The previous two weeks were so hectic, that I did not have a chance to complete the challenge every day, but I did make up the time that I was missing by making other days longer. I was also not able to post the update blog (that’s why it’s a week late). But things are back on track.

For the last two weeks, I continued working on the Day of the Dead themed shadow box. I continued trying to use more layers on the different characters in order to make them more three-dimensional and to make them more like real people look (but in paper form). I am so pleased with the results.

Day 41 – February 10, 2018

I unfortunately did not work on paper art today. For tomorrow, I will be sure to devote an extra 30 minutes.

Day 42 – February 11, 2018

I worked for a bit over an hour to make up for yesterday’s lack of paper art work. I worked on the little girl that is standing. I made her hair, separated her legs (to make her more three dimensional), made her arm, and made a little boot. Paper art takes much longer than it looks.

Day 43 – February 12, 2018

I worked on the eyes, which took much longer than I would have liked. I also added the eyebrows and created the part down the middle of the hair.

Day 44 – February 13, 2018

I kept working on the little girl. I added more details to the face and detached the head, then reattached it. I also made the second boot.

 

Day 45 – February 14, 2018

I worked on the mouth for 30 minutes. I had to redo it several times and nothing seemed to work. I didn’t want the character to look too pouty. I ended up deciding to just draw the lips on the character. Hopefully, in the near future I’ll get better at cutting out tiny lips so that they look the way I intend them to look.

Day 46 – February 15, 2018

I worked on the hair and gave it a bit more texture and added more layers. The way I used to do it was too flat, so I am happy with the improvements I’ve made thus far.

Day 47 – February 16, 2018

I worked on the little girl’s shirt sleeve and her arm. I detached both from the body and added a thin foam piece between the body and the arm to make it more three dimensional. I also added some details to the dress.

Day 48 – February 17, 2018

I worked on the little girl’s shoe – I decided the boots were not working for me – and I also added a few minor details to her body to finish the piece. I then began working on the second girl’s hair and face.

Day 49 – February 18, 2018

I worked on the smaller girl’s face some more. I cut out the eye sockets and added white paper to the back, then I drew in the iris on the white paper (before attaching it to the face base). I added some brows, her nose and her cheeks.

Day 50 – February 19, 2018

I added another layer of hair with cut  pieces to give it more texture. I also added more details to the face, like the tear, the mouth, and I outlined the eye. When gluing down the hair, I only glued the top part, to let the strands of hair appear to be protruding more in certain parts, like real hair does. For future pieces, I do plan on adding different colors of paper to make the hair look more like real hair.

Day 51 – February 20, 2018

I finished working on the little girl. I added clothes. I made the clothes in layers. For example, I made the sleeves and pant legs separate. I also made the heart with the thorns separate. I unfortunately forgot to take a picture of the little girl.

Day 52 – February 21, 2018

I attached the dolls clothes, her arms, and legs. I placed her arms below her sleeves. I then attached both girls to the piece and made sure everything was glued down well. I am so happy with my finished piece. I love it!

Day 53 – February 22, 2018

I did not manage to work on the challenge today. 😦 But I’ll make it up.

Day 54 – February 23, 2018

Again, I did not work on the challenge, which is so disheartening, but I’ve carved out time in the weekend to work on it for longer periods of time and make up the time I missed, and then some. I’m excited about the next paper art project I will be working on.

WEEK 6 & 7 REVIEW

Although these past two weeks did not go as planned (i.e. I did not get a chance to work on paper art every day) I am so happy with what I’ve accomplished thus far. I do believe my pieces are a lot better than when I first started.

One take-away from these past two weeks has been to pay attention to the way 3D objects actually are. By not gluing down all the parts of the hair, or the arms, or the clothes, etc., it has given my pieces a more realistic look. I also realized that by adding a bit of foam board between layers, (for example, between the head and the body), it also creates the illusion of more dimensionality. I plan on continuing with this process and making even better pieces. Stay tuned!

Make sure you check back and follow me on Instagram (@WhimsicalStoryBooks) to get sneak peeks, updates, and opportunities to win some of my art.