How to Make a Paper Cut Out Effect in Adobe Photoshop

It looks like a paper cut out, but it's done digitally from start to finish. We show you how to create this effect using Adobe Photoshop

A paper cut out effect tries to achieve the look of several superimposed layers of paper to create depth in a design. Cutting paper has proven to be a highly versatile technique in advertising, pop-up books, and mask making. It is the perfect example of how, with the simplest tools, such as paper, scalpel, glue, and scissors, you can create spectacular and highly complex work of art.

The technique is simple, but, in the real world, it requires significant manual labor and the appropriate materials. Here, we will show you how to create the same look completely digitally, using only Photoshop:

How to create a paper cut out effect in Photoshop

1. Draw the main shape. Use the Pen tool to create the desired shapes. You can create some letters or basic polygons. Whatever you decide, try to use several elements in the composition and add some color to them.

2. Add a shadow. The key to the paper cut out effect lies in the shadows we use to give depth to the design. To add exterior shadows to any of the figures, double-click the layer that contains a figure, and a panel will open to give it a style. Select the Drop Shadow option. Adjust the settings to achieve the desired effect. Finally, uncheck the Global Light box.

3. Play with an inner shadow. You can also play with Inner Shadow on some elements of the central part of your composition to achieve a greater 3D feeling, enhancing the aesthetic of a traditional paper cut out.

4. Adjust the shadows. For more detail, you can edit the shadow separately from the fill layer. To do this, go to the Layer menu, then to Layer Style, and choose the Create Layer option. Now in your layer panel, you will have two layers: one of the shape and one of the drop shadow. You can use the eraser to edit and remove parts of the shadow you don't want in your image.

5. Create a grainy paper texture. The secret to the success of your digital paper cut out is in the texture. Make a new layer, place it on top of your composition, and fill it with gray. Then go to the Filter menu and look for the option Add Noise.

6. To create the paper texture in your image, select the layer with the gray color, and select the styling option Soft Light. And voila, you are done. You can play and experiment with this technique in all kinds of illustrations.

Information via Lidia Lukianova.

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- Paper cut out: Illustrating with Layers of Paper, a course by José Antonio Roda.
- Lettering with Volume, a Lobulo course.
- Illustration and Creation of a Paper Theater, a course by Elena Odriozola Belástegui.