Continuing on with Mother's Day is a project that has a classic history but thanks to cyclical trends, is now thoroughly hip - the paper silhouette picture! The task seems totally daunting, especially if you're creative but photorealism isn't your forte but that's okay! There's an easy way to get that classic look while not freaking out about freehand. Gift silhouettes of yourself and your siblings (if applicable!) to your mom, or snap a few pics of the children of any other mommy in your life and start cutting! Remember that silhouettes don't have to just be cut out of black paper with a white background - make it more modern and unique by using hip color combination like chocolate brown with a blush pink backer paper!
CLASSIC SILHOUETTES
Archival Paper in Contrasting Colors
Surgical Scissors (you need a smaller blade scissor for the tiny details)
Glue Stick
Tape
Digital Portraits of your Subjects in Profile
Access to a Computer, Digital Editing Program, and Printer
Snap several shots of your subjects in profile, with white or light backgrounds preferred. Keep the backgrounds against a clean, flat wall to save yourself time in the editing phase. Load your shots into your camera and open them in Photoshop or a similar editing program. Convert your photos to black and white. If there is any tone or objects in the background, paint them out with the Paintbrush tool in white. Also using the Paintbrush tool, paint highlights and light tones on the subject carefully with black. You ultimately want to end up with a digital silhouette as a starting point, with the face in the direction of whichever way you wish it to sit when it's finished.
Save and print out your image. Take printed silhouette page and stack it on top of a single sheet (or double if you plan to make a duplicate) of archival paper in the color you wish your silhouette to be in. Tape the sheets together hinge style, with one piece on either end of the top sheet that folds over to the back sheet. With your surgical scissors, begin to cut the face side first. When you get to the hair, stop. This is where you will want to stylize your silhouette, because you clearly can't cut each individual hair if your subject has flyaways! For curly or wavy hair, follow the general shape of the hair and add in some graceful curly pieces to give a sense of the texture - it's okay to follow the hair in your printout, too, just remember to simplify! For straight hair, remember to cut slightly into the ends in thin, triangular slivers so the hair doesn't appear as a blocky mass.
When you've finished, use a glue stick to apply your silhouette onto your backer paper. Don't use liquid glue - it will add moisture to the paper and will cause it to buckle. For an even more personal touch, sign your creation with your name (and a note, if you wish) and set it in an antique-feeling frame prior to wrapping and gifting.
Maddy Susser is a graphic designer and
artist that has a soft spot for all things paper and English period
pieces (in other words, men in tights and funny vests). Armed with a
number of years in marketing for retail on a small business and
corporate scope she collects tidbits of information learned along the
way and puts it into easy terms to share, formerly on her blog Try This
at Home, and now on Modish. She's currently working on a line of paper
goods.
