How to Create Neighborhood Cutouts

Skyline photos such as this one can be turned into outline drawings to create neighborhood cutouts.

Whether you are creating a Safety Town or building a neighborhood display for a community art project, neighborhood cutouts are not complicated. Plywood works best for long-term displays, but you can use cardboard or rigid craft foam for indoor or fair-weather displays. The more building types you include, the more interesting your cutout neighborhood will be.

Things You'll Need

• Printer
• Clear plastic overhead sheets
• Overhead projector
• Easel pad and carpenters' pencil
• 1/4-inch thick plywood, 1/8-inch corrugated cardboard or rigid craft foam
• Jig saw
• Utility knife or scissors
• 2- by 2-inch lengths of stock lumber, length to be determined
• Brass wood screws
• Carpenters' glue or instant adhesive
• Water
• 4- to 6-inch laying-in brushes
• 2-inch trim brush
• Watercolor brushes
• Palette, palette knife
• Acrylic paints
• Clear acrylic sealant

Instructions

1. 

   This drawing could be used to make a bank or factory cutout.

   Find outline images of neighborhood buildings, people and scenery. Kaboose, Crayola and Coloring Book Fun all have free printable coloring pages from which to choose.

2. Load your printer with clear plastic overhead sheets. Print your desired neighborhood coloring pages onto the sheets.

3. Place one sheet at a time on an overhead projector. Tape easel pad paper to the wall. Move the projector forward and back until the image on the easel paper is clear and is the size you need for your chosen neighborhood cutout. 3/4 to 1/2 life-size is large enough for school-age children. For a 1/2 life-size cutout, 12 inches in real life equals 6 inches in your cutout.

4. Cut around the outline of each drawing. This is your template. Sketch two of each template onto the plywood, cardboard or rigid craft foam you are using to build your town. These are the front and back of your buildings.

5. 

   Jig saws are able to cut curves and complex outlines.

   Cut two squares of plywood, cardboard or rigid craft foam for each building, the same height as the front and back pieces. These will be the sides of your buildings. Use a jig saw for the plywood and scissors or a utility blade for the cardboard or craft foam.

6. Assemble each building using butt joinery. Butt joints are weak and must be strengthened using glue and nails. Place the building front and back between the sides. Woodworkers Dan and Deb McBride of AZ Woodman advise using corner blocks for the strongest butt joints. For the plywood buildings, cut four 2- by 2-inch lengths of stock wood to the same height as the sides, to use as corner supports for each building. Place one support in each corner.

7. Beginning at the top left corner of each side, drill 1/8-inch diameter pilot holes every two inches through the right and left sides of the building, into the corner supports. Secure with 3/16-inch diameter brass wood screws. The cardboard and craft foam buildings can be assembled using carpenters' glue or instant adhesive and do not need screws.

8. Prime any cardboard by applying water to both the inside and outside of each wall of each building, using 4- to 6-inch laying-in brushes or a 2-inch trim brush. Allow to dry overnight.

9. Apply two coats of acrylic paint to the inside and outside of each cardboard wall. Allow to dry overnight between coats. This will prevent warping when the paint and sealants are applied.

10. Mix paints on a palette, using a palette knife. Paint all buildings using watercolor brushes and acrylic paints. Allow all paint to dry overnight. Apply two to three coats of clear acrylic sealant, allowing each coat to dry overnight.

Tips & Warnings

• If you do not want to use an overhead projector to enlarge your drawings, Homakaasu has a program called the Rasterbator that allows you to assemble a poster-size to mural-size version of your drawing.

References

• AZ Woodman: Box Joints: Finger Joint, Dovetail, Mitered, Rabbet Butt
• How to Draw and Paint: Introduction to Acrylic Painting Materials

Resources

• Homokaasu: Rasterbator Drawing Enlargement Program
• Kaboose: Tarveling Family
• Crayola: City Skyline Coloring Page
• Coloring Book Fun: Neighborhood Coloring Pages