Following on from my post on Monday about Matisse inspired cut out style, I thought I might show a little bit of work in progress this week and share a few ideas.
I'm working on a floral pattern using this cut out technique. I made my motifs using scissors and origami paper. You could paint your own paper or use material or textured papers particularly if you work traditionally. As I am working digitally I didn't worry too much about the colour of the paper as I just want the shapes.
Unlike the current papercut trend for fine and intricate details, I'm going for simpler shapes with a playful feel. I tried using a scalpel but found that made me want to get too fiddly. So working with scissors and large pieces of paper made the process more fun and expressive.
I then assembled flowers in a sketchbook. For more variety you could just scan all the elements in separately and then assemble a variety of flowers in Photoshop or Illustrator.
I scanned the flowers in and used the pen tool to trace them but there are lots of other ways to make them digital. For example you could trace the motifs using Live Trace or retain a more handmade feel by creating the repeat in Photoshop.
So I'm currently playing with palettes and layouts...
I really like this drawing technique. It's a fun and easy process and great for if you are not very confident in your drawing skills or are just looking to loosen up and be more creative in your approach to drawing. I also think it really lends itself well to vector art with its simple lines so works a treat in Illustrator.
I hope you've found this post useful/inspiring! On Friday I will be featuring the work of Jessica Nielsen whose bold graphic style caught my eye whilst researching this week's posts.
Love
Frankie x
