The Hows and Whys of Paper Cutting

My first paper cut was for my friend, Sara. It was a cut of the Mad Hatter from 'Alice in Wonderland'. I realized after making it that I really love the process of paper cutting. It's one of the most satisfying forms of art because you can see how fast you are progressing. I have a hard time sticking to a piece if it takes me  weeks to complete. With paper cutting, your work evolves quickly (I have designed and made a paper cut in half an hour). And how cool is it that you start with a whole sheet of paper, cut away at it, and come out with a work of art? Its so simple!
Yes, it can be time consuming. It can also cause blisters (my sister guessed what her Christmas present was going to be because of the blisters on my fingers). You get frustrated when your knife slips, or you finish a piece only to then realize that you cut out an important part. But what art form doesnt have its frustrations?

Some of you have asked how I make my paper cuts, so I thought I would make this little illustrated guide on my process. I'm sure other paper cutters have different techniques, but this is the one that seems to work the best for me!

Pressing onwards...

Step 1: The Design

First I come up with my design. I drew this bullhead catfish on a piece of tracing paper and scanned it into my computer. It is important to constantly be thinking of your drawing as a paper cut as you work. What I mean by this is that a line drawn out in space, not connected to any other lines, will not work with paper cutting. Every line must be connected with another. 

Then I mess with it a bit in Photoshop until it is dark enough to easily see. I decided to make a repeating fish pattern based off of my drawing.

Step 2: Assembly

Next, I print out my design to the desired size. This one was fairly large, so I had to tile the image when printing it. Then I cut and taped sheets together so that it looked correct and lightly taped it to the sheet of paper to be cut. 

Step 3: Cutting

Then it's simple. Using an Exacto knife and a self-healing cutting mat, I start to cut out the design.

Yes, I look awful in this picture.

I like to hold the piece up as I work to see how it's progressing. Holding it in front of the light or against a white wall works well. 

The front...

and the back.

And that's it! Now go off and create paper cuts of your own. But make sure you send me a picture. I want to see what you come up with!

P.S. I just finished this fish cut. Expect a new blog post soon!