Please, download and assemble them all! And stay tuned for other custom toys and an upcoming original toy!

Cubeecraft brings us ‘Swine Flu’, which is not only a really great set of words to slap onto a website if you want to drag in the clicks right now, but it’s also a fun interpretation to quell our insanely overblown, exaggerated fears about a potential outbreak, as well as spread awareness. As if Fox News hasn’t already gleefully carved our tombstones.

Wake me up when we all start getting Kitten Pox.

This week’s set of five includes the kinetic Machintoy, the redneckery of TheDayDreamKid, the villainous Macula (fro whom I regularly download new paper awesomeness), the damp Matthew Gilpin, and my very own (Collin David) papersquid. Matthew and I both went with a ‘sea creature’ theme, so I sense a bitter archrivalry on the ol’ paper racetrack.

We’ve got enough to start an awesome miniature derby, and I know that there were a ton more revealed at Urban Paper, so I can’t wait to see the rest of the guys. There’s gotta be a robot in there somewhere….

With eyes aplenty pointing in directions a-every, we’ve got another awesome Hoophy to add to the growing crowd. All are still available to download and construct, and at this point of ciritical mass, the whole army is lookin’ pretty sexy.

The first five include Matt Hawkins, Dolly Oblong, [mck], Jerom & Jonny Chiba. Enjoy (and / or Mario Kart) the heck outta ‘em.

The guy’s 15 and he already has a papercraft series happening. When I was 15, I was probably watching Batman Adventures and drawing half-naked fairy chicks in the margins of my Humanities notebook. Things must be different in Australia. I bet it’s all of that kangaroo juice. You can’t take a step without getting it all over your sandals, or as the Australians call them, your kwibberdijoos. I made that up.

Either way, the complex* Hoody papercraft (not to be confused with the more abstract Hoophy) is looking for contributors to the second series, so if you’re inclined to decorate up a dude wearing that penultimate** of redundant fashion statements – the hoody and the baseball cap – hit up DWC’s website and e-mail the guy for the blank template. The website’s a  bit of a minimalist brainsplosion – tread carefully!

* I define any papercraft as ‘complex’ when it involves any kind of tubular shape, which seem to invariably snap apart, get glue all over my hands, and subsequently get stained with my frustrated tears.

** The Ultimate Redundancy involves a hoody, a baseball cap, and another baseball cap, worn facing in the opposite direction. Bonus points for opting ‘left / right’ instead of the obvious ‘front / back’ combo. And by ‘points’, I mean punches.

In celebration of the book’s release, Mobius Gallery in LA will be hosting a launch party and art show, featuring many of the constructed templates from the book itself, as well as artist prints, and artists Hawkins, Nicebunny and Christopher Bonnette on hand to sign your junk. The book itself includes templates, interviews, and a DVD-Rom full of awesome.

Coincidentally, many of the designs submitted to Horrorwood’s Calling All Cars Project will also be on display, which means that I have the unexpected honor of being part of this stellar show. Mine is the three-eyed squid guy – as if there were any question.

This is the kind of thing I love to hear. Papercrafts plus me equals tingles in the ol’ scissors and glue. That’s not a euphemism, and if it were, it would be supremely gross.

Horrorwood’s Jack Hankins has put out a call for artists to customize his original papercraft for his ‘Calling All Cars’ project, done to commemorate the release (finally!) of Matt Hawkins’ ‘Urban Paper’ book on April 21st. The goal is to assemble as many little, complex drivin’ guys as possible by the book’s release date, at which point they’ll all be made available for free download at Horrorwood. The PDF can be downloaded at this page. Fill it with awesome sauce and send it on back.

The two entries posted so far are beyond excellent, including one by Matt Hawkins himself, so get your fold on.

We’ve reached the halfway point in Shin Tanaka’s epic series of paper collaborations, which pairs Shin with only the best, most original and influential designers out in the whole ‘designer’ scene. All of the previous designs are still available for download (unlike many of Shin’s limited engagement things, which are constantly buried within the depths of an ever-changing website).

SKWAK had previously collaborated with Shin on his large ‘Spiky’ papercraft, and Crossville for a Ghostboy, so he’s no stranger to the papercraftiverse. Download, cut, glue and display one today.

I’ve always loved papercrafting because it’s the ultimate in communal art toy freebies, available to anyone with a printer and the ability to use scissors without the risk of grievous self-injury. I might make an exception to this no-cost rule for the Piperoids. Given yesterday’s trip to the ER, I make no promises about the scissors.

$15 will buy you a pack of two smaller robot figures, or one larger robot figure. Gone are the days of squared-off, angular papercrafts, because these guys use the myriad wonders of the Mighty Tube for their construction. With a backstory, personalities, and a very original method of construction and packaging, we might just be seeing another small revolution in the world of the papercraft.

For much better, very awesome photos, check out Toybot’s Flickr! [via ToyBot Studios]

You read his writing on ToyCyte. He writes about your paper toys and your custom figures. Now, Mr. ResonantFish himself has made the leap from behind the scenes to Patch Together. We knew Collin David was going to fit in at ToyCyte when he revealed his love for tentacles. You can see a handful of his favorite cephalopods here. Perhaps his 2009 gift guide will include a Squidulon of his own.  Give his papercraft and paintings a look over at Patch Together here.

The PT interface is a bit confusing, but if you’ve ever used Threadless, it’s the same deal. Log in, score the potential designs 1 through 5 (five being best), and… that’s that! Winning designs will earn the artist an instant cash prize along with a 5% commission from all sales of the final product manufactured by Patch Together. The artist information is included with every product they make.

Good luck, Collin!

For a man who has built his own unique empire on the unwitting back of George Lucas, The Sucklord’s finally getting some much-deserved respect from the scary Skywalker Empire themselves.

Buy a pack of Star Wars Galaxy : Series 4 trading cards (without blushing) and you just might snag one of 3000 cards featuring original art by one of many, many ‘hip’ ‘underground’ artists, hand-selected by Sucklord. Mr. Suck, I’m just a little jealous that I wasn’t scouted out for this amazing task. I can whip up a badass mofo of a Tusken Raider. You say ‘Momaw Nadon’ and, well, I know exactly what you’re talking about, as well as his alternate history as presented in the paperbacks I read in college.

Star Wars cards have a history of hiding original art cards in with the generic trading cards, each one a unique creation, but the addition of lesser-known artists & toy crafters to the mix of the usual big-name illustrators is both awesome and refreshing. From Sucklord’s curiously pink Vaders, to the detailed renderings from our pals at ONell Design, I’d be pretty excited to find any of these wedged between an Obi-Wan and a Jar Jar. The list of participating artists includes: Amy Vuitya, Artbot 138, Art Denka, Brian Slivka, Chanmen/ GARGAMEL, Daniel Cantrell, Dice One, Dynomight, EVIL DESIGN, FETTS, Fig-Lab/ Datadub, Goccodo, Hans Yim, Jaguar No No, Jason Atomic, Jeff McMillan, JK5, KaToPe, Kerry Lee, Lamour Supreme, MAD, Mad Barbarians, Michael Leavitt, Mishka, Nick the Ring, October toys, Onell Design, Patrick Francisco, Phetus, Prowolfmaster, RYCA, Simeon Lipman, Sket One, Spooky Booty, SUCKADELIC, Toys R Evil, Triclops Studio, Tulip and Urban Medium.

I’m not exactly sure why this particular group of seven papercrafters has united against the threat of ‘Fake’, which they clearly ‘Don’t Need’, but I’m always grateful for whatever catalyzes new papercraft designs. I’m on a budget, people. If papercrafting were ever to unite and need a slogan, I’d like to suggest ‘Papercrafting : Since You’re Repaying Student Loans’. You can pay my royalties in printer ink.

Shin Takana invited Ben the Illustrator, Custom Paper Toys, Kami Model,  Nanibird, Sjors Trimbach and Ryukyu Entertainment to contribute original papercraft designs to his ‘We Don’t Need Fake’ project, which seems to be a creative response to some undisclosed circumstance in which some easily-copiable papercraft designs are being usurped by unscrupulous ‘creators’ who are claiming them as their own. I know of instances in the past where’s Shin’s free-but-limited designs were being sold on eBay (without Shin’s consent), but the presence of outright theft escapes me – but I maintain my outright disdain for any sort of creative plagiarism.

Shin Tanaka completists, there’s a Hoophy hidden in that front page. Click enough on the ‘AGREE’ button and seven different crafts will appear for you to download – and none of them will cost you a cent. Just don’t rip ‘em off. They know where you live.

ToyCyte bud Mike Leavitt is back, and this time, he’s trading clay for cardboard. In “Don’t Stop Object Shopping,” Mike has faithfully recreated signature sneakers in cardboard. From a distance, or with my poor vision, you’d be hard-pressed to tell leather from paper with this level of detail.

In this exhibition, Leavitt signals an art market shift. The Seattle artist accurately replicates in cardboard a nostalgic footlocker of shoes, from ladies pumps to 1980′s sneakers. Installed like a thrift shop, the cardboard shoes will be interspersed with Leavitt’s famous action figures, trading cards, Barack Obama pieces, woodcarvings, and other small collectibles. Leavitt will also show two collaboration pieces with “bag painter” Chris Crites and the notorious counter-culture ceramicist Charles Krafft.

Mike Leavitt participates in an art movement that is fast maturing – a melting together of designer toys, hand-made prints, tattoo parlors, skate shops, street art, and hand-made kitsch that is consuming the art market from the bottom, up. Between high art and a crumbling economy, Leavitt has found a common ground of inexpensive but technical works keenly tailored for broad appeal. Inspirations from woodshop, kitchen craft, and figurative representation energize his shoe replications. In his work, a cheap, disposable material comprises an expensive product, similar to the manufacture of boutique footwear. His cardboard shoes suggest commercial viability is now an urgent reality. Traditionally distasteful and modest objects consciously designed for commerce accommodate the current economy in ways modern art may never know.

His latest solo show includes classic kick replicas, one-off action figures, trading cards, wood sculptures, Obama works and literally, kicks off Saturday, March 31st at 7PM. The show runs through April 18th at Fuse Gallery in NY. I had the pleasure of interviewing Mike last year here. If you can’t make it, check out all the shoes (and some other cool retro gear–like a styrofoam keytar here).

We’ve already had a preview of Shin Tanaka’s March Hoophy collaboration with David Horvath, but the glorious first days of February have now revealed Hoophy Issue #04, created by Superdeux and seen here in the wild, posing before Japan’s imposing Mount Godzilla. Which he is very happy about.

As with all other Hoophys, he’s free to download and construct while we all eagerly await the blank Hoophy template.

In other Shin news, Parisians are invited to stop on by noted Parfumerie Issey Miyake to check out a display of Shin’s Hoophys, as well as the new Spiky Baby Deluxe Series, which spans the artwork of 29 different artists. Here’s to papercrafting moving one step closer towards world domination – and we all know that France isn’t gonna fight back. Next stop : Switzerland.

In other other Shin news, (and my favorite kind of news), DESIGN CONTEST TIME! The previously-blogged 4-in-1 Robot of Shin’s design, and commissioned by Scion, is looking for a remix. The details are available at this website, but it’s simple : download a template, redesign the robo-deco, and send it on back. The winner will get a few bucks, a trip to LA in April, a prize package, and a place in the Interactive Paper Art Show. Gotta love that whole ‘big corporation’ funding, in this case, for such a handsome prize package. You have until March 6th!

Anybody who has every pondered the planning of a wedding knows that the fine art of letterpressed paper is not cheap. However, here’s the rare instance where letterpressed is free. Two of ToyCyte’s favorite papercrafters: Letter Pressed and Matt Hawkins have collaborated on this downloadable Presston mascot. Writes Letter Pressed’s Mark: “We knew it would be challenging because of the curves of the original illustration, and the fact that he’s a little top heavy (we prefer “big boned”). But Matt did an amazing job. We will be offering the template up for those that want to build one, as well as a blank version, for you artistic types. And we may be printing some out to include in future orders (not letterpress printed though).”

We’ve taken the liberty of hosting the files and you can download the pdf template here and the pdf directions here. Matt suggests a matte finish photo paper, about 80 lb. stock or less (too thick and it will be too hard to fold).

Readers of Giant Robot Magazine might already be aware of this, but you’re 2 issues deep into a vast collaboration between Hoophy-master Shin Tanaka and the car-mo-trons at Scion. Starting with issue 56, Shin and Scion began publishing a three-part papercraft, which consists of three roboty guys which can then be assembled all Voltron-style into a fourth ’4-in-1′ mega-bot. The third part of this holy trinity will be released in Giant Robot issue 58, which will hit stands on February 9th.

Of course, the lonely robots can be enjoyed on their own, but everyone knows that robots work better when their parts are crammed into the parts of other robots to make bigger and better things.

Shin’s making strides to get the lowly papercraft recognized as a cultural force, recently participating in an event at the Kennedy Center called ‘Japan! Culture + Hyperculture‘. So, check out this crazy patchwork robot, which uses three forms that Shin’s never used previously, and start looking for GR back issues while I reminisce about the days of Nintendo Power where you could cut and fold your own Starfox Arwing…

The march of Shin Tanaka’s papercraft Hoophies continues with the quiet announcement that David Horvath will be contributing one of his Uglydesigns to Hoophy : Issue 05, to be released for download in March (after February’s mysterious, unrevealed Issue 04).

Rampant blogger Horvath, of Uglydoll fame, has created a paper-friendly version of his Bossy Bear to the ongoing Hoophy project, which includes a new, prominent designer every month – this month’s designer being David Flores, which you can download the heck out of NOW from Shin Tanaka’s site. Unlike previous papercrafts at Shin’s site, these promise to remain downloadable for months to come. I’m sure you’re totally bummed out that you can’t download the Series 7 SpikyBaby that I designed.

Horvath promises more pictures soon. You know, when he’s not posting great pictures of Batman and stylish bag-hats. If your need for Bossy Bear demands something more substantial than an awesome paper toy, Horvath speaks briefly of some special Bossy Bear figures made for a ‘Yoya Mart’ event, exclusive to Japan. Like so many great and terrifying things are.

Intrepid paper craftologist Shin Tanaka has been bustin’ out his newest urban-paper line, the Hoophy, in fairly consistent volumes since last year – but 2009 marks the beginning of a series of new collaborations, beginning with this black ‘n’ blue guy by Mr. David Flores. You’ll probably recognize Flores’ interesting, geometric, stained-glassy style over the pictured Hoophy – maybe from the Maurice Sendak Tribute show, or maybe from his Kidrobot print. This fella is downloadable, completely free of charge, from Shin’s website.

Shin’s ‘Happy New Year’ greeting included a picture of an unpublished Hoophy colorway – possibly for release in a future volume of the ongoing series – and what’s this? Poking around Shin’s website reveals an in-progress shot of the Hoophy plastic toy. He’s not a man of many words, so there’s no accompanying explanation for, well, much of anything on his website, but this Hoophy makes a great effort towards returning the whole urban vinyl movement back to its thematic roots, so I’m excited to see what the final product is going to look like.

The flat-packed freedom fighter is back with a 2009 calendar. This year’s design from CardBoy is based around the Chinese Zodiac (year of the Ox). The free papercraft calendars should tide you over until the previously-blogged t-shirts and book come out later this year. You can download them at the CardBoy website right now. Since the blog mentioned the calendars would be fleetingly available, I pinched the PDFs and you can perpetually grab the beef version here and the veggie version here. It’s always good to wait until the first of the year to get your calendar. If you love Ansel Adams or kittens in flower pots, you can find a year’s worth of ‘em for 50% off in basically every book store. But try and beat FREE.