Paper Cuts: Create an Original Cut Paper Illustration

1. Introduction: Hi, everyone. My name is Carolyn Boychik, and I'm an illustrator who's mostly known for Micah paperwork. I went to Ringling College of Art and Design and graduated in 2011. Since then, I've been working full time as a textile designer at a fashion company, but I also freelance as a Cup paper illustrator. A lot of times I'm asked what my technique is for these illustrations, and I'm really excited to be able to share that with you through the skill share, of course. Paper cuts, creating your own Cup paper illustration. Over the years, I ever find my workflow and broken it down into steps. I'm gonna teach you my whole process from concept tools, drawing color cutting, gluing and painting techniques. How to assemble. And finally, how to display these techniques will lay the base work for you to be able to design your own cut paper illustrations in the future 2. Project Assignment : hi again. Thanks for taking my skills. Your class. I'm really excited to get started. So let's dive right in. As you know, the project is to create your own original cut paper illustration. This is one of my favorites that I've done. Um, it, I think, has really fun character with good color and has a site a tight, solid composition. Andi, I think that's what attracts people the most to cut paper illustration. The fact that it's so unique, it shows that. And it's just different from a lot of illustration that's out there today. So I'm gonna walk you through the steps of everything that ideo. And I'm gonna really encourage you guys to work through your concept and drawing and thumbnails and make sure that they are the best that they can be and that you are really, really happy with it because you're going to spend a lot of time with an Exacto in your hand and you don't want to end up hating your drawing. Also, I'm gonna encourage you to do something a little bit smaller and maybe not as intricate, especially if this is your first time. I'm gonna be working on a project that's a little bit larger and a little bit more intricate, so that you guys can see how to take my technique and apply it to a small illustration and build your way up to a larger one. I can't wait to see what you guys dio Let's get started. 3. Concept and Thumbs: Hi, guys. Let's talk about concept on thumbnails. So for my project, as I mentioned, is a little bit larger in a little more intricate. I wanted to do something that's really cute and would work well in a kid's bedroom. I decided to do a bunch of African animals with a lot of greenery around them. So I started looking up different pictures of animals or pictures I've taken of animals on , and I started doodling and sketching and coming up with different ideas and images for that . Um, from there I started some nailing. I normally do about 20 to 30 thumbnails for each illustration, and here's an example of a page of them. They're really loose and gestural, and they probably don't make a whole lot of sense to anyone else. But to me, they make sense. And that's what good to keep in mind when you're thought nailing is it doesn't matter if it doesn't actually look like an elephant. As long as you know it's an elephant and that's where you want it to be, and that's the movement you want of it, then it's going to work, and I would just stick with that I really encourage you guys to exhaust thumbnails and really work through it. Do as many as you can until you feel like you've literally done every composition for your idea that you humanly can. Um, I think is really important to really flesh out your idea, especially at the stage, because it's pretty easy to change. And I promise your first idea is not your best. So I'm going to name some inspirational artists. I think they're really great to look at, especially for the different kinds of cut paper illustrations that's out there. A lot of these people are my own personal heroes, and I highly recommend all of their websites, starting with Helen Muscle Weight and Ma Dwight, Thomas Witt, Brittney Lee, Meghan Brain and Kevin Kidney. There just a handful of companies for artists who are out there that you can gather inspiration from. But for now, let's gather our concept, do some thumbs of meet back here 4. Tools of The Trade: Hi, guys. We're gonna be talking about tools of the trade in this video. So the first thing that I recommend that you have is obviously your sketchbook, a piece of paper and a pencil. Um, this is I'm assuming that you already have it just because you've been thumb nailing and concept ing that out of the way, the next thing I'm gonna highly recommend is a frame. Um, I know a lot of people will make their a piece of artwork and then go to a find a frame for it. I find with this particular kind of illustration, people have a really difficult time framing it just because it's so three dimensional. And unless you build it in, it's just not gonna work as well. So what I'm using is this black frame that it came with a mat. And as you can see, it's double matted. So it has that nice depth already. Um, I like the double maths. And when I do my drawing, I literally just trace this Matt and draw directly into that, and it helps me visualize what I'm trying to convey. So the next thing I would recommend is paper, paper is obviously the most important part of a cup. Paper illustration. Uh, this. I got it. Michael's. Unfortunately, I live in a place where we don't have a lot of nice high end, um, art sores. So I have to make do with what I have. The only thing that I would really triple check is that you're using card stock that is acid free. Acid free is really important because it makes sure that your illustration isn't going to yellow or fall apart over time. Thing is the glue, so I use this Scotch quick, dry it. He's a for me. This is what I found works best. I know a lot of artists who also use glue sticks, but for me, I really like the liquid glue. I feel like if I have a really heavy piece, I can just glue it together a little more securely. I'm always worried that when I'm shipping, appease that it gets knocked around and falls over, um and like, falls apart because the glue didn't take well enough. Um, I haven't had that problem with us, so that's good news. If you're more comfortable using a glue steak or a different brand. That's totally fine. Just again. Make sure it's acid free. It will say right, so on the label. And if it doesn't, I wouldn't take the chance. The next thing is the exact A bleed. This is just a basic exacta ble that I picked up from Dick Blick. It's my personal favorite. It just takes number 11 blades. I like this kind because it has the nice cushioned body. Um, where I feel a lot of times I have I've used the metal Exacto blade and it ends up causing callouses or pain right there. This is what I've gone with. If you have just a regular metal Exacto, that's totally fine, too. It'll get the job done. Next thing I have extra exacta bleeds. So I have this a never ending supply. Um, these are really great. And I recommend the Exacto brand, um, again, number 11 blades. Um, I found that they work the best for corners and curves and tight edges. Um, I really you don't need to get a box this large, but I would really recommend getting at least a small pack. They do sell just like three or five blades. Um, in a plastic pack at most craft stores. So I really recommend getting that because as soon as your blade dolls and trust me, you're gonna be really surprised how quickly adults, um assume that the jewels you're not gonna get those nice, clean lines that you want, and it's going to start making your edges look frayed and a little frazzled. And you kind of just don't want that. Um, so definitely pick up an extra pack when you're out getting your supplies. The next thing are being brushes. So I recommend these two sizes. Um, the square one is one of my personal favorites for adding texture or large brush strokes to any object. Um, it's pretty basic. No need to, like break the bank on the most expensive paper she confined. I wouldn't go any bigger than this. I personally like the square one, because I think it gives it a really nice texture, especially when you're Dr Rushing something and this really small paintbrush, which comes to a really nice point, and I can get nice detail with it. So I would recommend at least two brushes that size and, of course, acrylic paint. Um, so I use acrylic. I know there's several artists out there who used wash. Um, you can pretty much use any paint you want, and the last supply is actually a photocopier. So I have my drawing finished, and you're gonna need several different copies of this drawing in order to start cutting. And I'll explain why in the next episode, But, um, for now, you're gonna need about 10 copies, and all you to do is go to Staples or, um, FedEx office if you don't have a home copier. Um, black and white copies are very cheap. And I would suggest just running out and doing several copies if your image is larger than the 8.5 by 11. Um, image like I have for my copier. Um, I always just do it in two separate parts, and I'm able Teoh overlap. That way, I have one full drawing in real scale. Um, and when you make your copy, I would suggest doing at least two darker just so that your lines are clearly there. You're able to see very clearly where you need to cut. Um, and then you just have to hit copy. And I think you're good. Um, so those of the supplies that you'll need for this project I know it seems like a lot, but I promise that it's going to be worth it. All right, See in the next video. 5. Safety Tips: Hi. I would be giving you a quick safety video about exacta bleeds. So the Exacto is obviously something you can't do cut paper without. However, it is very dangerous. And I dare you to find one art school student who hasn't either injured themselves or has had a friend whose entered themselves in Exacto. So this is your first time using this tool. Be really, really careful. Um, take your time and go slowly and as you learned, will be like working with paper on top of paper. So a photocopy on top of a piece of cars, Stark. And when you're working like this, it can be really easy to slip. Um, and, like, lose your footing if you will. Um, so it's important to make sure you press down hard with your left hand. Teoh, keep the top paper study, uh, and press really hard with the Exacto, but never cut towards you. Never put your fingers in the way of a blade. Um, always to the side of it. So if you do slip, you're not cutting your hand. Um, again, Just be really careful, because I would heat of anyone got injured. Um, so, like I said when you cut it, even when you're going around tight corners just be mindful where your fingers are. Don't get into here because if you slip, you're gonna cut your hand, Um, work to the side, work away from your yourself, Um, and just be really careful. 6. Drawing and Colors: Hi, guys. So in this video, we're going to talk about the drawing and color. So this is my final drawing, and you can see it's really well worked out and you can see the outline of my mat. Um, because when I was drawing, I had my matt nearby and would literally hold it up and see how it look for the final piece . So you can see in this drawing how some areas, like the drafts head, will break out of the border. I'll show you how to get that technique down. Um, but I want you to keep in mind that it's okay to do that. And it's okay to break the border as long as you have room. But if you have a frame that it just ends here and has no Matt, I wouldn't suggest doing that because I know you can't, um, but I want you to take a look at your drawing and make sure it's as worked out as us. Um, you want clean lines? Easy to understand. You know where you're going to cut. Um, like, for me, this lion's head is going to be several different pieces, so I'm going to cut this large shape. His muzzle, um, his nose, his actual nose and his eyes. And those were going to be the different pieces of that cut. And I know that because I have clearly marked it for myself. I know what that means. Um, as well as these parts and his main that our little tick marks. Um, I highly recommend doing that so that you remember to And when you're actually cutting, um, it's in your face and you're aware of it. Um, you can see even all of the leaves that I worked out and how on occasion will overlap. Um, so I know that when I'm going to my final piece, I know where to cut this elephant's trunk, and I know where to cut this leaf s. So I really suggest you guys draw through things. Um, no one else is gonna be seeing this drawing except you. So it's really gonna help your final piece. You can see you how, um, pieces overlap and how they're going toe overlap in the final. So that's a drawing. And hopefully that really helps explain how well worked out it should be. Um, keeping in mind that your composition is important, and having large open spaces doesn't always work for this media. Um, I have seen a most work when there's pieces of interest. It does not have to be his compact of this. I did that intentionally. Um, you can have a little bit of openness, but I would just suggest adding a texture or something that's interesting about that openness. So now it's time for color. So as I mentioned, I mostly pick up my paper from either random used hymns that I happened to be at or Michael's Arts and Crafts, which most of this is actually for Michael's. So I like to work with my drawing nearby. And if you're going to buy papers specifically for this, bring your drawing with you and hold the piece of the paper together and see how they play . That's exactly what I dio. So this is I'm planning on being my ground color, so it's gonna be the background, and it's gonna peek through in little places where the leaves don't cover. So, like in here, it's going to be dark blue. Um, and I wanted to pick out a leaf color that played well with that. So I went with these two because I didn't want them to be flattened. Boring. I'm sorry. These three. I didn't want it to be flattened. Boring. I wanted to add a level of interest to it. Um, so I have different shades of green to add a little bit more interest. Um, I always have a black piece of paper for their eyes. You are welcome to make that any color that you want. Um, I just have my personal signature of See the little black dots or eyelashes or closed happy , smiling eyes for the draft since he's up in the corner. I wanted a pretty orange to go with it, and you can see how the value plays well with each other. I want the green leaves and the ground to fall back. So anything that's in the foreground should have a lighter value. Um, so I wanted them to play well with the green, but also really stand out. And I feel like this value and color really does what I want it to dio and then for the lion. I didn't want him to get lost since he was close to the giraffe. but I didn't want him to stand out too much. Actually, his color does. So I wanted to space to stand out a little bit more. I wanted to be a nice radiant between the draft and the lion. So I chose those for the lion's mane and this for his face. So his face is going to pop more, then his main. And then this color I chose for the Cheetah. So it would be this nice, pretty Grady in of orange to medium orange to yellow. Um, and then the little antelope in the middle. I chose a pretty red, um, because I'm actually going to tone down with a little bit of paint. So it's not so blood red, but a little bit more of a brownie red. And then on the other side, I chose different colors for the rhinoceros and elephant. Um, I chose a little bit of a light grey blue. So again, you're gonna have this nice orange to blue fade. Um, So I chose that, and I think it stands out well against the two greens as well as the orange. They have a nice play together. And for this guy, you can see they're very similar in color, but they're obviously different values. So since he's the largest shape on here, um, and so heavily anchored in the ground, um, corner, I have the lighter color for him, so he doesn't draw as much attention to himself. But he also has a really nice play with the green so that these color is all played well together. So I keep coming back to the fact that my main ground elements are all going to play well with the colors of all of the animals I've chosen. And for me, I literally stand in the scrapbooking section at Michael's, and I pull out all of these different color papers and I mix and match. Um, and I hold them together and I compare the values and I hold him up against my drawing, and I decide what colors I really want for here. It could be a little challenging, since you're kind of stuck with what your options are. Um, I don't often like to paint over the color of the paper too much. I'll add the little accents, but I won't necessarily completely paint over it. I just feel like it weakens the papers, so try not to depend on that too much. Um, try to really think about the colors and how they play together and how they're all going to sit on this page. Um, so that's my process, and I hope that helps. And I hope you guys have a lot of fun picking out your paper colors. 7. Cutting Gluing Painting Part 1: everyone. So this video is gonna be about cutting, gluing and painting. I kind of love them all in, because for me, it kind of all takes place at once. I'm gonna start with the ground or the background. Um, So as I mentioned, I'm using this dark blue, and it's gonna fill in this area behind believes and the animals. So I think I'm actually going to use about this size. Um, So I'm gonna show you a basic way. I cut a character, and I'm going to start with this cheetah right here. Somebody used this area right here, and all I'm gonna dio is late, my photocopy over it. So I'm just going to start with the broad shape. So I'm going to start with, like, the shape of his head. Um and I'm just going to trace my photocopy with enough pressure to cut through both sheets of paper. This is why a sharp knew Exactly. It was extremely important. And in places where it overlaps like his chin here, I cut through it so that you see how easily that cut out. Um, so then I remove my paper so you can see I have um, the head right here. Something to take money. Photocopy again. And this is why I recommend several different copies. Because if you have a lot of layers or just aren't feeling that confident about your ability, Teoh cut from a single piece, I don't recommend cutting from the pieces that you've already cut out like this guy's face . I wouldn't cut the details out of here just because this is really hard to hold on to as opposed to this whole sheet. Um, so definitely keep that in mind. You are working with a sharp blade, so it's very easy to slip. Um, when you're using a tiny piece of paper like that, Um, so I just get out of the years there, there, they don't look like much. And like I said, I like to cut through objects so you can see his head was right here. And that's where I cut originally. On the back of it, you can see I'm going to have about that much. Um, so there is plenty of room to make that more three. Um, so then I'm just gonna cut out the rest of his body, which I just have his neck in here. So I'm gonna move over to a new nice open space and just follow my lines. And again, I'm gonna cut beyond where he ends up stopping and again, I cut well into where his head is. Um, And again, this is his neck. So once I have his main body done, I like to make just a neat little pot pile of all of this piece. I'm going to do his eyes and nose, and I just start cutting the outline of his eyes. Take your time here. Really apply enough pressure and make sure your blade a shirt. It took me a lot of practice to be able Teoh quickly and easily cut out eyes like this, and I'm really could have his nose so you can see that the eyes have been cut out already and I want to be able to glue the eyes to this piece and then this piece to the cheetah head. So I'm going to start by cutting through the middle of the I and is usually advisable to cut the top shape first and then the shape that will overlap just because once that way you can use the photocopy. Um, So for example, I cut out the nose, and now I'm cutting out the shape that will be attached to the nose. And then I'm cutting the bottom of the Cheetah Chen, which again is going Teoh overlap with the his top lip, which I just cut out. Okay, so that's done. Now I'm going. Teoh, paint him. 8. Cutting, Gluing Painting Part 2: I'm going to grab another photocopy, but I'm not gonna cut from this one. I'm just gonna have it right here taking the small paintbrush for me. If I was doing a larger piece or someone that I wanted to add, a little more texture to it. That's when I would take Steve, uh, bigger square brush, which I can also for you. So this is a said. This is going to be where his highlights are. So I just start gently painting in the side. It's very simple. Don't go too overboard. You can always add more later. Um, and I just give it that little line on the side in that piece is pretty much done. I'm actually gonna show you the I like to use a dry brush when I'm using the square brush. Um, so I don't add any water to it, and I just gently sweep it and you can see how it gives a little bit more of a, um, interesting texture than the thin brush. So moving on to his ears, just giving it the thin edge with my brush. And again the lights gonna hit this side for this one. And so for such a light texture on something like his lips or I'm sorry. His muzzle. I'm going. Teoh had a white, um, Because it's so late Already, I've found that a lot of different colors don't really, uh, show up. And I'm going to use just a little bit of blacks, so I'm just gonna bring it to a nice point and paint the edge of his lips right at the edge of his lips. Um, it's just gonna give that nice little outline and contrast. So now I'm going to start gluing this together. 9. Cutting, Gluing Painting Part 3: So now I'm going to start gluing this together. So I'm gonna lay down like hut pieces great on top of my drawing so that I'm making sure that I am keeping the integrity of my drawing strong, Um, and exactly how I want it. So I'm taking my glue and just gently putting a little bit. That's about enough for a piece the size I'm taking the head and just gently slotting into place and then pressing down where the glue is and just gently press so you can see kind of looks like him that year and just a little dab of glue right at the end. Um, really, Just a small dad will be fine for such a small piece, and then just slide it in underneath and press, and then another drop of glue on the other side. Just make sure your pieces are lined up on your drawing and slide that piece in and press, and so it's starting to really look like him. So next I'm going to take his eyes and glue them, Teoh his eyebrows, and then I just lay the eyebrow over the drawing, so I put a little bit of glue on the back of this up, and I just gently followed by drawing and place on top of the eyebrow. Impressive. And I'm going to do the same thing for the left one. Just a little dab of glue and then put him right on top. Perfect. So we have the left in the right eye. So I'm going to glue his nose on, which really just sits right at the top, Um, of his little muscle that I cut out a little dab of glue and press and there he is. And then I'm going to take his chin and put just a little dab of glue again. And I'm just going to line it up again, compress it down. So it's nice and secure and perfect. So I have his muzzle worked out. So with pieces that I can't really see through, I just kind of like to put them rate directly next to each other. So they line up and lay the pieces down and see if I can get us close, the best possible. So I'm gonna take this guy his nose and put a little them a blue, um, Ray at the top of his muzzle, and I'm gonna take it and lay it down and get it as close to my dry as possible. Just give it a little nudge, okay? Again. Just putting a little bit of glue right here, impressing it down. That just press under its. So this guy's all glued together. So I'm gonna show you the little painting tricks that I have to bring out these little details that I probably wouldn't be able to get without pain. 10. Cutting, Gluing Painting Part 4: So since he's a cheetah and we're just gonna have small black doubts when I'm adding little details, I like to keep in mind my design. I don't like to just add random, whatever. I like the angularity of this guy's face. So I want to keep that kind of designed element to him. And that's just something to keep in mind while you're doing this so again, just keeping him behind my design elements. Um, I don't want to create perfect spots, but I want them to be fairly perfect. So I'm going back over anything that doesn't look right to me. I like to use paint instead of ink, Um, in places like this, because I feel like it really uses the texture and works in the texture where it kind of just sits on top, where paint fills through. Um, I'm gonna give them a little blood tip on here. Give it that nice curve. Shape the edge. If you feel like you're paint doesn't get dark enough, don't be afraid, Teoh. Go over with the second coat. So this is somewhere that I am going to using where it's such a fine detail that I definitely can't get that with a paintbrush. I'm gonna go in and just add his whiskers. Um, and I like the way that they were drawn. So I want to keep that integrity. When you use ink like this, you kind of have Teoh, um, go over it a couple times, because again, it doesn't really fill in as well. So you can see how I added his whiskers right there. So this guy's actually done. Now, um, I am going to put him off to the side, and I'm gonna move onto my next character. Now, I want you guys to go and take this technique and apply it to your own illustration, and then I'm gonna show you in the next video how to assemble it all together. So I'm gonna go start on the rhino, and I'm going to put him this little cheetah off to the side for now. So good luck. I can't wait to see your progress. Um, and I'll see you in the next video 11. Cutting Through Details: um so I'm just going to leave a decent amount, top of the edge, but not too terribly much so. I have the first least And I know I want to have a kind of design in here, so I'm going to go ahead and cut that out. Now, if you don't feel comfortable free handing your design like this, um, you're more than welcome to start by cutting out the extra designs within a leaf, um, or any other shape that you have. And there was leave one. So again, I know that my matins here about halfway down the leaf and there's gonna be a little bit of overlap in the first league as well. So I know to cut beyond the mat. - And here's leave, too. And I'm going to go ahead on and paint them like I did the Cheetah. Um, you can see how they're going to sit together. We paid them after I get this little section could help. So I'm gonna move onto my next section, and I physically think of them as obviously and sections. So I'm gonna take this whole area in this one in this one and this one and So I'm so I'm just gonna, like, take chunks and work through them, and I'm just gonna be switching colors as I go. And as I mentioned, I like to just work one step at a time so I can see here that this is going toe overlap, and I'm just gonna continue this shape through. So I'm gonna start there, - and I know from my drawing I want to have a little cut right here. Just add a little bit more dimension. And there's the piece that sits behind the two leads up from So there are going to sit together. A similar to this. When you actually assemble it, it will be a lot more dimensional. But you can see how in here this back piece shows through this front piece. So you want to make sure that it isn't just a ugly, jagged line, and you want to make sure that you think through your shapes and what's going to show and what's not. So I hope that helps, and I'm going to cut out the rest of the background, and then we can move on how to assemble. So you're seeing 12. Assembling Part 1: Background Elements: Hi, guys. Okay, so in this video, we're gonna cover assembling. So I have all my pieces cut out. Have about 1000 leaves right here and all of my different animal shapes. They kind of look funky, all just hanging out with, like, weird edges and everything. Um, and I have a copy of my final drawing. So room with these out of my way kind of put him off to the side for a second. And I'm going to work with the back of my frame and my matt close by. So here is the back of my frame, and I usually work directly into it or on top of it. Rather, um, I just find it a little bit easier. Um, and like I mentioned before, the framing is a huge part of us. A lot of people have difficulty finding the right frame or having a frame or understand how to make a frame for this. So if you can kind of market your piece toe already being a frame, uh, makes it a little bit easier for clients yourself, Whoever you're making this for, um, So mind square, if you're using a rectangle, I just make sure that you're going the right direction. Um, mine has the little hanger pulls a top, so I'm just going to work with those facing up. And I am going to take my background color and place it directly on it, and just and just run some glue along the edges. Um, I like to put a little bit more than necessary on the back just because it's going to be supporting a lot of weight and just press it firmly down, okay? And I'm going Teoh. Well, my drawing out and match it up on top of my, um, Matt. And I'm just going to start taking my background elements. Probably is nice little leaves and basically making up the puzzle and just doing layer by layer. So this first leaf I have coming on the very top, Matt, Like I mentioned, this is a double Matt. So there's a little bit of space in between the first and second Matt. Um, and this first leaf, I have coming directly on top of the top, Matt. So I'm gonna end up going it in two spots, um, one right here and one down here, so I'm gonna take it. Like I said, glue this little back part and glue read at the edge where it goes under the first Met. So part of its going under and part of it's going over. So I'm gonna put the underneath part first, still lining it up to my drawing and I'm going to press right here. So that's nice. I'm gonna wait any excess glue off with my nails and I'm going to go underneath your with my Exacto and just gently push up and pushed down with my mat and just hold that for a couple of seconds and let that dry. I'm gonna wipe off this little loose much. And so for the next piece, I'm gonna have him pretty much in the same place right under here like that, following a lot of my drawing. I like these double mats because they give a little bit of depth without having to make it yourself, so it kind of just makes your life a little bit easier 13. Assembling Part 2: Characters: to make a mark of desolation. All right. Okay. So I'm taking my first character and putting it into this little leaf puzzle I've made on the grip. Um, bottom corner here, I'm just gonna take some glue and again put it along the bottom and just let him right in lame over the drawing and gently press down, Making kind of see how important Miss Teoh really think through your shapes did you consume and you can see a little bit better. Um, where you can kind of see have the backgrounds creeping through, and hopefully you can see that within your own illustration. So I'm putting the rhino, and now and I just want a little piece of blue raid on the side and damn aside. So I'm doing two corners because I know I'm going to want to put leaves right here, and I want to be sure I can just screwed him right into underneath the mat. I looked up, slide him into place and push him down. So his ear I purposely wanted over the mat. And I'm not liking so much where it's landing. So if I just hold my piece of paper down and pull them up. A little bit will separate, and I've been screwed him. But we're just a tiny bit more to be more where I want him to be. And then I can just press back down and because they were these leaves down first, they're obviously over the rhino, and I want the rhino to be on top. So I just lift him up cause I only have its head glued to his body over here, so this whole piece is able to be lifted. So my next piece, big pieces, this little guy and I'm just gonna pop them in place and make sure it's well. And I'm saying that there's a big bald spot right here, So I'm actually going to pull off the last league I just put down cause I'm going to move it up so he covers a little bit better. I'm just gonna do it gently bending back when it comes right off. You might get some paper fraying and peeling, and that's fine as long as it's not in your deal division. All right, so now, but that peace is nicely laid in. I'm going to glue this guy. Just put glue along the bottom e get dropped men light him up and just gently press. So I'm gonna take my draft from put him in here and see how you know, Obviously, you can't see where I'm placing as head because you can't see through the paper. Um, but again, just putting a little bit of blue along the bottom, and I'm actually going to put them on the back of his head so that there's no stress on the paper being bent backwards like that. I'm gonna start by just sliding it in. So I actually really like where he's placed right now, and I'm just going to press down until the leaves and press his head down. Now I'm gonna place to elephant. He's a little tricky because I know I want late fall, sir. No, I want part of them to be out on a lot of them to be within the frame. I'm just kind of placing him down. And for him, I'm going to glue his ears on to the very top of the map and at the same time, I'm gonna push his face down so that it creates a little bit of stress on the paper while also holding the glue spot down 14. Assembling Part 3: Forced Depth: and now it's all assembled. What you're gonna dio that's like pieces this kind of pull out some of the three D elements . So a lot of these lots of layers all sitting on top of each other, the best way to pull it out it is. Just take your Exacto and the places that you didn't go down, Hold down where you don't want to bend and then pull up where you dio and what kind of just create this nice little curb hot zone So holding down the head of the right now just kind of creating this curl So it creates these nice little pop elements and places like this where his whole head is popping up. If you don't like that, you can just put a little bit of glue behind something like its horn and just press that down and you can kind of push it forward a little bit degree, a little bit more depth or a little bit less so just go around and kind of pull these things off that you want Teoh create a little bit of a natural shadow. Okay, I know when I put the frame down, it's going to flatten us that out. So it's important for me to like, pull things up like her eyelashes so that there might be just a tiny bit of of depth to it . You know, it's laying up against the flat glass, and I'm going to exaggerate this a little bit. Keeping this stuff in my when you're blowing is important so that you don't glue down where you want really makes stand out or make it really cool in three D on this spot here that I don't really like some just trimming it up. 15. Frame: So I just have my Matt without my friend, with all of the pieces. Didn't see my finger come into right there. So without all the pieces, and I just wanna wipe anything I see off if you have any little marks and you did a race here is great to get those off. I was gonna flip him over, put him down. Right Like that. This is the back, which is always really an interesting part for me. Then here is the back of my dream. I'm just gently going to slide in before I close it up. I'm gonna look at it and make sure it looks good. Not really any dirt or anything trapped under here that I see. So go ahead and close it. I have my finished piece. 16. Upload Your Project: Hey, guys. So hopefully you've been following along with the other videos. By now, you should have your final piece put together and ready to display. Now, I'm gonna ask you to take a good picture of it and go ahead and post it in the project section of the skill share class. I'm really excited to see what you guys have come up with. Um, and if you have any questions or concerns or anything like that, please post in the discussion section. You're also welcome to tweet me. Um, my twitter handle is at Caroline Doodle C a r o L i n e d o d l e s. But, you know, if you post in the skill share discussion comments, you might be helping out another student. So I'm gonna do my best and reply dio any questions that are asked there. But most importantly, I really, really, really want to see what you guys have done with my technique in your own illustrations. So, please, post, um, if you really enjoyed this class, I 1000% appreciate a feedback on scale share. Um, so please do that if you would like, but no big deal if you don't. I just appreciate you guys taking the time to watch these videos and learn a little bit more about cut paper illustrations. And like I said, I'm really excited to see what you guys have done. So the best way to take photos I've learned of these things are in direct sunlight, Um, specifically natural sunlight. Um, just because it creates a little bit more pop in the color and everything's a little bit more natural looking. You don't get that weird yellow effect that you might under, um, artificial late so you can use a smartphone if you have a nice digital camera that works really well, too. But smartphone will be just fine. Just go ahead, take your piece outside on a nice, sunny day and just be mindful of your own shadow and casting a weird shadow on your piece and just snap a couple of pictures. Um, if you have photo shop, you can bring them in, if not, just upload, as is. No matter what kind of picture you took. Go ahead and upload it like I said, super excited to see what you guys have done. And I'm really excited to see what you guys do in the future with us. So good luck and happy uploading 17. Conclusion: Hey, guys. 10%. Just closing thoughts. This is my final friend piece. And what? I always tell people who I either give my pieces to you or who buy them. Make sure you display out of direct sunlight. It is acid free paper, so it means that won't fall apart on its own. But it will. Son Bleach. Make sure whoever is the recipient of your lovely pieces knows that, Um, And if you want to properly store your own work, just make sure Teoh keep it in a safe drive. Just a couple of notes about my own piece. So this is the final that's framed. And you can see how the pulling the paper up at the end really created that three D illusion. Um, there a couple of spots that I wish I had done it more in which I may go back and dio and keep in mind, this is your piece. So you're welcome to do whatever you'd like. Um, you can especially see the depth right here in the lion's face, Um, and the leaves right in front of him. So I hope you took something away from this class. I hope that has really inspired you to work with this awesome media. And I'm honestly, really excited to see what you guys dio. And I'm really excited to see your works in the future. So good luck and happy cutting.