Create a realistic 3D Giraffe portrait with this printable template. OR, if you’d rather get creative, use the line art version and go crazy with colour!
This is a fun craft to celebrate African safari animals (see also our 3D Zebra portrait). It’s easy to put together, involving basic papercraft skills of scoring, folding, cutting and gluing.
The finished craft looks fantastic hanging on the wall.
Although I say it’s easy, the design is still quite complex and time-consuming to colour. Age recommendation is 8+, but younger kids could make it with adult help. You could extend the project for older kids, teens and adults by experimenting with colours.
I made a zany pink and yellow giraffe with green and purple horns, and a monochromatic giraffe by sticking to neutral grey, black and white. The mono giraffe looks like he needs a bow tie (which would be fun to add!).
I’m not sure which giraffe I like best. Here’s a side profile.
Are you ready to make your own giraffe? Here’s how …
How to make a 3D Paper Giraffe
You will need
- Card stock in white (2 sheets per giraffe), plus a colour of your choice for the background page
- Scissors
- Glue stick
- Markers, pencils, crayons, etc if colouring your own
- Optional cutting mat, ruler and scoring tool (recommended for easy and more accurate folding)
- The printable template, available from our printables store and TPT store
How To
Print the template of choice to card stock. If using the colour-your-own version, colour your giraffe.
Optional: score the fold lines on your giraffe head to make folding easier. Do this by placing the sheet on a cutting mat, holding a metal ruler against each fold line and running your scoring tool along them to create an indent.
Cut the shapes out.
Glue the head and neck onto the backing sheet.
Fold all the fold lines on the head shape.
Place glue on all the tabs, then glue the face to the geometric piece at the back. Start by lining the top of the head up to the base of the horns, then glue the side folds down at angles that match the shape.
Glue the snout into place last of all. This is slightly tricky because the snout sits forward at an angle.
What colour are you going to make yours?
More realistic wild animal crafts
- 3D Paper Zebra portrait
- Paper chain pythons, based on the Jungle Carpet Python and the Green Tree Python
- 3D Paper Macaw
- 3D Honey Bee
- 3D Periodical Cicada
- Paper Plate ocean animals
Check out more of our 3D paper animal crafts
Hello, I am interested by the giraffe template in black and white. with the instructions
I would like the children paint it. Is that possible?
Thank you Dominique Roulé. – Carnac – Brittany. France
Yes, there is both a full colour and a black and white line art version included in the printable file. It’s available from our printables store here: https://www.superfunprintables.com/collections/frontpage/products/3d-giraffe-portrait