Advanced Papercraft Techniques: Designing with Paper
A course by Diana Beltran HerreraIndustrial Designer
A course by Diana Beltran Herrera, Industrial Designer
Explore the possibilities of paper by transforming designs into volumetric shapes
Have you ever pondered the endless creative possibilities of the humble sheet of paper? Diana Beltrán is a designer and paper sculptor who has worked for major international clients like James Cropper, Hodder and Stoughton, Marina Rinaldi, and many more.
In this online course, join her on a journey through exciting techniques and innovative ways to design with paper. With a range of simple exercises combining manual and digital methods, discover how to model this cheap and easy-to-find material, transforming two-dimensional designs into incredible compositions created with volumetric shapes.
What will you learn in this online course?
19 lessons & 15 downloads
Start of the idea: references and drawing
14 minutes, 1 second
Cover design
5 minutes, 8 seconds
How to cut and paste
11 minutes, 5 seconds
How do I use watercolors
2 minutes, 25 seconds
Structures with wire
7 minutes, 54 seconds
Sort and Crop 1
15 minutes, 51 seconds
What's included in this course?
Start by learning about Diana Beltrán Herrera's background, her influences, and which pieces of work and artists inspire her the most when creating her own art.
She then explains how to search for references to help create your design. Diana focuses much of her work on birds and nature, so the piece she shows you how to make features flora and fauna. Once you have your folder of images, import them into Illustrator and design the first sketch of your final project.
Now it's time to get your hands dirty! Diana explains how to cut the pieces and use the glue correctly. Apply watercolors and other painting materials to develop all the elements of your design.
Next, dive right into creating the main volumetric component of your design. Look at how to create the main structure (in this case, a bird) using paper and how to assemble each of the parts, which are created separately. Learn how to dress the skeleton of your bird with paper feathers and add the eyes and beak.
Once you've made the three-dimensional figure, move on to create the typography, also using paper. Arrange all the elements on the background and position the decorative pieces, then Diana wraps up by giving you some tips on how to get the best results when working with paper compositions.
What is this course's project?
Combine digital and manual techniques to create a graphic piece with two- and three-dimensional elements to be used as the scene for the cover of a book, poster, or magazine.
Projects by course students
Who is this online course for?
Designers, illustrators, and anyone interested in exploring the possibilities of such a seemingly simple material as paper, to incorporate into their creations in unexpected ways.
Requirements and materials
No prior experience is needed to take this course, you just need to be skilled with your hands and have basic notions of Illustrator to make the initial composition.
As for materials, you need different colored paper (Diana recommends the Canson brand for its stiffness) or cardboard, liquid silicone or glue, a precision scalpel with fine tip, a cutting surface, fine-point scissors, a ruler, a pencil, an eraser, masking tape, and paints. You also need a computer installed with Illustrator and a printer.
Reviews
- 6 months ago
Diana tem um talento incrível! Um dos melhores cursos que fiz na domestika! Obrigada por compartilhar suas técnicas!
- 6 months ago
Super helpfull!
- javosanvalPLUS11 months ago
Estoy iniciando una nueva etapa como artista por hobbie, este curso es muy bueno.
- 11 months ago
excelente curso,mis felicitaciones a la artista.
- 1 year ago
Amazing course and project. Super generous all the data and details shared. Thank you!
Nature and animals are very present in Diana Beltrán's work, which she explores endlessly through papercraft.
Her work has been exhibited in Europe, Asia, Latin America, and the United States, where she has participated in group and solo shows. She has also worked for international clients in editorial design, advertising, window dressing, events, and interior design projects, working for 215 McCann, Olivari Olive Oil, Volevatch, Longwood Gardens US, ENI, Marina Rinaldi, Lebeau-Courally, James Cropper UK, Hodder and Stoughton UK, Horse Mag, On investing magazine, the Libertine Lindenberg Hotel, Restaurant Auberge de l'Ill, Mercedes Salazar, and UH Hospitals USA.
Content
- U1
Hello welcome!
- Presentation
- Influences
- U2
Building the idea
- materials
- Start of the idea: references and drawing
- Cover design
- U3
Preliminary techniques
- How to cut and paste
- How do I use watercolors
- Structures with wire
- U4
Let's do it!
- Sort and Crop 1
- Sort and Crop 2
- We are going to make skeleton and legs of our bird
- We paste tail and wings
- We stick feathers, beak and eyes 1
- We stick feathers, beak and eyes 2
- We stick feathers, beak and eyes 3
- U5
Let's build our cover
- We'll start with the background and the lettering
- The decoration
- We posed the bird
- Final recommendations
- FP
Final project
- Advanced papercraft techniques: designing with paper
What to expect from a Domestika course
Learn at your own pace
Enjoy learning from home without a set schedule and with an easy-to-follow method. You set your own pace.
Learn from the best professionals
Learn valuable methods and techniques explained by top experts in the creative sector.
Meet expert teachers
Each expert teaches what they do best, with clear guidelines, true passion, and professional insight in every lesson.
Certificates
PLUSIf you're a Plus member, get a custom certificate signed by your teacher for every course. Share it on your portfolio, social media, or wherever you like.
Get front-row seats
Videos of the highest quality, so you don't miss a single detail. With unlimited access, you can watch them as many times as you need to perfect your technique.
Share knowledge and ideas
Ask questions, request feedback, or offer solutions. Share your learning experience with other students in the community who are as passionate about creativity as you are.
Connect with a global creative community
The community is home to millions of people from around the world who are curious and passionate about exploring and expressing their creativity.
Watch professionally produced courses
Domestika curates its teacher roster and produces every course in-house to ensure a high-quality online learning experience.
FAQs
You’ll learn manual and digital collage techniques, volumetric paper sculpture, how to create birds and flowers, hand-dyeing paper, precise cutting with scalpels and scissors, and designing covers using programs like Illustrator.
This is an intermediate-level course. It’s perfect if you already have some basic crafting or art skills, but beginners who are eager and ready to learn new techniques are also welcome.
You’ll need art paper (like Canson), magazines, scissors, a craft knife, liquid glue, a metal ruler, watercolors, ecoline inks, brushes, wire, floral tape, and access to Illustrator for the digital activities.
Yes, you’ll learn how to sculpt paper birds, including anatomical breakdowns, wing assembly, cutting and gluing feathers, and painting details to achieve a realistic and expressive finish.
By the end of the course, you’ll be able to create paper sculptures of birds, flowers, and botanical compositions, artistic covers, both digital and physical collages, and develop your own personal collection album.
It’s not mandatory, but having basic Illustrator skills is recommended for the digital collage, vectorization, and cover design sections.
You’ll learn how to dye paper using ecolines and watercolors, mix colors, dilute pigments, and apply drying and brush-cleaning techniques to achieve personalized, professional finishes.