Paper Cutting Illustration: Create Extraordinary Books

Paz Tamburrini welcomes you on this adventure through the world of books and paper. She talks about her journey so far, her favorite pieces, and her biggest influences.

Explore the narrative and illustrative possibilities that lay within the framework of a book. Analyze some examples where certain materials are used to aid the narrative and get to know the basic principles behind working with perforated, folded, and kraft papers.

Take a look at some different formats and structures, from the simplest to a few of the more complicated such as carousel books. Study some of the components of illustrated narrative: characters, scenes, and stories. Create a range of protagonists and setting features, and combine colors and shapes to build different environments.

Learn to create a modular carousel book. Decide how many scenes you want to portray and illustrate each segment of the diorama, working the images to create layered scenes. Paz shows you how to set each layer of the carousel and use color to add depth before assembling each segment.

Paz also teaches you how to make a folding carousel book; a combination of a pop-up and an accordion book, which provides a wealth of possibilities for linearity and circular narrative. Cut and fold strips of paper decorating them with detailed illustrations before setting and combining them to create a 3D story.