I first looked at artists who work on a smaller scale. Diem Chau’s characters carved into pencils (http://www.diemchau.com/default.html) remind me in some way of Laura K. Sayers’s work. Although they use different tools (Laura K. Sayer creates characters out of paper), their creations are very small and delicate, and one wonders how they can achieve that level of precision.
I like how Brock Davis (www.designboom.com/art/brock-davis-banksy-dismaland-10-02-2015/) brings a new perspective on common household objects. Again, when I looked at his work, I thought of Christoph Niemann’s creations (www.shop.christophniemann.com/collections/sunday-sketches), an illustrator who mixes objects with drawings to create playful illustrations.
Nguyen Hung Cuong’s origamis are so elaborate that it feels as if he can create anything out of paper. He does mention in an article in the Vietnam news (www.vietnamnews.vn/english-through-the-news/569215/artist-gives-origami-his-all.html) how “the creator must have years of training, combined with knowledge from various fields to make proper folds”.
After reading the brief again, I chose to create some characters using paper folding. I was inspired by the work of Nguyen Hung Cuong and other artists such as Laura K. Sayers or zimandzou (https://zimandzou.fr/) who use paper to create characters, buildings and other objects.
I first tried a few tutorials I found online (see list of links I used for this exercise at the end). I wanted to understand a bit better how I could create characters out of paper and how simple folds work. Below is a picture of some of my attempts.
I also collected examples in Pinterest for inspiration.
As I looked at the work of various artists on Pinterest and followed tutorials on YouTube, some concepts for my characters started to emerge. I liked the idea of playing with folds to create outfits and decided to design characters inspired from the Victorian era, as I felt that this would give me some freedom to add layers and be playful. Seeing origamis of characters in swimsuits, buoys and boats (www.youtube.com/watch?v=KblRIZJDM3U and www.popshopamerica.com/blog/27-modern-cool-origami-tutorials/) gave me the idea of creating a family that would be spending a day by the seaside.
I first drew in my sketchbook to visualise the characters. I then used a combination of techniques I found online together with some experimentation to create the origamis. For the outfits, I looked at Google images to have some idea of Victorian fashion and took inspiration from there without following any example closely.
This is the concepts I developed in my sketchbook.
Here are the five characters I created (a family with two children and a nanny) and the accessories. I used origami paper.
I then put the photos of the origamis in Illustrator and made a collage.
Creating characters out of paper gave me the opportunity to slow down and develop the characters as I went along. I enjoyed experimenting to create the different outfits and playing with patterns. As I tested techniques to create the various elements, I often had to improvise and this gave me a sense of freedom.
It was challenging to work on a small scale and with techniques I was not familiar with. I had done an exercise where I created a poster with paper cuttings in the past (www.catherinerouxillustrationdegree.uk/illustration-year-2/responding-to-a-brief/coursework/part-4/exercise-paper-circus/) and knew that it could be difficult to cut and glue small parts. As a result, the outcome is not perfect, and for instance, there are marks of glue on some of my characters and some parts such as the faces are less successful.
Creating characters and accessories out of paper could be an interesting approach to develop illustrations. The creative process is different from drawing and testing new techniques can bring unexpected outcomes.
Origami tutorials:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_LpMUIvhag
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XA0PN5UFVCw
http://www.popshopamerica.com/blog/27-modern-cool-origami-tutorials/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZ5l14R_dIs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXdMEgT-xU4&list=RDCMUCMlj1XIG7YIRdr0Myj9diVw&index=2
http://www.mybaba.com/how-to-make-moveable-origami-ninja-stars/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDgrohzUwlU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=CCGBzLz-A9Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yrp5x7MpWy0
Catherine Roux Degree in Illustration 