How I Cut Letters For My Collages

As you can see in my collages I use a lot of letters, typo and numbers in my artwork. I like to play with them like a puzzle.  Always looking for connections between these different shapes.

 

I’m often asked how I cut the letters for my collages. And if I use a cutting system or cutting by hand. 

I like to use a x-acto knife for the smaller ones and a cutter for the bigger ones from billboard poster. I heard that a scalpel is better for this kind of cutting than an x-acto knife. Will definitive try this out as soon as I get such a scalpel.

 

It’s important to use a cutting mat to avoid slices in your working table. When I find a page with letters in a magazine I use this as a template. I add one or two sheets of paper under the magazine page. Mostly I use monoprints or other paper from my artwork for this. I clip all the pages together to make sure the pages doesn’t slip while working. It’s easier to rotate the paper while working, especially for cutting curves. 

I cut through all the layers and so I get a lot more letters 
For my collages I use the letters but also the rest of the pages.

 

You will find a video about the cutting on my youtube channel

Happy cutting! 

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