These 3D Paper Sculptures Take Origami To A Whole New Level

Paper sculpture is a type of art that you can create by combining different shapes or kinds of paper. We all know that the majority of famous statues from Classic, Modern or Contemporary art have been made with different materials like stone, metal, ceramics, wood. These materials have been specifically chosen for their endurance. Now think of paper – a difficult material that can be tough to work with and the artist also has to be careful and make their artwork stable and permanent.

But one great thing about paper is that it can be worked with if you find a special technique and you have a lot of patience and precision.

20. Paper Sculptures

It’s difficult to describe paper sculptures and be accurate with the information. For example, origami is indeed a form of paper sculpture. It is the art of paper folding, linked with Japanese culture, but in these photos, we will not talk or show you origami. Prepare to check out a different kind of paper sculptures that use more pieces of paper.

19. Geometric Paper Animals

For example, our favorite artist that creates three-dimensional papers sculptures is Wolfram Kampffmeyer, an artist who is based in Germany. He creates stunning sculptures that represent animals. His use of geometric models and pastel colors are what made us fall in love with his work.

Let’s see more of his critters in the next photos!

18. Computer Animation

The artist studies Computer Animation and has decided one day to not just watch the virtual models of animals on his screen, but actually make them from paper. This is why the animals he builds from paper resemble the 3D computer models. Here is what he said about his idea and work…

17. Virtual Reality In Your Hands

Kampffmeyer said that “if you are sitting in front of the computer all day watching your virtual models, you start wishing to hold them in your hands.” So, that is how he started creating these pieces of art, to see his models in real life. His work is very versatile because they are easy to reproduce.

16. How It All Started

In an interview with Bored Panda, Kampffmeyer explained a few things about his ideas and the fact that he was constantly working with virtual models on PC, but he was “never being able to really touch them!” How did he manage to make the virtual reality models 3D paper animals?

15. The Beginning of Paperwolf

As soon as he found a program to help him make his dream reality, he started a project:

“Then I found a program that lets me transform a 3D model into a papercraft kit. That was 2010 and this was the beginning of PAPERWOLF,” he said to Bored Panda.

14. Assemble Them at Home

The great thing about his work is that he can make paper sculptures, postcards that have punch-out sculpture parts and even make them part of light fixtures. This is where art meets the utilitarian part, and the best thing about these 3D critters is that you can assemble them at home!

13. The First Model

He said that he experimented with the paper and with the computer program until he developed a model that was exclusively created to make it out of paper:

“And one thing came to the next – and BANG, the Big Five series (Lion, Elephant, Rhino, Buffalo and Leopard) was born.”

12. Polygons

Of course, he knew that he was limited by the number of polygons. For example, he explained that if a model has too many polygons, it takes a very long time to assemble. Then, if they are too small, they are also problematic. He found the middle ground…

11. The Perfect Animals

“I always try to find a middle way here: I want my animals to have a certain amount of liveliness and still want to be able to put them together in a reasonable time,” added the artist. Some of his critters look like this, while others look like they come out of the wall!

10. Paper Wolf

“I want to make the Paper WOLF, a big sculpture half coming out of the wall,” he said. He was also working on a bee and a fish, a snake, and an owl. Kampffmeyer explained that he has way too many ideas in his “head and too little time to make them all…”

9. Make Your Own Critters

The artist has an Etsy shop that he uses to sell his books on how to make some of his famous 3D animals. There, you can also find kits with just one work that you can make at home. They come with all the materials you need and instructions. Here’s what some of his customers said about the art they bought to make at home – #3.

8. Vortextural – Jen Stark

We’ve also added a few other types of 3D paper sculptures that look a little bit different than the critters we’ve seen so far. For example, Jen Stark is an American contemporary artist that explores ideas of infinity and replication while using colors and patterns found in nature.

7. Magic Circle – Rogan Brown

Rogan Brown is a known contemporary artist that loves to focus on nature and organic growth. He uses scalpel knife to cut through the papers, and one artwork needs months to be completed. He also likes to mix art with science and represent insects, fossils, cell structures and so on.

6. What Lies Beneath – Gabby O’Connor

Gabby O’Connor is also an artist that is interested both in art and science. He created the paper sculpture that made him famous – it was created with thousands of small paper triangles that were died in shades of blue to look like an iceberg.

5. Macbeth – Sher Christopher

Sher Christopher only works with paper and feels that paper allows so much diversity that he doesn’t need another material. You can find his pieces – at which he worked patiently to make them permanent, at exhibitions in Europe and the US.

4. Bear – Calvin Nicholls

This multi-layered paper sculpture is one of the 500 pieces the Canadian artist Calvin Nicholls has created so far after he started working on them in 1986. A piece like this can take from 4 weeks to 2 years! He begins to draw and then uses scalpels and x-acto knives to cut out the pattern.

3. Easy To Make

We might not be as famous as these artists, but we can at least try to have some fun while folding paper! We can create similar critters developed from Kampffmeyer, as he has them in his shop, ready to ship. People that have bought some of them said they look awesome on the wall and they are funny and simple to make!

2. Great Design

“I love doing these. This must be my 9th one. You need patience and time as they can take up to 10 or so hours to complete,” wrote one of the customers. And we can see why! They’re fun to make and the best idea you can try when you want to work with paper and glue.

1. Do It Yourself 3D Paper Sculptures!

Check out the craft books too, where you can learn to make several animals in different colors. Kampffmeyer’s books come complete with all the materials and parts for self-cutting and folding. We love this art, and we cannot wait to try it ourselves!