Impress dinosaur lovers with a simple paper dinosaur. With the right material and a minimal amount of time, you can easily create a colorful, custom paper dinosaur that stands or moves.
Steps
Method 1 of 2: Mobile Paper Dinosaur
Step 1. Cut out the body parts of the dinosaur
Using green construction paper, cut a large oval for the body, two smaller rectangles for the legs, a tail, and a head connected to a long neck. Cut five triangles out of orange paper.
- If you feel confident enough in your artistic skills, you can draw the parts freehand using a pencil before cutting them. Keep in mind that four of the orange triangles will need to be used for the ridges on the back when determining their size.
- Alternatively, if you want help designing your pieces, cut them using the following template:
Step 2. Fix the pieces on the backing cardboard
Apply glue to the back of each piece using a glue stick. Attach the other side to a sturdier piece of construction paper.
- For thin cardboard, consider recycling materials such as cereal boxes, snack boxes, or notebook covers.
- You have to mount the paper on cardboard or card to make the dinosaur sturdier. If you ignore this step, the finished product may be too thin and brittle and may flake quickly.
Step 3. Cut out the pieces
Once the glue has dried, use scissors to carefully cut out each piece from the cardboard.
Note that the cardboard should not be visible under the original cardboard body parts
Step 4. Mark the fixing holes
Mark four holes on the dinosaur's body using a pencil, pen or marker. One hole should be for the head, another for the tail and the last two for the legs.
- If you are using the default template mentioned above, mark the holes according to the marks on the drawing.
- If you are using freehand pieces, mark two holes about 1.25 cm from the edge along the bottom of the oval. One should be close to the front and the other should be close to the back. Mark another hole 2.5cm from the top left for the head and another 2.5cm from the top right for the tail.
Step 5. Overlap the pieces and drill the body holes
Arrange the dinosaur's body on your work surface. Slide the head, tail, and paw pieces slightly under the body piece, just below the corresponding holes. Use a sharp pencil or pen to make a straight hole through the paper and cardboard of the body piece at each marked hole.
- Note that you shouldn't permanently attach the limbs to the body at this time.
- Each piece of limb (head, tail, legs) should only slide under the dinosaur's body by approximately 1.25 - 2.5 cm.
- When you press to puncture, you must use enough force to make notches on the limbs that are below the body.
Step 6. Hole through the limb recesses
Pull out the head, tail, and leg pieces from underneath the dinosaur body. Use a pen or pencil to punch through the notches you made earlier.
Step 7. Pin the pieces together
Slide a metal paper clip through the dinosaur body into the hole corresponding to the head. Fit the hole of the head piece through the back of the clip from behind the body. Flatten the edges of the paper clip to secure the two pieces of paper together.
- Repeat this procedure with two legs and the tail.
- The limbs should always go behind the body, not above it.
- When you flatten the clips, leave enough slack so the limbs can still move when minimal force is applied.
Step 8. Put glue on the tips
Place four of your five orange wedges along the dinosaur's back. Glue with white vinyl glue or a glue stick.
As with the limbs, these spikes must be connected from the back of the body, not the front
Step 9. Add the toes
Cut the remaining orange triangle into six small rectangles. Glue three to one leg and three more to the other.
Step 10. Fix the eye
Use white vinyl glue to attach the back of one eye to the dinosaur's head. Let it dry.
At the conclusion of this step, the mobile dinosaur is now complete
Method 2 of 2: Standing Paper Dinosaur
Step 1. Draw and cut the body of a dinosaur
Outline the shape of a dinosaur body, with trunk, tail, neck and head. Use scissors to cut the body.
- Simpler designs often work better than more complex ones for this project. Do not include crests or details.
- Paws are not to be included in this structure either.
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Draw the body freehand. If you need help, look at a reference drawing or print a free dinosaur model and trace everything but the crests and paws. Some free templates can be found at:
- https://www.firstpalette.com/tool_box/printables/dinosaur-jurassic.html
- https://printables.scholastic.com/printables/detail/?id=27414&N=0
- https://www.freeapplique.com/dinosaurpatterns.html
Make a Paper Dinosaur Step 12 Step 2. Cut the ridges
The number of ridges will vary based on the design. Usually, however, 10 - 12 ridges is a sufficient amount.
- Each crest should be shaped like a diamond.
- The crests should be similar in size but not identical either. Ideally, the ones towards the head and tail should be slightly smaller than the ones you plan to use in the middle. The largest must not exceed the size of the dinosaur's head.
Make a Paper Dinosaur Step 13 Step 3. Cut two sets of legs
Draw two inverted "U" shapes, about the size of your dino's neck, if not a little wider. Cut the pieces with scissors.
Note that the curved end will be positioned at the top. The bottom end of each piece should be as flat and straight as possible
Make a Paper Dinosaur Step 14 Step 4. Mount the paper on the cardboard
Apply white vinyl glue or a glue stick to the back of each piece of construction paper. Press a piece of heavy construction paper or cardboard onto the exposed side of the glue. Let it dry, then cut the pieces again with the cardboard attached.
- The cardboard used should be about the same thickness that you would expect to find in a standard cardboard box.
- If you don't hold the card, the dinosaur won't be solid enough to stand on its own.
- Note that the dinosaur will only be decorated on one side if you follow this method precisely. If you want the dinosaur to be decorated on all sides, you need to cut duplicates of each piece of the body, legs and crests and glue them to the back of the cardboard.
Make a Paper Dinosaur Step 15 Step 5. Cut slits in the body, legs and ridges
You need to cut slits at the bottom of each ridge and the curved top of each paw. You should also cut slits in the dinosaur's body where the legs and crests will join.
- Cut a slit in the middle of the curved part of each leg.
- Cut a slit in the bottom half of each ridge.
- Arrange the dinosaur body on the table. Mark the position of the legs on the body with a pencil. Organize the ridges above the body to get an idea of where each should go, then mark each spot with the pencil. Cut a slit along each mark, but make sure no slit in the body is longer than the corresponding slit in the paw or crest piece.
Make a Paper Dinosaur Step 16 Step 6. Secure the pieces along the slots
Turn the paw portions so they are now perpendicular to the dinosaur's body. Slide the front of the paw into the front slot on the dinosaur's body; repeat with the other part of the paw. Follow the same procedure with each ridge as you position them along the back of the dinosaur.
- You shouldn't need glue or tape to secure the pieces. They should stay snug enough on their own.
- Check your dinosaur. At this point, the dinosaur should be able to stand up on its own. If not, try folding the toes of each paw forward to make a flat foot, as doing so provides a larger and more secure surface to support the rest of the dinosaur.
- At the conclusion of this step, your standing still dinosaur should now be complete.
