Tube Buddy: Little Vampire

A chibi little vampire, 3⅛ in tall, made from a single paper tube — for Halloween, cute rather than scary: black spiky hair, little fangs, a short purple cape, a high collar with a red lining, and a little bat in his hair. The spikes form on their own — you press the top of the tube in at the back and the front.

• Easy
• 1 tube
• 4 small pieces
• 2 Letter sheets

Make it with your phone cameraLesson code: 3643

On VanGami the template appears over your sheet through your phone camera — no printer needed. Trace it, cut, fold and glue. Below are all the steps in text.

What you’ll need

• 2 Letter sheets — office paper, 80 gsm (20 lb)
• Markers
• Pencil — and eraser
• Scissors — small
• Glue stick — or PVA glue
• Glass — phone stand

Steps

Trace

1. Sturdy sheet from two. Apply glue stick over the whole surface of a sheet of printer paper, press a second sheet onto it, and smooth with your palm from the middle to the edges. You'll get a thick sheet — work on that one. Put it back in the same spot, edge to edge; don't move the phone.
2. Strip: outline. Trace the strip with the tab above the middle in a solid line — you’ll cut along this line.
3. Strip: spike arcs. The dashed arcs at the top are the folds for the spikes. Trace them pressing firmly: the top will later fold neatly along the scored line. Don't cut along them.
4. Strip: drawing. Trace in thin lines: the face with pointed bangs, the ears, the eyes, the mouth with little fangs, the hairline with locks and the highlights, the short cape with a zigzag edge and red trim, the collar, the brooch, the shorts, and the shoes. Don’t draw on the white margin at the left — it goes under the seam.
5. Small parts: outlines. Trace the solid line around the collar, the two arms, and the bat.
6. Small parts: drawing. On the collar — the glue line at the bottom, on the arms — the cuffs and little fingers, on the bat — the eyes, mouth, and clip.

Color

7. Color: strip. Hair — black, leave the highlights white; above the arcs, all the way to the top edge: that’s the crown, and it shows from above. Cape — purple; the trim along its edges, the eyes, mouth, and brooch stone — red; the brooch setting — yellow; shorts and shoes — black; blush — pink. The face, ears, and shirt stay white. Leave a narrow white stripe along the dashed arcs, and outline the contours, pupils, and lashes in black.
8. Color: small parts. Collar and bat — purple, bat clip — yellow, cuffs — black. The sleeves and hands stay white, and so do the bat’s eyes. Outlines — black.

Cut

9. Cut out: strip. Cut out the strip together with the tab above the face. Cut into the corners by the tab from both sides.
10. Cut out: small pieces — 4 pcs. Cut out the collar, the two arms, and the bat. Between the bat’s wings, cut in from both sides.
11. Backs. Flip the collar and the bat. Color the whole back of the collar red: that’s the side you see in front, above the shoulders. The back of the bat — purple.

Roll

12. Roll the tube. Apply glue to the white area on the left. Roll the strip with the drawing facing out and lay the right edge over that area, up to the line. Press the seam for 10 seconds.

Fold

13. Spikes: top, back. Turn the tube with the seam facing you. Press your finger on the top edge above the seam: it will dent inward along the scored arc, and two black spikes will stand up at the sides.
14. Spikes: top, front. Turn the little vampire to face you. Apply glue to the underside of the tab above the face, from inside the tube, and press in the front of the top the same way: the tab will lie on top of the back half.

Assemble

15. Collar. Apply glue to the collar strip below the line. Glue it onto the back, with the middle on the seam and the bottom along the top edge of the cape. Bend the top out a little: the ends will rise behind the head.
16. Arms. Apply glue to the back of the sleeve from the shoulder to the cuff, but not the hand. Glue one arm on the left, hand up by the shoulder: the little vampire is waving. Glue the other on the right, hand down toward the edge of the cape.
17. Bat clip. Apply glue only to the yellow clip and the bottom of the bat's body. Glue it into the hair on the left above the face, wings up: the wings will rise above the crown.

Check

18. Stand it on the table. Set the little vampire on the table — he stands by himself. Turn him all the way around: the spikes are sharp, and the collar ends peek out from behind the head.

Done. The little vampire is done. Let the glue dry for 10 minutes — then you can put him on a shelf.

Make it with your phone camera

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