June 30, 2010

Platonic Solid Lanterns Papercraft

These geometric Christmas light covers are the work of the "playful.geometer" at Flickr. The five different covers are based on the five shapes of the Platonic Solids. The lovely patterns on each of the solids are "kaleidoscoped" fractal images. I like the paper lantern effect these have when they are lit up. Templates for each of the five are available here. If you are interested in creating your own decorative patterns, a educational math website has some blank Platonic Solid templates available here.

4 comments:

  1. You have a knack for finding models that make me say, "Oh hey, that's cool," while browsing Google Reader.

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  2. How are the shapes created with the kaleidoscoped tiles? There are various shapes but how do you create them with the templates?

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    Replies
    1. Hi Kikila. I checked the link in the post above and found it no longer points to the correct place. I have corrected the link. Try following it. Things should make more sense now. Some of the templates consist of a single side of a platonic solid which must be printed multiple times then taped or glued together to form the solid.

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