Face With Recycled Paper Cylinders

In this tutorial, we'll create a face out of recyclable paper, using notebook paper, pads, newspapers, etc., which we've already used for their respective purposes and don't know what to do with anymore.

To make this mixed-media painting, you need to make a sketch, prepare the different colors, and roll the paper into cylinders, as I'll explain in this tutorial, to make it perfect.

So, find some materials, recyclable paper, and get to work!

To make this mixed media painting, you'll need sheets of white or colored paper that you no longer use.

Tools

The tools you'll need are:

A canvas (I used a 9" x 12" one)

Paint: red, orange, yellow, blue, indigo, and purple

Glue

Colored pencil

Scissors

Paintbrush

box cutter

Before you start creating the paper cylinders, draw a sketch you like best. You don't need to be an artist; just find a reference image and draw guidelines.

One advantage of this technique is that it works great with simple drawings.

Once you've chosen your reference, draw it with a pencil on the canvas.

For this project, I used 13 plastic cups and poured 1 cm of water into each one. Then, I added the different combinations of paint to create the different colors we'll be using in the painting.

For my paint, I used the following colors:

White

Yellow

Light yellow: made with a combination of white and yellow.

Orange: made with a combination of red and yellow.

Pink

red: made with a combination of red and white.

Blue

Light blue: made with a combination of blue and white.

Purple: made with a combination of blue and red.

Light purple: made with a combination of blue, red, and white.

Black

Brown: made with a combination of red, blue, and yellow.

Now, let's mix each of the preparations.

Using the notebooks we no longer use and the box cutter, we'll cut out the pages and color them with each combination we made earlier.

This step can be a great opportunity to share with our children, as they don't have to be perfect, so it's a great way to spend quality time with our loved ones.

Finally, let them dry in a well-ventilated place for about two hours.

This is the most fun part of this instructable.

With the leaves already painted in different shades and dry, we'll roll the paper using the filigree technique and glue it so the cylinder stays firm when creating the painting, since we'll have to cut them according to the size of the painting we're going to make.

For this sketch, I'll define the dimensions to create the grid and then draw the eyes, nose, and mouth following the guidelines.

Now we'll color it with the colors of our choice. Ideally, choose colors similar to the paint on the plastic cups.

Once the sketch is colored, we'll paint the background with black paint, using a fine brush to outline the areas and a thick brush to paint the rest of the canvas.

Keeping in mind that my painting is of a woman's face with a sad expression, we'll glue the cylinders together to create a touch of humor.

We'll start with the cylinders on the left and then work with smaller 7.4 cm cylinders to create the woman's bangs. Afterward, we'll arrange and cut them according to our criteria. Another basic measurement is the woman's chin, which will measure 1.27 cm in black.

To create relief, we'll place some cylinders scattered throughout the painting on top of the initial base created.

We've finished our beautiful mixed-media face painting using recycled paper cylinders!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial on another way to reuse unused paper, and that you're inspired to make one yourself!