It’s almost too perfect: using the natural world to “color in” paper cut outs of animals.
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Artist Nikolai Tolstyh takes photos of paper animal silhouettes in natural settings, using leaves, flowers, and grass to mimic the actual coloring of the animals.
And so a giraffe’s spots are depicted by blossoming yellow buds, while thin brown leaves serve as a tiger’s stripes.
The sharp white lines of the paper edges stand in stark constrast with the unruly natural setting.
Papercutting as an art has been practiced since at least the 6th century in China. However, it was only in the 16th or 17th century that this craft reached Europe.
You can see more glorious photos on Tolstyh’s Instagram.