Cranklabs Blog

New Teaser!

2011-09-10T11:05:00.003-10:00

And Another One...

2011-09-03T17:17:00.002-10:00

Another Teaser!

2011-08-28T10:13:00.004-10:00

New Customs!

2011-08-21T16:19:00.007-10:00

Head over to OH-SHEET to download these paper toys I’ve had the pleasure of skinning.

Ridin' APE Style
Original paper toy by Vins

My custom along with 9 others from Vins’ Ape-Paper Collection 2011 were on display at the Immaginari Grafici Expo in Italy. Vins took some great photos from the expo which can found here. To download the the entire Ape-Paper series, visit www.vinsart.it

Severen
Original paper toy by Sinner

Severen is a custom of Sinner’s paper toy, Genetically Altered. Inspired by the toy’s name, I decided to create a character with extraordinary powers. Visit Sinner’s site for more paper toys.

And here’s a peak at what I have planned for later this year.

Paper Toy II

2011-06-09T21:03:00.003-10:00

I'm excited and honored to be part of the Paper Toy II Show at Pink Hobo Gallery in Minneapolis, MN. If you live in or near the area, pop on over to Pink Hobo this Saturday for the opening reception. Festivities start at 7pm with food, drinks, music and of course, paper. My Zealot Guards (shown above) along with some incredible work by some of my favorite artists (Sal Azad, Matt Hawkins and Marko Zubak) will be on display.

What: Paper Toy II Show
Time: Saturday, June 11 • 7:00pm – 11:00pm
Location: PINK HOBO Gallery • 507 E Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis, MN

More info can be found on Pink Hobo’s Facebook page.

Leechoso Custom

2011-04-30T15:38:00.005-10:00

Meet Doze, my latest custom for my friend baykiddead aka BKD. Doze is a Leechoso. Leechoso are cyclops creatures, usually with two mouths located at the end of their tentacles. Some have wings, some have tails, others have both. Doze is not your typical leechoso…

… Doze aka The Sandman is lethal. One only needs to observe the patterning on his skin to know this. He worked as a freelance ‘cleaner’. His favorite movie is Kill Bill Vol. 1. Whispering ‘wiggle your big toe’ just before pulling the trigger became a ritual. In 2005, he retired from the syndicate to pursue his true passion, music. He now sings lead and backup vocals for his hugely successful rock band, Kiddo’s Black Mamba. …

Head over to baykiddeadandthechickletfactory.blogspot.com to download this lethal leechoso and others designed by BKD, Horrorwood and Sal Azad.

Beach Boy Twitch

2011-04-09T15:03:00.004-10:00

I recently received a new custom Twitch and I'm totally stoked on it! This amazing custom is called Beach Boy and was designed by my friend and paper toy artist Willie Beren. Beach Boy is here to ring in the summer so make sure you build this little guy, then go hit the beach! The template is available for download here. To see more of Willie's amazing work, visit vapapertoys.weebly.com

Fun with an iPhone/Hipstamatic

2011-04-09T14:43:00.014-10:00

Quarantine by Maarten Janssens aka 3EyedBear and Joint King by Shin Tanaka (swapped heads) with Show Some Love by Oh-Sheet

Wingy Wingy by Sal Azad from the book Papertoy Monsters by Castleforte

Sugar and Spice with Rabid Rottie from the Fold Your Own Zombie! 2011 Calendar by Accord Publishing

Creep 100% by Jason Harlan aka Harlancore

Zealot Guard XXL (about 15" tall) by Oh-Sheet

More photos at facebook.com/ohsheetpapertoys

Dumpy Custom

2011-04-02T12:35:00.006-10:00

My newest custom is Dumpy, a really cool paper toy created by my friend and fellow paper toy artist, Dyadic. The shape of this toy is awesome and made for a fun time designing a skin. Grab him here and make sure you visit Dyadic’s website dikids.blogspot.com for more great custom Dumpys and paper toys.

Dumpy Sketches

II Love Issue #8

2011-03-05T14:10:00.006-10:00

The latest issue of II Love by Marko Zubak is out. Issue #8 features interviews and exclusive toys by Jonny Chiba, Cubeecraft and me/OH-SHEET. My paper toy contribution is called 'Show Some Love' (shown on the cover image above). Also featured are Nick Knite's MechaBunnies and Papertom's exhibition in Brussels. Visit www.yebomaycu.com to download II Love Issue #8 or read it online.

Marko Zubak's Paper Toys Show at OK Center, Linz, Austria

Marko will be exhibiting some fantastic paper toys from his ye-boT initiative and II Love magazines. There will be some great work by him along with collaborations by other amazing artists. The show will be open until March 11th. If you live in or near Linz, be sure to check out the show. Visit www.markozubak.com for more info.

ye-boT Custom and Paper Hearts

2011-01-31T18:20:00.004-10:00

ye-boT Custom

Wow, it’s already the end of January… Happy belated New Year! My first paper toy of the year comes in the form of ye-boT, a custom of Marko Zubak’s articulated paper toy platform. That’s right kids, this paper toy has moveable parts! Marko is still looking for customs for his next show. To join or read more about the ye-boT initiative, visit www.yebomaycu.com

Paper Hearts

Show some love this Valentine’s Day by making these sweet Paper Hearts. Includes popular ’sugar hearts’ sayings as well as blank hearts you can customize yourself. Grab the templates HERE.

'Style Needs No Color' Customs Now Available for Download

2010-12-12T10:34:00.006-10:00

Nick Knite has released the black and white custom paper toys that were on display at the Blooom! Art Show in Cologne, Germany. The new customs include awesome designs by Sal Azad, Tougui, Olla Boku, Dyadic, SaltnPaper, Jason Bolt, Marko Zubak, Greenelf and Oh-Sheet. Grab the templates at Nick's website and check out a cool video from the show.

Nick is also hosting a contest with ECKO Unltd. where you can win some ECKO gear. All you have to do is customize Nick's ECKOrhino paper toy and submit it by December 31, 2010. For more details on the contest, visit ecko-unltd.de/unltd/paperrhino. Note: the website is in German, google.com/translate will come in handy. :) Get creative and good luck!

2010 Halloween Paper Toys - The Evil Dead!

2010-10-24T10:48:00.007-10:00

To celebrate Halloween this year, I've created a few new toys dedicated to one my favorite horror series, The Evil Dead. The Evil Dead, Evil Dead II and Army of Darkness are cult classics and fun to watch if you're into horror and horror comedy. Available for download are Linda, Cheryl and Ash. Also included are a few cool accessories. So, if you'd like to add a couple of possessed women and a chainsaw wielding bad ass to your Halloween paper toy collection, head over to OH-SHEET and download the templates. Happy Halloween!

Initial Sketches

Ash paper mock-ups.

Ash - sketch on template.

New IMPS, MechaBunny and Sizza Customs!

2010-08-22T11:41:00.007-10:00

Hey Gang! I've been working on a few new customs for some of my favorite paper toy artists and I'm excited to finally share them with all of you.

First we have The Gloom Crew, comprised of the three little monsters you see above. These are customs of the IMPS paper toy created by my friend Jason Harlan aka Harlancore. Download The Gloom Crew here and be sure to visit Harlancore.com to download the original Boxpunx Series Nine IMPS and other great Boxpunx.

The next few customs were for another one of my friends, Nick Knite, creator of the Sizza and MechaBunny paper toys.

You'll notice these three customs have something in common, they are all black and white. The theme for these is “Schwarz Auf Weiss" - “Style Needs No Color" and they'll be exhibited at BLOOOM - The Creative Industries Art Show from October 28th to November 1, 2010 at Staatenhaus am Rheinpark, Cologne. Visit blooom.de for more info. If you live in or near the area, please check it out.

Until next time... happy building.

Fresh Ink

Late Night Construction

'Jump' Custom

2010-08-14T09:40:00.004-10:00

A new illustration I did for the PANDACREW's Design Me Project. Check out their amazing work at pandacrew.com and visit their myspace page to see more great customs.

We Are Paper Toys

2010-06-01T23:05:00.003-10:00

OH-SHEET Paper Toys is featured in a new book titled We Are Paper Toys: Print-Cut-Fold-Glue-Fun scheduled to be released on June 15, 2010. This full color paperback by Louis Bou and published by Monsa Publications (Spain) and Collins Design contains over 200 pages of images, from paper toy sketches and templates to finished paper toy models by over 30 artists from around the world. Also included with the book is a DVD loaded with templates of some of the paper toys featured in the book. See a sneak peak of some the book’s pages here.

We received our copy of the book today and it looks great. It’s definitely a book worth buying if you’re a fan of paper toys.

Mecha6.2

2010-05-09T18:40:00.021-10:00

My friend and fellow paper toy artist, Nick Knite just released the second series of his MechaBunny paper toy platform, the Mecha6.

Series two features customs from artists Sal Azad, Olla Boku, Greg Madden, Scott Shaller, VinsArt and me. Head over to Nick's site, nickknite.com, to download the Mecha6 and be sure to check out series one as well! Thanks Nick!

The Making of.... the MechaBunny Custom

When Nick released the first series of Mecha6, I was stoked. What a great platform toy. I knew right away that I wanted to do a custom and when I got the template from Nick, I knew I'd be designing a robot. Something along the lines of the 80's cartoon Voltron. I started off by building the blank model. Once I had the pieces assembled, I could see the shapes and the potential they had to transform into something else.

I started to sketch....

But the idea looked cooler in my head, not so cool on paper. Change of plans. Then this...

This quick sketch on the template was the spark I needed. From this idea, I went into Illustrator and began designing, free forming shapes from lines and angles. After a preliminary build and some adjustments, a new custom was born.

I like the way he turned out and I'm happy that Nick liked him as well.

Those Things 01

2010-04-24T09:27:00.005-10:00

A quirky little comic strip I put together to show my love of zombies.

Click on the image for a larger view.

Papercut Custom

2010-04-18T12:07:00.003-10:00

Here's a custom I did late last year for Alexander Gwynne's paper toy, PAPERCUT. If you dig him, he's available for download here. Also, don't forget to head over to Alex's site, AGPapertoy.blogspot.com, for more cool paper toys.

Hi There!

2010-04-17T17:29:00.000-10:00

Welcome to my blog. The drawing to the left is a preview of what's to come. It's something I put together a few years ago but it gives you an idea of the type of nonsense my brain is capable of. Okay then, hope you'll come back to visit.

Click on the image to enlarge.