Corey interviews Belgium's gaming papercraft guru, rundown!

Back in April of 09 we covered a story on how you could build your very own Red Faction sledgehammer out of paper. Needless to say we were pretty impressed by the craftsmanship and attention to detail. As was RedFaction.com who actually featured this design in their community home page.

A few weeks later on May 14th, we had a member by the screen name of "rundown" join ShogunGamer.com and leave a pretty interesting comment on the same story. It just so happens he is none other then the creator himself. I got to chat with rundown about his awesome work and get a sneak peak at what he's working on next.

Corey: You've done some very impressive work! How exactly did you get started in papercraft modelling?

rundown: Well I started getting interested in 3D modelling from a course I'm taking in school. I also follow graphic multimedia and I've already earned my degree for graphical design. I would like a degree for 3D design but they don't offer one yet.  So, in the mean time I'm trying to learn as much as I can before hand so I'm ready for it. I also found that I, as do many guys, have a "geeky side." I put the two together and found my passion for prop making! 

Corey: Do you only make gaming related props?

rundown: I do have a few props that aren't game related, but most of my work is. I got into making things for a Halo related prop site called 405th.com and it just went from there.

Corey: What's your favourite part of papercraft prop making?

rundown: It's just a kick to see what you completed at the end of the whole process. 3D modelling, texturing, unfolding and putting it together. It gives me satisfaction. Also, it's fantastic to see other people building their own papercrafts from my designs and being happy about it. Gotta love the feedback!

Corey: Do you release all of your designs to others?

rundown: Yeah, I always give out the plans for my crafts for free. I see papercrafting as a hobby. Like I said before I just have fun doing it. Plus it's good practise for me!

Corey: Tell us about the very first papercraft you made? What was it?

rundown: The first model I ever built was a very low-res version of the Star Wars Episode 2 Clone Trooper helmet. I don't like it actually. Ive grown a lot since that model ha-ha.

Corey: Ha-Ha! Fair enough! So the next logical question wold be what model are you the most proud of?

rundown: The model I'm proudest of to date has to be my HD Halo 3 helmet. I just think it's a much more professional looking papercraft.

Corey: So what's on your work bench right now? Can we get a sneak peak at your next project?

rundown: Well, I don't really have that much experience in texturing yet. But so far I think I'm doing alright. Right now I'm making a mask from the game Wanted. And its gonna be textured!

Corey: Wow! That's going to look awesome. Do you have any tips for our users who might want to get into papercrafting?

rundown: Well there aren't a lot of sites that teach you the ways of papercraft. The best way I think of is to download the basic version papercraft program pepakura viewer so they can print .pdo files at home. Although, sometimes you can find papercraft templates that come in regular pdf's.

If someone wants to get into actually designing papercraft from scratch, they should learn 3D scaling first. Also, if they are interested in developing thier own files I suggest learning how to 3D model first. Then, they can download the designer version of pepakura viewer to build their 3D models

To get you started, there are alot papercrafts on http://www.papercraftmuseum.com. I'm a hosted designer there and I suggest they pick the lowest poly model papercraft to begin with. Like my lego helmet for instance. (Note from Corey: Yes, you can actually friggen wear it!)

As a general tip, when you print your papercraft don't use regular paper if you want it to last! Use a quality thick durable paper.

Corey: Well after those tips from the master, I just might have to try and make a papercraft of my own! Thanks for the chat rundown, we hope to see some more of your work on ShogunGamer.com!

And if you any of you out there want to see more of rundowns work, you can check out the image gallery below along with his Papercraft Museum portfolio!