Paper Sculpture: A Step-By-Step Guide

I consider myself an intermediate since I started with Clive Stevens' Fun with Paper Sculpture--I didn't really learn much more than I already knew. However, this book is suitable for anyone from a rank beginner to polished professional. I picked up some new techniques and discovered new types of paper and paints to use in my work. I've gotten the most use from the artist galleries beacuse they spur my own creativity to no end! I never tire of looking at the gorgeous pieces and find myself reading this book from cover to cover every now and then.I don't draw very well, but I've found that I can easily build flowers and other objects from component shapes. The professional quality of featured projects spur me to do my very best to make my own stuff as polished and professional as possible. You'll be amazed with what you can create with little more than white glue and some cut up paper. There's even a lobster project that can be made from cereal boxes or toilet paper tubes! Great book, geat hobby, great price.

I liked this book's diversity of relief-style paper sculptures. By relief-style I mean paper that is cut and then folded, rolled, mounted, etc. onto a flat surface. Other types of paper sculpture, such as cast paper sculpture are not covered. If you are interested in other ways to use paper I recommend the book The Art of Sculpting with Paper by Michael G. Lafosse.This book is a combination gallery of each artist's work plus one project each artist did step-by-step demonstrating their techniques. The beginning chapter gives an overview of the basic techniques every relief-paper sculptor uses and types of paper suitable for relief paper-sculpting. It then launches into the artist demo/gallery format. The nice thing about the step-by-step demos is that you can copy that project for practice if you wish (although patterns are not provided so you would need to recreate the pattern on your own.) Each step-by-step demo is definitely of professional quality. Most, if not all, of the artists featured are graphic illustrators who work on these kind of projects as a living for various commercial clients. Therefore, you can expect that the art displayed inside is of similar quality to the cover photo. Using this book I've begun a small project that I designed myself. It's definitely fun but I can see how it could become more time consumming. One thing I would've liked to have seen in this book was an estimate of the time it took for each artist to complete their project (not including the very initial sketch design). This would give me a better estimate of how long a similar project might be for me (although I'd estimate about 1/2 to 2/3 more time since I'm a beginner). I've enjoyed this book so much I plan to get the sequel. It's an excellent introduction to this style of paper art.

This is a wonderful book for anyone interested in paper sculpture. Each project is followed by a wonderful gallery of similar work by the demonstrating artist. These make the book worthwhile for anyone who appreciates the medium even if they don't do the work themselves.The book starts out with a brief introduction to paper sculpture and overview of paper sculpture techniques. Nine projects, each directed by a different artist, follow. Though the instructions are arranged step-by-step with photos, there are some advanced techniques involved and some experience and talent would be needed to create some of the more elaborate projects. There are also no templates, so making a project that looks exactly like the one in the book it almost impossible. I didn't try all the projects, but did enjoy making the sun. It is fairly simple and looks so great using marbled papers. I would have liked to try the goldfish and the swan shown on the cover, but I felt they were a bit to time-consuming and complex for me. Other projects, like the Liberty Bell and too cute chicken wreath, just didn't perk my interest.All in all, I'm glad I bought the book. The artwork examples are great and have inspired me to try some things on my own such as butterflies, fish and landscapes. I like that they list all the artists with contact information, awards they've earned and clients they've served. A list of schools that offer professional instruction is also a nice bonus.

Inspiring. Techniques and examples are excellent. A step above most books on the subject.

Paper sculpture is such an exciting medium. I loved viewing all the different approaches and trying some for myself. Beautifully photographed. If you want a new challenge, let this book inspire you