MECHANICAL BESTIARY
A pop-up book of mechanical insects.
Open it, and seven paper creatures rise from the gutter.
Build the book before it's finished. Print a creature from inside the app, fold it, and tell us how to make the instructions better. The Mechanical Bestiary is free on TestFlight. Join the beta (version 0.1 (33); this invitation is good through January 12, 2027).
This build, tell us about: In the app, turn to any creature, tap the gear (Show folds and joints), then Print this insect. Print at Actual Size: the bar on the first page must measure 50 mm. · These prototype patterns have not yet been assembled and tested by hand, and the Cricut files (Save Cricut files, on the same page) have not been cut on a real machine. If you build one, send photos with the book at 0°, 90° and 180° to studio@releaf.site, and tell us which step was unclear or which piece didn't fit. · Does your paper creature move the way the one in the app does?
For iPhone. The iPhone Duo hinge opens and closes the book.
HOW TO READ IT
Open the book
Turn your iPhone on its side, or open your iPhone Duo, and the pages lie open. Hold it upright and the book closes partway.
Touch a part
A wing cover lifts, a leaf flap opens, a lantern glows. Bring a finger slowly toward the cicada and it notices you.
Tilt the book
Tilt the phone and the light slides across the gold, enamel and lacquer. It moves as the pages turn, too.
SEVEN PAPER CREATURES
- Seven creatures: a cicada, a Hercules beetle, a leaf insect, a moth, a dragonfly, a praying mantis and a firefly
- Pages fold shut before they turn
- Light moves across gold, enamel and black lacquer as you open and tilt the book
- Folds and joints: look beneath the printed parts
- Print this insect: prototype cut-and-fold patterns for each creature, with pieces and assembly steps. They have not yet been assembled and tested by hand. A Cricut version of each pattern saves as SVG sheets for Design Space.
- No accounts, ads or tracking