How to Create Tissue Paper Collage Art

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Things You'll Need

  • Tissue paper in various colors

  • White glue

  • Mixing cup

  • Soft medium sized paintbrush

  • Stencil or clip art

  • Pencil

  • Scissors

  • White cardstock

Tissue paper collage art is easy to make and a fun kid friendly activity perfect for lazy afternoons, birthday parties or school projects.

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How to make Tissue Collage Art

Step 1

Supplies you will need

With tissue paper and white glue it's easy make collage art. Please see the last slide for an itemized list of tools and materials.

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Step 2

Use Elephant here, or make your own design

Begin by deciding on a project. If you're looking for something fun and fairly easy, animals are a good fit for beginners or children. You can trace one out of a book, use a stencil or print clip art from the computer. You can print the elephant in this article from the link in the last slide.

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Step 3

Choose contrasting colors

Next, decide on a color theme. A good idea is to pick contrasting colors, one for your animal and one for your background. In this example, warm yellows and oranges make up the background, and cool blues form the elephant.

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Step 4

Cut tissue into 1 inch squares

Cut tissue into roughly 1 inch squares. Six colors are shown here. About 1/2 a sheet of each color are needed to cover a 12 by 12 inch paper.

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Step 5

Cut out with scissors

Cut clipart out with scissors.

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Step 6

Trace onto white cardstock

Place the cut-out on white cardstock and trace, transfering the image to the cardstock.

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Step 7

Make glaze with 1/2 white glue 1/2 water

Mix a 1/2 white glue and 1/2 water in a mixing cup. Three Tbsp of each will make enough glaze to cover a 12 by 12 inch paper.

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Step 8

Start with background

Begin with the background. Paint a small amount of cardstock with glaze and place a square of tissue paper down. Immediately add more glaze over top. Add more tissue squares to cover the white cardstock, overlapping them as you go.

Step 9

Trim tissue to fit in tight places

Place the edges of the square tissue right along the edge of your drawing. In tight places you can trim tissue to fit.

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Step 10

Use darker colors to make a pattern

To acquire the yellow background seen here, mix both light and dark yellows and place them at random. Then, add darker colors to make a pattern.

Step 11

Cover the elephant the same way

Cover the elephant the same way as the background. Clip smaller pieces to fit in tight areas, such as the trunk and legs. A light blue, a light turquoise blue and a light lavender cover the elephant in this example.

Step 12

Use dark tissue for shadows and details

Trim longer, smaller bits of tissue in a darker tone to create shadows and details. Place under the belly, under the trunk, on the backside of the legs and to form the ears and eyes.

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