How to make a paper sculpture step by step. Get inspired by ideas for interesting crafts by looking at paper sculptures by Benja Harney

Not many craftsmen are engaged in this type of creativity today. And very few have achieved success in this field.

Calvin Nicholas

The paper sculpture made by this unique artist is amazing and extremely realistic. In 1981, Calvin opened his own design studio in Toronto. And three years later he made his first experiment, trying to combine his love for wildlife and his craving for creativity. This is how paper sculpture was born.

Calvin Nicholas invented his own method of creating three-dimensional paintings, the subject of which were portraits of animals. First, he creates a rigid paper skeleton of the future object. Then the sculptor attaches small details to it: feathers, hairs, scales. Each piece is given a special texture using wooden and metal fixtures and tools. Nicholas achieves almost one hundred percent realism when depicting representatives of the animal world.

Paper sculpture by Piret Callesen

The whole world today knows the name of this artist. He creates his own paper sculptures using a combination of cutting and folding. Real masterpieces are obtained literally from a single A4 sheet.

These include incredible plot scenes and individual vivid images. His paintings contain a deep meaning, the fragility of the material carries romanticism, emphasizes the tragedy of the sculptures, shows how short-lived happiness is, how fragile human life is.

Wet paper sculptures

Spouses Allen and Patty Ekman have developed their own unique technique for creating real masterpieces from ordinary waste paper. The paper is deoxidized in a special way and turns into a homogeneous mass. A silicone mold is prepared in advance, into which the material is folded, compacted and then dried.

And here the craftsmen begin the most difficult stage of the work. Using a medical scalpel, the artists work out every smallest detail, every fold and hair, giving the sculpture amazing vitality and truthfulness.

It takes craftsmen more than a year to create one masterpiece. After all, first you need to fashion a sculpture from plasticine or clay. Then a silicone mold is made from it to cast the workpiece. And this is only the preparatory stage for work.

Of course, the most difficult thing is to remove everything unnecessary with precise movements. Even the smallest mistake in work can nullify all previous work, no matter how long and painstaking it may be.

Paper sculptures at home

Looking at the works of great masters, it seems that this is beyond the power of an ordinary person. However, it is possible to try to do something similar. Let it turn out not so highly artistically, not so masterfully, but from the heart.

So how to make a paper sculpture yourself?

First you need to sculpt the figure you want to create from plasticine.
The template is then covered with layers of silicone sealant. The total thickness of the mold must be at least 3 cm. The procedure is performed in two stages: the first layer must carefully fill all small recesses and crevices, after drying, the second layer directly creates the thickness of the future mold. Then you need to let the form dry thoroughly.
After all this, the workpiece is carefully cut and the plasticine is removed.
Now the paper pulp is prepared, with which the form is filled.
After drying, the workpiece is removed and processed with a sharp scalpel.
If necessary, paint or varnish is applied to the sculpture.

There are many recipes for creating paper pulp. The simplest one is that the paper is thoroughly soaked and crushed, squeezed out, a little sifted wood ash or gypsum is added to it and kneaded like dough.

From such a mass one can not only cast sculptures, but also sculpt them, as craftsmen do when working with clay and other materials.

"Paper sculpture

or paper plastic"

Possibilities of paper plastic

1. Decoration of any children's holiday, especially New Year's - Christmas tree decorations and interior design elements, children's costumes and various masks.

Possibilities of paper plastic

2.Make original greeting cards for any event and teach this to your students.

Possibilities of paper plastic

3. Supplement your costume with decorative elements using the paper plastic technique, which will allow you to look individually unique against the backdrop of general standardness and sameness.

A little bit of history

Chinese chronicles report that paper was invented in 105. n. e. Tsai Lunem;

Rice. 1. Map of China in the 2nd century. BC.

Tsai Lun's paper recipe was as follows:

crush mulberry fibers, wood ash, rags and hemp;
mix with water and place the resulting mass on a mold (wooden frame and bamboo sieve);
After drying in the sun, smooth this mass using stones.

The result was durable sheets of paper.

Rice. 3. The old way of manual

paper production.

Types of paper plastic

1. Origami ( translated from Japanese as “folded paper”) is the ancient art of folding paper models, which originated in Japan. It is very similar to crumpling paper, but in this case the folds and bends are not random, but are subject to the will of the artist, he himself decides where and when to make them.

Types of paper plastic

2. Quilling – paper rolling or paper filigree. This is the art of creating volumetric or planar compositions from strips of paper (Translated from English "bird feather" Originated in Europe at the end of the 15th and 16th centuries. In medieval Europe, monks created elegant medallions by twisting paper with gilded edges onto the tip of a bird's feather.

Types of paper plastic

3. Paper sculpture which is often called paper plastic (“plastic” from the Greek word "to sculpt" because in terms of the type of creativity it is more similar to sculpture than others and allows you to create semi-volume and volumetric compositions. In paper plastic, all products are hollow or empty inside; only their shells are created.

Materials and tools required for work:

1.Whatman paper ½
2. PVA glue.
3. Scissors.
4. Stationery knife.
5. Cardboard.
6.Compasses or any round objects.
7. Paper clips.

Safety Techniques

Use the knife carefully, do not put your fingers under the blade,
Pass the knife or scissors only closed (scissors – rings first);
Be careful when working directly with paper, or rather with the edge of a sheet of whatman paper (you can cut yourself!!!).

1 Method. A crumpled piece of paper looks like mountains.

Model "grouse"

Cut along the contour
Making cuts
We complete the elements with a punch
Deflections in cuts
Assembly

Model “Alyonushka”

Shape Analysis:

a large cone of half a circle,
at the bottom of which there is a geometric pattern.

Model “Alyonushka”

The cylinder is the basis of the head.

Model “Alyonushka”

The face has the shape of a segment (half an oval).

Model “Alyonushka”

The small cones are the sleeves.

Model “Alyonushka”

The hair is cut into strips, curled with scissors and glued to the inside of the head.
The palms are cut out in the form of mittens, then the fingers can be cut through.

Model “Alyonushka”

A scarf is a curved triangle.

Model “Alyonushka”

Buckets are cylinders.
You can cut out the rocker arm, which will add completeness to your model.

Expert advice

Whatman is the ideal paper for creating paper sculptures.
Our industry produces white Whatman paper in accordance with GOST. It is dense and this allows you to perform operations such as bending, twisting, slits and cuts.

Expert advice

Colored paper The one we have is too thin.
Paper sculpture Can made from colored paper, but here you need to follow some recommendations:
1. Colored paper should be dense .
2. Should not be colored finished product in watercolor or gouache.
3.You can paint the product with paint from spray cans.
4. It is undesirable to resort to using a large
quantities colors , in order to avoid fragmentation and diversity.

Expert advice

Don't limit your creativity . Having mastered the techniques of working with paper, you can create your own designs based on them, perhaps more interesting and original.

Try modeling yourself so that ready-made patterns do not deprive you creativity !!!

Conclusion

1. You were Interesting ?

2. You learned something new and interesting for myself?

3. You will use knowledge gained in your teaching practice?

"Paper sculpture

or paper plastic"

Each of us in childhood tried to make at least one paper airplane, crane or boat. At first glance, this seems like a completely childish activity. But Calvin Nichols, a talented artist from Toronto, Canada, has been doing this for 30 years. In his work he uses only scalpels, scissors and glue. What he creates from paper exceeds all expectations about the capabilities of this simple material.

It takes from one month to two years to create one work.

If you look closely, you can see in the dog's eyes who he is looking at.

The artist depicts not only every hair, but also conveys emotions.

To create a figure, first a rigid frame is made that describes the contours of the future figure. It gives the sculpture strength, and the main small parts are already attached to it.

The artist cuts the paper into thousands of small strips and assembles the sculpture by hand.

Wings are particularly difficult elements to perform.

To make the sculpture look three-dimensional, strips of paper are tightly laid in several layers.

When an artist works with white paper, it is important for him to consider the depth of each piece so that it creates the necessary shadow.

Calvin received an award for his work Bird of Paradise.

King of beasts.

“My passion for wild animals, nature, photography, design, sculpture, light and shadow has converged in one point - in my work. When I started in the 1980s, I had no idea what my work would look like 30 years from now.”

In Japan, paper art such as origami, kirigami and similar sculptures have long been traditional. How amazing and delightful are the beautiful paper crafts arranged in three-dimensional compositions.
Sometimes it can be very difficult, or even impossible, for a non-professional to repeat them even using diagrams and master classes. But if you really want to do something like that, you start looking for compromises. While searching, I came across the author of the paper sculpture, Benja Harney. Benja himself successfully applies his favorite hobby in the commercial sphere, advertising, and mass media, so this is not a hobby for him, but a job. I really liked the idea of this creativity; making a figure this way, in my opinion, is much easier than folding it using the origami technique.

The method is really not that difficult to master. At the graphic design department, we made layouts in this way, while almost no attention was paid to the technology itself. You draw the model, then draw its layout with all sides, leaving bends for fastening and connecting the sides. Remember that we all glued together the same cube or parallelepiped from paper in geometry lessons at school.

In design, more complex figures are glued together in this way, such as building models and other three-dimensional compositions. Of course, in such work, three-dimensional vision is very useful, but you can start with simple forms, gluing them together.

By applying layer after layer of colored paper, the composition becomes multi-level, volume is created, and the figures acquire three-dimensionality.

Benja was fascinated by this process during his studies, still in the same graphic design department, and now very beautiful paper models come out of his hands. They are so interesting and neatly executed that you can’t call them anything other than paper sculpture.

Benja Harney's work is somewhere on the border between design and art.

His works are original and attract attention. Large brands and famous people are showing interest in them.

For example, Benja made paper wings for the Sydney showcase of the luxury brand Hermes.

For Kylie Minogue's Australian tour, they came up with a pop-up book for her album.

American artist from Los Angeles (Jen Stark) creates stunning geometric sculptures from paper, wood and other organic materials. Stark's works are beautiful and organic, and her arsenal is surprisingly simple: the artist uses only a ruler, a special knife and pencils.

The artist’s sculptures have an amazing hypnotic power – this is noted by regulars of Stark exhibitions. Bizarre patterns captivate viewers so much that they spend a long time looking at the color palette of each small masterpiece of the master.

According to the artist herself, she draws inspiration from natural forms and human anatomy. The work takes Stark a lot of time - sometimes the artist works on one sculpture for two weeks. However, this activity does not seem tiresome to her - on the contrary, Stark considers her work meditative and calming.

Jen Stark was born in Miami, Florida in 1983. Graduated from the Maryland Institute College. Stark's work is often exhibited in major art spaces in the United States, including the Museum of Contemporary Art in Miami and the Florida Museum of Art. The artist currently lives and works in Los Angeles. Paper sculptures are not Stark's only hobby. She devotes a lot of time to drawing and animation.

Perhaps the works of the sculptor can compete with the works of Stark in terms of complexity and “jewelry” of execution Rogan Brown. His works, united in the Paper Sculptures series, are characterized by minimalism, airiness and incredible beauty of the finished works.