Research task: Paper toys

I looked at artists who create paper toys and models.

Seth, a Canadian cartoonist, created a 3D city made out of paper (Dominion city). He explains in an interview (www.canadianartjunkie.com/2024/01/15/57-150-seth-is-a-graphic-novelist-celebrated-cartoonist/) how he first designed and developed the city in 3D before creating graphic novels who take place in that city. It is interesting to see how creating the place in 3D was a source of inspiration for his books.

For some artists, designing 3D models is part of a process to create their final artwork. In fact, Thomas Demand (flash—art.com/article/thomas-demand/) often destroys the life-size models he creates after photographing them as a way to question truth and reality. The photographs show places that do not exist anymore.

Amy Bennett also creates miniature worlds that she then paints. As she describes it herself (www.amybennett.com/about.html) “the clumsy inadequacies of miniatures help me to convey a sense of artifice and distance. I try to paint the scenes in a way that feels like a believable world, but an alternate, fabricated world.”

I really like the work of Ollanski who creates objects made out of paper that are then photographed (www.ollanski.com/about-me-1 and www.folioart.co.uk/illustrator/ollanski/) and sometimes animated digitally. He even mixes paper creations with real objects as he did for some advertising for Le Creuset. There is something very interesting between the semi-realistic paper models next to the real objects.

Shin Tanaka’s characters made out of paper are inspired from graffiti and street art (www.yatzer.com/Paper-toys-by–Shin-Tanaka). As a graffiti artist, he wanted to draw on toys. As he could not find what he had in mind, he created his own paper toys. A combination of street art and origamis, his work is colourful and fun.

I collected some examples of paper toys on a Pinterest board.

What is the purpose of paper toys?

Paper toys are often printed templates of miniature models meant to be cut and assembled. I was surprised to see how many are available on the internet and often for free (there are many intricate models available on this website for instance: https://papermau.blogspot.com/2022/01/miniature-world-collection-tree-house.html).

In a sense, paper toys have two purposes. One purpose consists in building the toy from the template and the other involves playing with it or collecting it.

Pop up books and, in some cases, even pop up cards can also be considered as toys. They offer more interaction than a traditional book or card.

Paper toys can be an effective way for a company to offer a toy to a customer and make the product more attractive. They can use part of the packaging as a template that the customer (usually a child) can cut out and assemble.

Who is their target audience?

The target audience will depend on the complexity of the toy. As mentioned in an article on http://www.awwards.com (www.awwwards.com/papertoys-world.html), some toys can be “very elaborate and require true skills as they become true works of art. […] you can do or find paper toys for any level of difficulty.”

Some templates can be simple, partially pre-cut shapes and appeal to younger children. Others will be complex models that might appeal to adults.

What is the draw to making paper toys as opposed to buying pre-made toys?

Paper toys involve an element of craft and creativity, and that is not necessarily the case with pre-made toys. The owner of the toy is involved in its creation, even when they use a template created by someone else. There can be an educational element for children.

As we are increasingly aware of the environment, the fact that the carbon footprint of paper toys is very low compared to toys made out of materials such as plastic can make such toys more attractive. They can be perceived as ephemeral as they might not last so long. A doll’s house made out of paper will be rather fragile. However, in an era where objects including toys tend not to be used for very long, it can be perceived as an advantage.

Paper toys can be more than models. As mentioned before, it can include pop up books but also games created out of paper. Many techniques can be involved including paper quilling for instance. As many artists have shown, it seems that imagination is the only limit when it comes to paper creations.