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Lord of the Rings-themed Layer Papercutting

By Indeluin (/member/Indeluin/) in Paper (/craft/paper/projects/) 1.543 34 7 Featured

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(https://cdn.instructables.com/FOT/9BOI/JVH3CYEM/FOT9BOIJVH3CYEM.LARGE.jpg

(https://cdn.instructables.com/FIZ/VJ1S/JVH3CYFE/FIZVJ1SJVH3CYFE.LARGE.jpg)

(https://cdn.instructables.com/F9Q/SLUU/JVH3CYHM/F9QSLUUJVH3CYHM.LARGE.jpg) (https://cdn.instructables.com/F20/KX7L/JVH3CYFQ/F20KX7LJVH3CYFQ.LARGE.jpg
Lord of the Rings-themed Layer Papercutting by Indeluin (/member/Indeluin/) Follow Download Favorite

(https://cdn.instructables.com/FWX/0CUD/JVH3CYFU/FWX0CUDJVH3CYFU.LARGE.jpg) (https://cdn.instructables.com/FNJ/2LBM/JVH3CYFF/FNJ2LBMJVH3CYFF.LARGE.jpg

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The Lord of the Rings is a masterpiece trilogy written by J.R.R. Tolkien. When I was a child,
my mother read the books to me and my siblings and afterwards we watched the stunning
movies. I was enchanted by the magical world of Middle-Earth, and am a super fan of Lord
of the Rings today. The books and movies in fact inspired me to begin writing on my own,
and from there I have written five novels with more in progress.

When I saw the Fandom contest, I knew at once that I wanted to make something LOTR-
related. I love making papercuttings, so I decided to incorporate papercuttings into art, but I
wanted the final project to have more than the usual one layer of delicate paper cut-out.
Therefore, I decided to make a unique artwork made of seven "layers" of papercuttings.
Each layer has something symbolic about it that related back to LOTR and Middle-earth, so
if you are a mega-fan like me, you might be able to see some hidden meanings!

So if you want to craft some art that would rival that of the finest craftsman of Lord Elrond
in the Hidden Valley of Imladris, read my instructable below and make your own Elven art
to display on your walls!

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 Step 1: Gather Your Materials
Lord of the Rings-themed Layer Papercutting by Indeluin (/member/Indeluin/)
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(https://cdn.instructables.com/FKL/J438/JVH3D00I/FKLJ438JVH3D00I.LARGE.jpg)

The supplies for this project are simple and cheap if you don't have them already.

-A wooden shadowbox. Mine measures 19.5x19.5x9.5 centimeters. I got it in a 2-piece set

at Michael's.

-Black paint. Any kind will work as long as you can apply it to wood.

-Paintbrush

-X-acto or craft knife

-Sheets of white computer/printing paper. You could use another kind, but the thicker it is,
the harder it is to cut.

-Pencil (Not pictured)

-Tape (Not pictured)

-Rubber Cement glue. It has to be this kind because it has a relatively strong bond while
not puckering up and warping the paper.

-Cutting mat. You could use a cutting board if you don't have or want to invest in one.

-Ruler. I use a 2-foot ruler but yours could be longer or shorter as desired.

Make sure you have all the above materials. The only optional item is the paint. Instead of
paint you could leave the wood unfinished, stain it, or use some other finish. Just make sure
it is not oily or it could harm the paper.

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 Step 2: Paint Your Follow
Shadowbox
Lord of the Rings-themed Layer Papercutting by Indeluin (/member/Indeluin/) Download Favorite

(https://cdn.instructables.com/FF8/6YLC/JVH3D12J/FF86YLCJVH3D12J.LARGE.jpg

(https://cdn.instructables.com/FAC/BBV5/JVH3D3KK/FACBBV5JVH3D3KK.LARGE.jpg) (https://cdn.instructables.com/FLA/ISKW/JVH3D22P/FLAISKWJVH3D22P.LARGE.jp

This is the easy part! Use your paintbrush to coat all sides of the shadowbox. I did two
coats. You could do only one or more than two if you want. Two coats gave me the look I
wanted: sleek black without any of the pale wood showing.

Make sure you work on a protected surface. I placed my shadowbox on sheets of paper so
the paint wouldn't spoil my desk. Wear gloves, respirator, or any other protective
equipment if you think you may be affected negatively by the paint fumes. Make sure the
area is well ventilated.
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Step 3: Fold and Cut

(https://cdn.instructables.com/FWT/TMFZ/JVH3D3TP/FWTTMFZJVH3D3TP.LARGE.jpg)

3 More Images
(https://cdn.instructables.com/F7L/3FXS/JVH3D3TC/F7L3FXSJVH3D3TC.LARGE.jpg) (https://cdn.instructables.com/F2H/QGVX/JVH3D3TU/F2HQGVXJVH3D3TU.LARGE.jpg)

This is a rather complicated step where if you make a mistake, you may have to start over
at the end, and that would not be nice at all!

There are seven rows of papercuttings. That means that we will need at least seven pieces
of paper for those layers.

First things first, though. Use your ruler to measure the inside of your shadowbox, both the
height and width. The depth of the box doesn't matter as much. If you keep going, you will
see that we could always trim some to adjust the depth if the need occurs.

My box turned out to be around 17.5 cm for both the height and width since it is square.
 (Image 1)
Lord of the Rings-themed Layer Papercutting by Indeluin (/member/Indeluin/) Follow Download Favorite

The way I will secure each layer is to glue a strip to the top and bottom of the box. The strip
with be one centimeter wide. Add each of those centimeters to the height of the box and
you will come up with 19.5 cm. That is how long each sheet of paper needs to be. There is
no attaching strip on the sides of the box, which means your sheets should end up being
around 19.5 x 17.5 cm. Of course these measurements only work for a box exactly this
large. Make sure you adjust your measurements accordingly.

G reat! Now you can cut. Use the craft knife and ruler to cut 7 sheets to those
measurements. (Image 2)

Now fold each end of the short side for the flaps that will be glued to the top and bottom of
your box. The fold needs to be 1 cm wide. (Image 3 ) Your final sheet should look like Image
4 . With the flaps folded down, the square should measure 17.5 cm on all sides.. Make sure
both folds face the same side. Now repeat for the other 6 sheets. (Image 6 )

Now, stop and think a minute. How do you think we can get the designs of what to cut out
onto the paper? What if we make a mistake and can see pencil marks? That would spoil the
beautifully pure Elven-white paper forest.

D on't worry, I have the solution. Besides the sheet that will be cut out, we will also need a
"template" to draw the design on. Therefore, make another seven folded sheets exactly like
those we have already. If that sounds confusing to you, trust me. It will make sense in the
next few steps. K eep scrolling down ; )

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Step 4: Drawing the Designs

(https://cdn.instructables.com/FXI/I4E7/JVH3D4VO/FXII4E7JVH3D4VO.LARGE.jpg)

(https://cdn.instructables.com/F6A/7XOC/JVH3D4VN/F6A7XOCJVH3D4VN.LARGE.jpg) (https://cdn.instructables.com/FV2/3ZR9/JVH3D4VP/FV23ZR9JVH3D4VP.LARGE.jpg)
Lord of the Rings-themed Layer Papercutting by Indeluin (/member/Indeluin/) Follow Download Favorite

3 More Images
(https://cdn.instructables.com/F5G/0LRC/JVH3D4VQ/F5G0LRCJVH3D4VQ.LARGE.jpg)

At this point, you will need to draw the designs on the templates. Make sure you use pencil
so that you can correct any mistakes or make changes or improvements. D raw on the right
side as shown in the pictures, because the fold needs to pointing up.

Feel free to use my designs. If you need inspiration, just google your subject.

The back two rows I designed to have more trees on purpose. This was to create the
illusion of trees going into the distance, and they put more focus on the Elven figure near
the front.

Make changes to the designs as you like. If you look closely, you can see places where I
erased my marks to make a change. This is mostly due to the fact that there was a part of
each layer that I wanted to be seen from the front. Manipulate your trees to be positioned
for this. Adding a "dead branch" here and there with only a skeletal branch helps to open it
up more, too.

Notice how each drawing is completely connected, so that there are no aspects of the
design that are "suspended" in the drawing without being connected. Obviously the paper
can't be suspended in midair in when it is cut out, so make sure everything attaches to
something else. It is also imperative that the designs connect to both the top and bottom
strips for securing to the top and bottom.

That's all the instruction for the designs that I have. I think here is a great place to explain
the hidden objects in each slide!

Slide 1: The tree resembles one of the Elven-trees inscribed on the G ates of Moria. You can
see this design in the Fellowship of the Rings book or the movie with the same title. Also
on the tree is some Elvish. If you are a true LOTR scholar, you could translate its meaning:
Lothlorien. "Lothlorien" is the name of the powerful magic forest of Lady G aladriel.

Slide 2: Obviously, the focal point of the artwork of this piece is the elf you can see here. I
intended for him to be Legolas G reenleaf. Legolas is my favorite character from the movies,
so I designed the elf seen here after him.
 Slide 3 : Mushrooms! Most people who have seen the movies or even readDownload
Lord of the Rings-themed Layer Papercutting by Indeluin (/member/Indeluin/)
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have overlooked these mushrooms. Hobbits are known to avid lovers of mushrooms. They
were very fitting to add in this artwork! Beside the mushrooms on the tree is also inscribed
a strange rune. This is the sign of the wiz ard, G andalf the G ray, which he scratched on
Biblbo's door in the book "The Hobbit." (Yes, I had to add some "Hobbit" stuff here, too,
since that sets up the entire story of LOTR.) In my defense, the readers out there will also
know this is the same sign that G andalf scratched on a rock on Weathertop Hill in Eriador
when the wiz ard was attacked by the Naz gul. Frodo and his company found this sign
when they came up the hill after G andalf fled. That scene is in the Fellowship of the Rings.

Slide 4 : Any reader of the books or viewer of the movies definitely remembers what the
ents are, but you might have mistaken the tree-like giant in this artwork for a tree! The Ents
played a major role in the fall of Isengard and the defeat of Saruman in both movies and
books.

Slide 5: "The Eagles are coming!" These famous words were actually both in the final
scenes of the Battle of Five Armies in "The Hobbit" and the last battle in "The Return of the
K ing." The eagles remain rather mysterious in Middle-earth, and their history goes way
back to the beginning of time, in Tolkien's book "The Silmarillion." But that's going way
back, so we won't get into all that! But the eagles do play a brief but important part in the
defeat of Sauron and they helped G andalf, so I think the addition of one here is a great idea.

Slide 6 : The farthest tree to the right represents the second tree seen on the G ates of Moria
(refer to Slide 1).

Slide 7: It's a hobbit hole! This was one of my favorite additions. If you look carefully in the
finished work, you can see it peeking around the tree. (Warning: this was one of the more
difficult parts of the entire cutting, so be careful when you make it!) You can also see flames
licking up the branches of the conifer tree on the left side. That was another throwback to
"The Hobbit." Remember the scene where G andalf, Bilbo, and the D warves were trapped
in the trees and the Orcs set fire to the trees?

I officially made myself want to go see the movies again with those paragraphs! Now you
can see what a big LOTR geek I am! K eep reading to finish the project.

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Step 5: Secure the Page and Begin Cutting

(https://cdn.instructables.com/FL7/SKSS/JVH3D7MJ/FL7SKSSJVH3D7MJ.LARGE.jpg) (https://cdn.instructables.com/FHT/S823/JVH3D7OB/FHTS823JVH3D7OB.LARGE.jpg)
Lord of the Rings-themed Layer Papercutting by Indeluin (/member/Indeluin/) Follow Download Favorite

(https://cdn.instructables.com/FHM/JP5X/JVH3D7P3/FHMJP5XJVH3D7P3.LARGE.jpg)

3 More Images
(https://cdn.instructables.com/FUV/UYTF/JVH3D7PQ/FUVUYTFJVH3D7PQ.LARGE.jpg)

This is the point when you begin to cut out your designs! First you will need to prepare your
template on top of the plain paper on your cutting mat.

Carefully lay the plain paper onto the cutting mat with the folded flap on the underside.
(Image 1)

Lay the template directly on top of that. (Image 2)

Tape each corner down securely. Now the plain paper will not be damaged by the tape,
and the penciled design is clearly seen on top. Your secured papers should look like image
4 .

Using your craft knife, begin to cut out the design. CAUTION: BE VERY CAREFUL WITH
THE SHARP BLAD E! If there are smaller pieces that can be cut out, do those first. Look at
images 5-7 to see what I mean. You want to cut out any smaller pieces first. Then, starting
in the middle of the sheet, cut out the larger areas that will be removed.
 Add
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Step 6: Finish Cutting

(https://cdn.instructables.com/FMS/SLH8/JVH3D93Y/FMSSLH8JVH3D93Y.LARGE.jpg

(https://cdn.instructables.com/FS4/ZBU5/JVH3D96C/FS4ZBU5JVH3D96C.LARGE.jpg

3 More Images
(https://cdn.instructables.com/FML/BMOO/JVH3D93X/FMLBMOOJVH3D93X.LARGE.jpg) (https://cdn.instructables.com/F0C/PE80/JVH3D95C/F0CPE80JVH3D95C.LARGE.jpg
Lord of the Rings-themed Layer Papercutting by Indeluin (/member/Indeluin/) Follow Download Favorite
K eep working away at cutting out from the middle of the design. If you have a "landlocked"
piece and are having trouble removing it, try stabbing the craft knife blade into the paper
and lifting it up. (Image 1). Cutting away from the middle should look like Image 2.

Image 3 is what your hobbit hole door should look like. Change up the design if you think
this is too delicate for you.

Finish cutting everything out. Now use your knife to cut along the paper at the corners so
that the tape is no longer holding it down. Then lift up one corner and carefully lift the
template up. Sometimes this part can be a little bit tricky because as you cut, the paper can
kind of "attach" on some of the edges if there was enough pressure. You probably won't
have any issues, though. If you do, just carefully pry the two apart. Even though the paper
looks very delicate, it is surprisingly strong. Nevertheless, be careful! Your finished first slide
should look like Image 5.

Image 6 is how you should carry your papercuttings. spread out one hand as wide as you
can, and slide the papercutting onto it so that as much of the design is supported by your
fingers as possible.Lay the papercutting onto a plain piece of paper and set another sheet
on top of that. This is the way you can keep the cutting safe. You can keep stacking your
papercuttings between sheets of paper, like a multi-layered sandwich. (Image 7)

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Step 7: The Finished Slides

(https://cdn.instructables.com/FQ6/3Z51/JVH3E1ZH/FQ63Z51JVH3E1ZH.LARGE.jpg

(https://cdn.instructables.com/FYJ/QCMA/JVH3E1WG/FYJQCMAJVH3E1WG.LARGE.jpg) (https://cdn.instructables.com/FKS/Q47I/JVH3E219/FKSQ47IJVH3E219.LARGE.jpg)
Lord of the Rings-themed Layer Papercutting by Indeluin (/member/Indeluin/) Follow Download Favorite

3 More Images
(https://cdn.instructables.com/F2T/JL6A/JVH3E24W/F2TJL6AJVH3E24W.LARGE.jpg

So these are the pictures of what your slides should look like. As I already mentioned, make
sure you have a 1-cm folded flap on both the top and bottom, and it is vital that the cutting
should all be connected to those flaps. If you want to change the design you can, but these
slides are what I recommend if you want to end up with the final project looking as good as
mine.

NOTE: the finished Hobbit Hole should look a little bit different than you see in this photo.
Originally, this was how I wanted to make it, but I decided to make a little more detail!

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Step 8: Connecting the Slides

(https://cdn.instructables.com/FQM/T2GC/JVH3E45C/FQMT2GCJVH3E45C.LARGE.jpg

9 More Images
(https://cdn.instructables.com/FWA/LZC9/JVH3E42H/FWALZC9JVH3E42H.LARGE.jpg) (https://cdn.instructables.com/FOI/E9TP/JVH3E46B/FOIE9TPJVH3E46B.LARGE.jpg)
Lord of the Rings-themed Layer Papercutting by Indeluin (/member/Indeluin/) Follow Download Favorite
Now this is the most confusing part about the project, but make sure you do it properly or
the whole thing may not work out properly.

First, cut a piece of paper 17.5 cm wide. It should be exactly as wide as your slides.

Make sure the paper flaps are folded the right way, as shown in Image 1.

Spread glue on the flap. (Image 2)

Carefully, CAREFULLY, set the glued edge down at the end of the sheet of paper, like you
can see in Image 3 . Make sure all the edges line up perfectly.

No need to let the glue dry to keep going. Rubber cement glue has a surprisingly strong
bond right away and it dries quickly. Repeat for Slide 2. Make sure you butt it right up
against the base of Slide 1. (Image 4 )

Repeat for the remaining slides. You should end up having all seven slides glued down like
in Image 5. Make sure they are all precisely beside each other and in the right order.

Cut off the excess paper as seen at the bottom of Image 6 .

Try to fold all seven slides flat. Start with the back one and work your way up so that the
slides don't rub against each other and catch. You should have the top flaps line up beside
each other so that it looks like seven strips of paper set beside each other.

Use tape to secure each "Strip-flap" to each other. (Images 7-9) When you are done, all of
the flaps should be strongly connected with tape at the ends and middle.

Measure the area of the segmented strip rectangle. Mine turned out (of course) to be 17.5
cm long, and around 7 cm. wide. Cut a piece of paper to that exact siz e. (Image 10 )

Spread glue on one side of the 17.5x7 piece of paper and carefully set it down on the top
flaps taped together. (Image 11) This is simply to add more strength and stiffness than a
few pieces of tape.

Now the artwork should look like Image 12. You're almost done!

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Step 9: Install the Structure

(https://cdn.instructables.com/FQG/SA8R/JVH3E4SQ/FQGSA8RJVH3E4SQ.LARGE.jpg) (https://cdn.instructables.com/FBN/ZPC9/JVH3E9Y1/FBNZPC9JVH3E9Y1.LARGE.jpg)
Lord of the Rings-themed Layer Papercutting by Indeluin (/member/Indeluin/) Follow Download Favorite

(https://cdn.instructables.com/F46/XI7Z/JVH3E9ZO/F46XI7ZJVH3E9ZO.LARGE.jpg)

3 More Images
(https://cdn.instructables.com/F85/CSN4/JVH3EA8Z/F85CSN4JVH3EA8Z.LARGE.jpg)

Pick up the paper structure and carefully see if it will fit inside the shadowbox. Some of
your ends will likely be poking out slightly; if so, carefully trim them off. (See what I mean by
looking at Image 1) Hopefully, your structure will now be able to sit snugly inside the box.

Apply a heavy layer of rubber cement glue to the bottom of your shadowbox. (Image 2)

Carefully set the bottom of the papercutting structure onto the glue. Press it down firmly
and carefully make sure it is parallel to the front and back of the box and pushed as far
towards the front as possible. (Image 3 )

Repeat the gluing process for the top side of the papercutting structure. Turn the box
upside down to do this.

Now it should be firmly glued in place!

 You might have an issue, however. Because there Follow
is no anchor for the sides,
Lord of the Rings-themed Layer Papercutting by Indeluin (/member/Indeluin/)
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some tree branches that flop down. (Image 4 ) To fix this, carefully spread a line of glue on
the edge of the floppy branch, on the flat line. (Image 5) Very, very carefully press it against
the shadowbox side where it is at the same level as the rest of the slide it is a part of.

And we are done! Check out the next step for some of my improvements I would do next
time.

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Step 10: Improvements

(https://cdn.instructables.com/FCO/G8V6/JVKSH75T/FCOG8V6JVKSH75T.LARGE.jpg)

Well, after reading how to make this project I suppose you can see how much I love doing
art, and how much I love the Lord of the Rings! Making this project was a challenge for me,
and it ended up exactly as I envisioned it. However, I do have a few ideas I would add for
improvement.

-Possibly make some sort of anchor on the sides as well as the top and bottom. Although it
works well as is, having something to hold the sides would help the overall structure to
hold together better.

-Add some grass or other plants to the ground.

-Make it bigger! It turned out super cool, but I think making one in a larger siz e would allow
for a lot more detail and more hidden objects.

-Use colored paper or paint the paper. I think that might add some interest to the artwork.

And that's about it! I thoroughly enjoyed making this lovely Elven-art and I hope you will
enjoy it too! Thanks for reading my Instructable.
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(/member/attosa/) attosa (/member/attosa/) 14 days ago

This is beautiful!
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(/member/jessyratfink/) jessyratfink (/member/jessyratfink/) 15 days ago