How to Make People Cutouts

Make paper people cutouts.

People cutouts serve many artistic purposes. You can decorate chains of them to look like gingerbread men for Christmas or create chains of ethnically diverse people as decorations for a classroom or diversity event. They also make creative family trees. You could cut out a long paper people chain and draw or paste a picture of a family member's face onto each person. You could even decorate the bodies with period clothing or favorite outfits.

Instructions

1. Fold a long paper strip into an accordion. Use paper about 6 inches wide and several feet long. Start at the left end and fold that end to the right about 5 inches. Grip the paper by the new fold and flip the paper over. Fold the folded edge back to the left about 5 inches. Continue until the entire paper is folded up.

2. Press the accordion down as flat as possible, making the top page smooth and stable. Draw a basic human figure (not a stick figure) on this top fold. Make sure the arms and legs stretch clear out to the edges of the page, especially the folded edge.

3. Hold the accordion firmly in one hand and cut around your human figure with very sharp scissors. Leave the folded edges intact at the hands and feet. This ensures that your people will stay connected.

4. Discard the paper scraps and unfold your accordion. The result should be a chain of human figures holding hands.

Tips & Warnings

• To make a lot of individual human figures, cut away the folds near the hands and feet to separate them.

• Use fabric scraps, buttons and puff paints to decorate your figures after cutting them out.

References

• Parents Connect: Paper Chain People
• Origami Resource Center: Circular Paper Dolls