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GUIDE TO
MAKING THE
INSECTS
Course by Sarah Louise Matthews

This document will give you some steps and advice to bear in mind
when making the foliage for the final project.

This material is protected by intellectual property rights and it can only be downloaded if
the course is purchased on Domestika. The reproduction, redistribution or sale of this
material or the class is prohibited. If you obtained it on another website or platform,
please, send an e-mail to hola@domestika.org

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Ladybird
I’d suggest using papers between around 120-140gsm for this for the coloured
papers. For the tracing paper feel free to experiment with which ever weights you
can get your hands on! Generally speaking, the thinner it is, the more translucent
your wings will be.

Glue the spots onto the wings using a tiny dot of tacky glue on each. I’d recommend
using tweezers to hold each piece when you do this.

Fold the score line on the pink body piece into a valley fold, to separate the head
and body, then curve the body and head with the bone folder, to give it some shape
and dimension.

Working in two sections, curve the red wing piece using a bone folder (curving one
half at a time), then fold back the tab on this piece.

Use tracing paper for the wings to give that lovely delicate, translucent effect.
Attach these to the body using two tiny dots of tacky glue, then attach the red
wings on top.

For the wire, I used white paper-wrapped cake decorating wire (you can buy it
already wrapped with the paper from cake decorating suppliers). The reason I chose
this is that it will be closer in colour to the pale pink background paper I’m using for
my composition than if I used the green floristry wire, so it will be less visible in the
final images and easier to edit out.

Use a glue gun to attach the wire to the back of the ladybird, with the ladybird at a
bit of an angle like it’s flying off.

I made two of these for my final project, one with the wire and one without, which
will be on the base of the final composition.

This material is protected by intellectual property rights and it can only be downloaded if
the course is purchased on Domestika. The reproduction, redistribution or sale of this
material or the class is prohibited. If you obtained it on another website or platform,
please, send an e-mail to hola@domestika.org

 Supplemental Resources domestika.org

Butterfly
I’d suggest using papers between around 120-140gsm for this.

Of course, feel free to make any variety of butterfly you would like! You
can change the shape and colours, and even add a pattern!

Try to make all of your pieces symmetrical. If you are cutting the pieces
by hand, you might find it easier to fold the paper first, then cut half of
the template, aligning the central fold of the template with the folded
edge of the paper, so that when you open it out you have the
symmetrical piece, as these pieces will all have centre folds anyway.

When you’re gluing the top body piece on, make sure to only apply tiny
dots of glue to the tabs to prevent any from seeping out, as any excess
could mean that the body sticks down onto the wings rather than
standing up.

I made two of these for my final project, in different sizes. I attached

one to the echinacea, so that it looked like it had landed on there, and
attached the other one to the pyramid. When you’re deciding where to
put things like these you can use blu tack to temporarily position them
so that you can keep moving them around until you’re happy.

You could also choose to add a wire to these to make them fly above
your composition if you’d prefer!

This material is protected by intellectual property rights and it can only be downloaded if
the course is purchased on Domestika. The reproduction, redistribution or sale of this
material or the class is prohibited. If you obtained it on another website or platform,
please, send an e-mail to hola@domestika.org

 Supplemental Resources domestika.org

Bee
I’d suggest using papers between around 120-140gsm for this for the coloured
papers. For the tracing paper feel free to experiment with which ever weights
you can get your hands on! Generally speaking, the thinner it is, the more
translucent your wings will be.

Curve the mustard body with a bone folder, to give it some shape and
dimension.

Attach the black pieces to the body using small pieces of gel tape, one (with the
legs attached) on the back and one (without the legs) on the front. The gel tape
adds some depth!

Use tracing paper for the wings to give that lovely delicate, translucent effect.
Attach these to the front black piece using a tiny dot of tacky glue on each,
layering the wings up with one pair on the bottom and one pair on the top.

For the wire, I used white paper-wrapped cake decorating wire (you can buy it
already wrapped with the paper from cake decorating suppliers). The reason I
chose this is that it will be closer in colour to the pale pink background paper
I’m using for my composition than if I used the green floristry wire, so it will be
less visible in the final images and easier to edit out.

Use a glue gun to attach the wire to the back of the bee, with the bee at a bit of
an angle like it’s flying off.

I made one of these for my final project.

This material is protected by intellectual property rights and it can only be downloaded if
the course is purchased on Domestika. The reproduction, redistribution or sale of this
material or the class is prohibited. If you obtained it on another website or platform,
please, send an e-mail to hola@domestika.org