How to: make a character house
Published on 18 May 2022
Instead of throwing cereal containers and milk cartons away, use them to make a miniature house with character.
Happy houses
Follow these simple instructions and have a go at designing your own character house! We’ve taken inspiration from our John Hejduk exhibition London Masque. Hejduk was an architect and he designed spaces for different characters. From gardeners to plumbers, park attendants to poets, dancers to butterfly collectors, Hejduk had a space in mind for everyone. He also imagined spaces for different activities, like thinking. The space in London Masque is designed for wailing. Who do you want to use your building? What do you think they will do inside your building?
What you need
• Card (you can use a cereal packet or juice carton)
• Tape
• Scissors
• Pencil
• Craft knife
• Paper clips
If you like, you can use felt tip pens or crayons to decorate. You can also use straws, lollypop sticks, or disposable cutlery to give your house stilts.
Step by step
Choose your card. We’re using green A4 card, but you could use a cereal packet, the back of a pizza box or a juice carton.
Fold your card in half lengthways and, using the fold line as a guide, cut it in half to create two long panels.
Take one of your long panels and, using the short edge, make a small flap.
Then fold the whole panel in half and in half again, using your thumbnail to make a crease.
Make this panel into a box so that each of the folds becomes one the four corners of your box.
Hold it in place with a paperclip.
To make the top of your box, take your box and place it at the end of your second panel of card.
Mark where the corners meet the card with a pencil dot.
Make sure they’re big enough to see!
Cut a square of card, slightly larger than the dots you’ve made.
Then make a cut from each corner towards each dot.
Fold down the flaps you’ve created.
If you like, you can tape the corners down.
Take the body of your house and draw two lines for eyes and a T shape for the mouth.
Remove the paperclip that’s holding the box shape together and, using your chopping board or cutting mat, cut out the eyes and mouth. (You can do this step with scissors, but it's a little easier to use a craft knife. Be sure to ask for help from a grown-up!)
Reassemble when you’re finished!
Take your remaining sheet and fold it in half and cut down the fold.
Take one of these squares of card and cut out two long triangles for ears and a few small shapes too.
To give your house ears, stick the two long triangles onto your house using tape.
Cut some slits in your roof.
Push the small shapes through the topside of your roof to give your house hair.
Admire your work!
And there you have it! A house with real character.
Show us your character houses! Share a photo or video of your finished work with @royalacademy on Twitter or @royalacademyarts on Instagram.
Want to make more? Below there are a few suggestions to make your building really stand out.
Try curling thin strips of card with scissors for curly hair or folding thin strips of card over and over again to make frizzy hair.
You can add stairs, too! Make a concertina with some card that's the same width as your building's mouth.
Then elevate your building using knives and forks, paper straws, chopsticks, or lollipop sticks.
Try using a milk or juice carton, pizza box, or cereal container.
You can also decorate your building with crayons or felt tip pens.
Inspiration
We held a family workshop for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
Families learnt about the current display of John Hejduk’s London Masque and designed homes for their imaginary characters.
Have a look at what they made together!
Families at the RA
From artist-led workshops to family labels, and at-home art activities, we have a lot on offer for families – and kids under 16 go free to all RA exhibitions.
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