Everything Papercraft - Dimension

When we talk about dimension in papercraft, we’re generally referring to the third spatial measurement known as depth. Since we begin our projects with flat pieces of paper that have only length and width, the challenge is in adding depth so that the eye perceives a three-dimensional image. Paper crafters meet this challenge by adding shadows and highlights that help to shape objects that are stamped, printed or drawn onto a flat surface.

We also create layered cards by fussy cutting elements and building them one on top of the other so that some items are “behind” and some are “in front”, tricking the eye into seeing depth. This is also done with stamped and masked images. Think of the little scenes we create that have a forested background with animals layered over the trees… that’s depth.

Stepped and pop-up cards are literally three-dimensional as they take up space not only vertically and horizontally, but also with depth.