This graphic designer and illustrator from Mumbai, India, knows how to mesmerize with her paper typography. If your natural reaction is, “What the heck is paper typography?”, it is the art of crafting letters by hand, using paper.
Sabeena Karnik is an expert in this. What sets her apart is her work is exclusively handcrafted and not done digitally. How she does it is in itself awe inspiring. She meticulously shapes out paper strips by hand by combining illustration with typography and pastes them onto a base. What gives an added allure to this three-dimensional work is the light and shadow effect.
If you think this job is easy, think again! This long-drawn process originates from a sketch that Karnik initially makes. She then translates it onto paper strips by using two sizes of such strips – 5mm and 10mm. This complex process entails curling, curving, folding, rounding and beautifying the paper strips. Thereafter, she precisely glues the paper strips on the edges and firmly sticks them to the base.
It is not surprising that an individual typography illustration takes a back-breaking 12-hours a day for about a week to 10 days for completion. In the final step,Karnik takes her works to the studio to be photographed. She explains, “The effect that light produces, when it falls on the paper art, is quite magical and makes the art complete.”
Karnik’s works are doing the rounds on the internet. Her unique paper typography is being appreciated by one and all and enjoys a sizeable following on the social media.
Sabeena Karnik
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