Paper Hen

www.paperhen.com

Elephant
Sculpture

3D Low Poly Elephant Pattern

Build this delightful sculpture of an Elephant. Elephants are perhaps
the most impressive of mammals growing to over 3m tall, weighing up to
6000kg and living up to 70 years. They are revered in many cultures often
symbolising strength, wisdom and luck; and in literature, sport, music,
film and television. Your elephant sculpture is truly iconic.

Copyright 2016 Paper Hen Product No: PHSEL01

Instructions
These instructions are in two parts: general instructions, which
should be read if you are new to paper craft; and assembly in-
structions, which describe a suggested order for assembling your
model. Please read these instructions before printing the pattern. —–—
General Instructions
Tools and Materials
You’ll need the following tools and materials to complete this
model.
Tools
• Scissors with a blade length of around 3”
• A clear plastic ruler
• Glue spreader (if using liquid glue), which can be bought
from a craft shop or you can use a small flexible piece of
plastic –––
• Scoring tool such as an opened paper clip, empty ball point 2
pen, or blunt pair of scissors
Materials
• Paper (card) for the model. Use card which has a grammage
of 170-210 gsm (with 210 gsm preferred) and/or thickness
of 230-280 micron. Pulp board or craft card is ideal. If your
printer supports printing directly onto card then use A4/Let-
ter size card otherwise the pattern can be used as a template.
As an alternative you can also reuse existing materials such as
old greeting cards and cereal boxes.
• Glue. White school glue (PVA) or a glue stick. If this is your
first model then we suggest using school glue since it takes a
little longer to dry so giving you time to make small adjust-
ments as you build the model. If you want quicker results Hill fold Valley fold
then use a glue stick. Printing
The pattern is full scale and should be printed using the actual
Making the model size option on your printer and not the scale to fit op-
Introduction tion. There is a 100mm guideline on each pattern page so that
The basic steps needed to build the model are: printing the pat- you can check that it has been printed to the correct size. If you
tern to the correct size, (optionally) using the pattern as a tem- print the pattern at a reduced scale then this line can be used to
plate, cutting out, scoring and folding, locating the parts and check that your scaling is correct (e.g. the line will be 75mm if
finally gluing and assembling the parts. the pattern has been printed scaled by 75%).
Use A4 or US Letter size when printing.
The Pattern Depending on your printer and the card you have chosen for
A pattern shows the parts which you glue together to create your your project, you can either print the pattern pages directly onto
model. An example partial pattern with two parts is shown be- the card; or print the pattern onto normal paper and then use
low. this as a template for your card. If printing directly onto card
The parts have gluing tabs and edge numbers which show how make sure that you follow the instructions for your printer.
to assemble the model.
Each part also has a variety of line types and symbols: Using the pattern as a template (optional step)
• Solid lines, which show where to cut. When using the pattern as a template, the model is built so that
• Even dashed lines (– – –) , showing hill folds where the card the template is on the inside of the card and the tabs are also
is folded downwards glued on the inside. This leaves the outside of your model with a
• Uneven dashed lines (— – —), showing valley folds where smooth surface.
the card is folded upwards • After printing the pattern on normal paper, trim them
• A Glue symbol placed on a tab showing where to glue. Note roughly to size and arrange them on your card
that the whole tab is glued. Tabs always end up on the inside • Glue the template pieces to the card then continue with the
of the model instructions below
• A Scissors symbol which may appear inside a shape showing Cutting out
a section to be cut out. A craft knife will be required to cut The pattern parts need to be cut out accurately.
this out. • Using scissors cut out the parts along the solid lines mak-

© 2016 PaperHen
 ing only short cuts with the card positioned near the scissors will eventually fit together
hinge as you go. • Place a line of glue along the full length of the tab. For liquid
Since most models are symmetrical there will be two of each part glue use a glue spreader and spread the glue out to cover the
- one being a mirror image of the other. Keep each pair together whole tab in a thin layer
to make it easier to find them during assembly. • Join the tab and edge together whilst the glue is still wet, po-
Scoring and folding sitioning them so that both fold marks are exactly aligned
Scoring puts a dent into the card so that it folds more easily and • Pinch the join together with your fingers for a few seconds
makes the edges of the model clean and sharp. to allow it to bond
Use a tool with a fine but blunt point such as the nose of a pair • Let the joint dry for a minute or so before moving onto the
of scissors, or an opened paper clip held at an angle of about 30°. next one.
The idea is to crease the surface but not to cut it. NOTE: Assemble the model by gluing one tab/edge at a
• Line up your ruler with each fold line in turn and score along time, allowing it to dry sufficiently before moving on to
it’s full length using the rules as an edge. All fold lines should the next edge.
be scored.
• After scoring, fold the edge as either a valley or hill fold as
Finishing off
After assembling your model, you can paint or decorate it in
required. For valley folds it’s better to fold as a hill fold first
any way you wish. Visit our web site www.paperhen.com for
and then fold in the opposite direction to give a sharper val-
examples.
ley fold.
It is a good idea to practice scoring and folding on some scrap
card beforehand.
IMPORTANT NOTE: if you want to create a model with
the pattern on the inside surface then folds should be in-
terpreted in the opposite sense - even dashed lines should
be interpreted as valley folds and uneven dashes as hill
folds.
Locating the parts
Each join point on the pattern has two corresponding numbers -
one on the tab side and one on the edge side. So for instance, tab
number 2 joins with edge number 2. The model is constructed
by joining corresponding tabs to edges as shown in the example
below.

Completed example

4-4 5-5

Contact us
If you have any questions then contact us at
info@paperhen.com
Get social by sharing your completed model with others on
Facebook at our page www.facebook.com/paperhen
1-1 2-2
Twitter using our name @paperhen_chris
Instagram with our handle @paperhen_chris
Pinterest at our page www.pinterest.com/paperhen

Thank you for using our designs!

Joining edges to tabs Christine
Gluing and Assembly
Assemble the model parts in the order suggested in the next sec-
tion, Assembling the Model.
© 2016 PaperHen
• Before gluing, test fit each part so that you know how they
Assembling the Sculpture
Score and fold so that the pattern and tabs are on the inside of the completed sculpture.
Follow the build sequence as described in the following diagrams. These show the pattern parts and the corresponding position on
the sculpture.
Build sequence
The general build order is to construct the extremities first (trunk, ears, legs and tail) and then attach these to the body. This gives you
more working space to press the joints together from inside the sculpture.
You may find that a narrow tool is useful to get into spaces where your fingers would be too large. A crochet or knitting needle is
ideal for this.
Start on the trunk
Locate the parts for the trunk on the pattern. Glue these together and put the trunk to one side (it will be attached to the head
later).

Trunk region

Build the head

Locate the parts for the head. Start with the edges which attach to the trunk and build the head from the front and around. This is
easier than building the head as a section and then attaching the trunk.

Trunk region

© 2017 PaperHen
The Ears
The ears should be built separately and then attached to the head.

Ears

The Front Legs

Build each of the front legs separately. Start with the bottom of each foot and glue each strip in turn. Attach the legs to the bottom
of the head.

Front legs

© 2017 PaperHen
The Body
Locate the parts for the body. Start with the strips which attach to the back of the head and glue each in turn. Work from the top of
the back to the underside of the body.

Body section

The Rear Legs

The rear legs are built separately and then attached to the body.

Rear legs

Locate the parts. Assemble each leg in turn, starting with the strips which include the base of the foot. After building each leg, at-
tach them to the body.
After this step you should have all of the elephant complete with the exception of the tail and hind parts.

© 2017 PaperHen
The Tail
The next step is to assemble the tail and attach this to the top of the rear legs.
Locate the parts and build the tail as one section. Attach the completed tail to the top of the legs.

Tail parts

The hind (closing the structure)

The final step is to close the sculpture by attaching the two hind parts.
Do one part at a time, starting with the edge nearest to the tail.

Hind parts

Your sculpture is now complete!

© 2017 PaperHen
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