Lisa Lloyd’s bird and butterfly paper sculptures are so spectacular and life-like that they can easily compete with the real-life ones. Such is her fascination with this form of sculpting that she doesn’t mind the backbreaking job of gluing together thousands of small pieces of paper.
The first step in Lloyd’s sculpting is to make the internal structure of the bird with cardboard and tissue paper. She then painstakingly places bits of paper feathers by means of a tweezer and glues them to the ‘body’ according to the color scheme of that particular species. These paper pieces may number over 4,000, depending upon the size of the winged creature. She makes the feet with wires wrapped in tissue paper.
Lloyd shared about her art with Colossal, thus, “Through practice, I’ve learned how to sculpt the paper so they look like they’re tilting and turning their heads, which makes them feel more alive. Also, I try to give the wings the appearance that the birds are ruffling their feathers, also to make them seem more alive.”
Lloyd started her career as a graphic designer and After Effects animator in London. She also worked on TV commercials and for the music industry, where she directed live-action music videos. She went on to become a co-owner of a London-based company, called Mr. and Mrs. Smith. The paper sculpting bug bit her eight years ago and made paper sculpting her main profession.
Nature is Lloyd’s greatest inspiration that opens her mind to the natural beauty of these winged creatures, including the incredible patterns, textures, colors and other tiny details of their bodies. And paper is her perfect medium to create these creatures into real-looking sculptures.
Lloyd’s works are featured on TV, books, magazines and on the net. Her creations are displayed on Instagram and can also be purchased from her online shop.
Lisa Lloyd Paper: Website | Instagram