• Paper Profile Silhouette Tutorial

    Because, you know, ’tis the season to have people over to your house. ‘Tis the season those people will secretly evaluate your décor. ‘Tis the time to impress them with your secret creative weapon: personalized profile silhouettes — handmade by you with surprising speed.

    Paper Profile Silhouette Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    I have always been in love with profile silhouettes because they are stoic yet whimsical, and they leave so much to the imagination. As I explained in the watercolor silhouette post, silhouettes used to be commissioned by thrifty families in the 1700’s as a means to obtain a likeness without spending a lot of money. Now, photos are beyond cheap and abundant, so silhouettes are just a fun decorative element to supplement photos.

    To create this tutorial, I got narcissistic by necessity {I’m in the studio alone in the afternoons} and used myself as the model. Obviously, you can follow my lead; and/or you can create paper profile silhouettes of friends and family. We’ll talk about ways you can use these nifty little creations after the tutorial — for now, let’s get started! Begin by printing out two identical copies of a photo silhouette of your subject.

    Paper Profile Silhouette Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    {I used my iPhone to take this profile selfie. Since I am not a veteran of the selfie world, it was not as easy to take this photo as you may think.}

    Next, use a bold pen to trace around the profile of the first page. At the base of the neck, make a similar shape to what I’ve drawn. Also, your profile will go under everything else, so let it extend a little bit into the hair {since the hair will be placed on top of the profile when you put everything together}.

    Paper Profile Silhouette Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    Now, cut along the lines you created.

    Paper Profile Silhouette Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    Paper Profile Silhouette Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    After you have cut out the profile, choose a piece of colored paper or card stock to represent your subject’s face. Turn that piece of paper over on a flat surface, so the side of the paper you want to use is facing down. Turn your cutout face over as well, so the printed side is facing the back side of the page you are going to cut out. The reason we are doing this is we are going to trace around the face, and it’s okay if there are trace lines on the back of the piece; but we don’t want any trace lines on the front.

    Paper Profile Silhouette Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    Trace around your profile.

    Paper Profile Silhouette Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    Paper Profile Silhouette Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    And cut the result out, then turn it over.

    Paper Profile Silhouette Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    If there are any distinctive elements on the profile — such as earrings, facial piercings, sunglasses, or tattoos, trace around them as I have done here. Notice I’m making my sunglasses larger than they actually are for dramatic effect.

    Paper Profile Silhouette Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    Then, cut them out.

    Paper Profile Silhouette Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    Follow the same process you did with the profile: lay the cutouts face-down on a piece of paper or card stock you intend to use that is also face-down.

    Paper Profile Silhouette Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    Paper Profile Silhouette Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    Here’s where we’re at so far.

    Paper Profile Silhouette Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    Now you’re done with the first photo printout. Move on to the second, and trace the hair.

    Paper Profile Silhouette Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    Then, cut it out.

    Paper Profile Silhouette Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    And follow the same process on a piece of paper or card stock that you did with the profile/accessories.

    Paper Profile Silhouette Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    You officially have all the elements for your paper profile silhouette now! It’s time to choose a piece of paper to glue everything on. I chose an 8″x10″ piece of white card stock, but you can use whatever size and color of paper you wish. At any rate, you’ll begin your composition by brushing glue on the back of the face.

    Paper Profile Silhouette Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    Glue that to your piece of paper.

    Paper Profile Silhouette Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    Then, add your accessories: in my case, the earrings and sunglasses.

    Paper Profile Silhouette Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    Once you’ve added your accessories, glue on the hair.

    Paper Profile Silhouette Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    At this point, if you need to add anything else, you can. My profile looked a little South Park-y to me, so I added a white cutout to represent light reflection to the sunglasses. That did the trick!

    Paper Profile Silhouette Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    Then, I used Kaitlin style calligraphy to write my name loosely underneath in walnut ink, just to add some contrast and personality.

    Paper Profile Silhouette Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    This tutorial was pretty simple and takes all of fifteen minutes — plus, it’s just fun to have a silhouette around. Speaking of which, let’s talk about how you can use your silhouette(s):

      • Make one for each member of your household and frame. I guarantee every guest who comes into your home will gravitate toward the profile silhouette display.
      • If you work for/own a company with the right “company culture” for displaying these, make one for every employee, and include a signature characteristic of each employee in the silhouette. For example, if someone has freckles, use a small hole punch to punch out some holes and glue them on the cheeks. These could make a neat waiting room display for clients, or just serve as cool, team-focused art to put in the break room.
      • If you are a teacher {art or otherwise}, this is a great way to help kids make accurate portraits. Portraits can be displayed in the classroom, and students will be proud of them because it is easy to compile a spot-on profile silhouette.

    Paper Profile Silhouette Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    • Use funky papers to make a few silhouettes with an Eric Carle twist {he’s the Very Hungry Caterpillar guy}.
    • If you’re in school, decorate a couple of notebooks with silhouettes of your favorite personalities. For example, for history class, you could create a paper profile silhouette of Abraham Lincoln on the front of your notebook or binder. For English class, you could make a Mark Twain profile silhouette. Don’t be afraid to give your silhouettes fun embellishments!
    • Do you have any cool ideas? Let me — and others — know in the comments! Sometimes you think of things that are brilliant — things that I wouldn’t have even considered. I capital “L” Love the creativity of the readers this blog attracts. Seriously.

    I hope you enjoyed and were inspired by this fun little tutorial! Stay tuned for Saturday — TPK has teamed up with Rodger’s Pen Box to conduct an artisan-made calligraphy pen giveaway! RPB pens are my absolute favorite, so I’m really excited about that. In the meantime, enjoy the rest of your week, and thanks for reading!

    XO,

    Lindsey_signature