. Cricut device/machine. This is a device used for cutting cardstock and paper. You can get one from Cricut or an international provider. If you’re not keen to shell out for your own, try checking local makerspaces. You might even have a crafty friend or acquaintance who owns one!Alternatively, you can also try using a regular printer for printing papercraft templates, but you’ll need to cut the paper yourself on a cutting board.
  2. Cardstock paper (150 GSM or more). Cardstock paper is thicker than “regular” printer paper. A higher GSM ensures that your papercraft project will be sturdy.
  3. Scorer or bone folder. This tool helps you crease the paper neatly, fast, and accurately.
  4. Tacky glue. This type of glue is ideal for working with paper, with easy application and a strong hold. For best results, we recommend using Aleene’s Tacky Glue.
  5. Actual design files that you load into the Cricut device. These design files will direct your Cricut device on how to cut the paper. You’ll find these files online.

You can buy some of these papercraft supplies right here at our online store!

8 Steps to Build Papercrafts on Your Own

Now that you have everything you need, you’re ready to start building your own papercrafts.

Here’s how you can build your next papercraft masterpiece:

  1. Obtain the design files
  2. Open the files in the Cricut machine via their provided software
  3. Configure the machine. If you’re not sure how to do it, check the manual or the Cricut support page
  4. Print on the cardstock paper
  5. Punch out the various papercraft pieces
  6. Fold where indicated
  7. Add glue to tabs
  8. Attach the numbers on the tabs together. If the design you found doesn’t have numbers on the tabs, check instead for instructions on the template. Looking at pictures of how it’s meant to turn out can help too.

Try Our Papercraft Kits!

While we do not have anime kits, we have one-of-a-kind kits of animalswall artlampsmasks, and more.

Check out our best-selling kits today!

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