Using 3D/Blender to create a pattern from a 3D object

If you have basic knowledge on how UV's work in blender and creating seams this will be a breeze for you. If you are unsure it is still not a complicated process to understand and actually very useful. This weekend I came across a free plug in for blender that allows you to take the seams you have made on your 3D object and make it so you can sew it by creating a pattern. It seems complicated but the process is actually really straight forward.

In this image we see 3 pieces of my project. The UV map all the way to the left, the model with the seams drawn on it in blender in the middle, and the SVG file imported out of the program ready to print.

A few things to keep in mind when doing this process. Keep your 3d Model relatively low res, meaning it will be a lot easier to make seams without taking forever to draw them out. When drawing seams think about where they should go if you were going to sew the pieces together. Granted I did a really quick job with the basic head shape and should of cleaned up the seams a bit more but this gets the point across. I try to add the same seams I would add on a real head if I had taped it with duct tape. The plug in allows you to have an expanded view of all the parts and then pass it over to an SVG file to print.

You can see the expanded view and right underneath it you can see the original model. Once I downloaded an SVG viewer/converted the SVG file to a PNG or JPG I was able to save it and put it side by side. So the expanded head has been cut into parts and flattened. By drawing the seams where I wanted I have all the necessary parts to put the head together in hollow foam.

Plug in: http://thomaskole.nl/s2s/ 

So why do I like this method of making a pattern, simple answer would be it saves me time and materials. I want to tackle a larger project doing this method such as digitigrade legs with feet included. I will probably either do a large format print out at Kinko's/Fedex/Office Depot/Staples (to avoid piecing together paper at home with my regular sized printer paper) or use my projector to blow up the design big on the wall and draw it on poster paper and cut out. Either way this would be a really neat idea to use this method large scale.

Debating doing a really simple head base and posting it up here for people to print and test on their own or a nose pattern. I plan on making a tutorial on how to create the seams and pass the pattern over to print for the ones interested in this process.