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This is not an in-depth tutorial on how to get a 3D model out of a game and into the form of a paper-crafted replica, but it is a glimpse of the workflow I used to achieve this goal with a simple model from the Fallout 3 PC game.

This was my first attempt and as such I really didn’t want to try anything too complex, this was really more of a test to see if the software and hardware I had would work together in giving a result I was happy with.

I remembered a child’s alphabet toy block on the floor near to the beginning of Fallout 3. Nothing easier than a cube I thought, although on closer examination I noticed it wasn’t a perfect cube – it had some uneven modelled edges. This I guess was either to make it look worn; perhaps it was a remnant from the old world before the area was nuked, or maybe it was modelled that way so that when the block was interacted with by the player it would roll around the floor better using the games physics engine.

I launched the Fallout 3 game through the 3D Ripper DX software and was please to see the game running with the yellow capture ready bar in the top left corner of the screen. Pressing F12 captured the frame and associated textures and located them to folders within the Rippers default folder.

Using 3DS Max 5 I imported the frame and removed all the unwanted bits except for the toy block.

This I saved by exporting it as a .3ds file. Next still using Max I looked through the textures and located the one associated with the toy block. This was then opened and saved out as a .jpg file.

I opened the texture in Paint Shop Pro and sharpened the image a little.

Next I started up the Pepakura Designer program, opened the .3DS file of the toy block and applied the texture to it. With such a simple model I unfold it using auto settings and after rotating the unfolded box to better fit the page it was saved as a .pdo file.

The .pdo file was then opened in the Pepakura viewer for craft ROBO. This is a version of the viewer that adds registration marks to the A4 sheets of paper when you print out your paper model pieces. It also translates the different lines in Pepakura (edge, fold, and flap) and sends cutting data to the Graphtec Craft Robo CC200-20 when you have set-up a page for the machine to cut the pieces out. I also set it to perforate the fold lines for speed.

All that was left was to fold and glue it into shape.

The whole process from start to finish took about 30 minutes, aided greatly by the cutting machine.

Software used:
PC Game: Fallout 3
3D Ripper DX
3DS Max 5
Paint Shop Pro 7
Pepakura Designer 3
Pepakura Viewer for CraftRobo

Other items:
Colour Printer
Craft Robo Cutting Machine
120gsm A4 Matt White paper
PVA glue

For my first go at papercraft model making I thought I would use the Pepakura program by Tamasoft. There are models all over the internet that were not created with this software, but most of them come with no build instructions and this software aids construction so is more newbie friendly.

The viewer software which is all you require for printing and construction was free. It was also quick and easy to acquire with no registering of details before downloading.

The model I found and decide to have a go at making for my first attempt was a treasure chest from World of Warcraft. It was a 2 page model without any really complex pieces to cut-out and fold into shape.

In the screen image above you can see the working area of the pepakura software is split in two halves. On the left side is the 3D model, you can rotate the model on all its axis using the mouse and also zoom in and out. On the right side you see the model split into parts and flattened out as if on paper.

The really useful thing this software does is that clicking on any part in the how it appears on paper window highlight’s that part on the 3D model, so it’s really easy to keep track of what goes where and how a piece should be correctly folded before any glue is applied. This also works the other way around with parts of the model you click on in the 3D model being highlighted in the on the paper view.

Also useful is that running the cursor over a gluing tab will show where and what that tab needs connecting to.

After spending time familiarizing myself with the model and the software a little I then printed out the two A4 sheets of parts using 120 gsm White Matt Laser Copier paper.

I bought an A4 cutting mat and craft knife, a few spare blades, and some Hi-Tack PVA glue from one of the many crafting suppliers found online.

I then realised the value and need to have a ruler with a stainless steel cutting edge. I managed cutting parts out free-handed without any problems, but a ruler really help keep things nice and straight when scoring along fold and tab lines. Most of the crafting supply stores will have them.

Overall I am pretty pleased with my first attempt, more so in the fact there were lessons learnt along the way that will improve and make life easier on the next model build. Most important lesson was to get myself some wooden cocktail sticks to help manipulate and add glue to areas that are difficult to access during construction. Another is not to get obsessed with trying to make things created with paper look like they are not made from paper.

Lastly I think I need to experiment a little using a few different weights of paper until I find balance between ease of cutting, folding, and the end resulting look of the model.

And here are the links for you, should you wish to have a go yourself.

The Free Pepakura Model Viewer Software

The World of Warcraft Treasure Chest Model