I've always wanted to make a 3D paper sculpture but didn't know how to start, and Studio Ghiblis Faceless Man gave me inspiration.
If you are a beginner or have never tried 3D paper crafting, this craft can be a great place to start.
Don't be discouraged if the final product looks complicated, honestly you can get the hang of it with just a quick glance. Maybe this little tutorial can open another door in your life!~
You will need to prepare:
Paper Jam
Pencil
Scissors
Graving knife
Craft Glue
Ruler
1. First, make sure you want to determine the number of layers for the paper sculpture. Here we use 6 layers of paper.
After you determine the number of layers, choose a color for each layer.
Measure and cut all the sheets to the same size, in this case 12" x 12".
Take the paper you want to use for the front and roughly draw an oval with a pencil, then cut it out with scissors. Remember to leave at least an inch on either side of the cut.
2. Now place the second sheet of paper under the top sheet. Use the pencil to draw another oval, but keep it slightly smaller than the first piece of paper. Again, use scissors to cut.
3. Place the 3rd piece of paper under the 2nd piece of paper. Repeat the previous steps, drawing a slightly smaller pattern than the previous one and cut it out.
4. Keep doing this until you reach level 5.
5. Leave the 6th (or final) layer intact.
7. Next use paper strips to create gaps between each layer.
Simply cut out a bunch of strips of paper, which should be 3cm wide and about an inch shorter than the length of the paper you cut the oval out of.
8. Neat, straight, and folded 3 times lengthwise.
9. You need 4 strips per layer, which means 5 layers (the 6th or last layer doesn't need it) will need 20 in total.
10. Glue the three-dimensional strips on the back layer by layer.
11. After finishing adding the three-dimensional strips, start pasting the paper layer.
12. Apply glue along the strips and add them to the next paper layer.
13. Carefully install the final layer and let the glue dry.
14. Take the cut waste paper and draw small vines and plant patterns on it.
15. Use a carving knife to cut out the pattern.
16. Keep painting and cutting, you’ll need a bunch!
17. Add the cut plants to the same colored paper layer.
18. I also cut out some symmetrical plants, folded them in half and used them as grass.
19. Keep adding plants until you are happy with the pattern.
20. After adding all the plant cutouts, the 3D paper sculpture still looked like it was missing something, so we decided to add the faceless man.
Simply draw the faceless man on a piece of paper, the size should fit the bottom (last) layer of the paper sculpture.
When you're ready, just stick it on the final layer.
21. Measure the length, width and height of the paper sculpture and fold a box out of cardboard.
22. Put the 3D paper sculpture into the paper box to check if it fits.
When finished, cover the open sides (borders) around the artwork with green craft paper.
23. The paper sculpture of the faceless man in the forest is finished. Is it not as complicated as imagined?
