3D Wall Art From Line Art

I created this 3D layered plywood wall art from a flat piece of line art I found on the internet. The line art in itself is really nice, but I wanted something with a little depth. I used a vector art editor to trace the jpeg (Illustrator or Inkscape), and added a frame to it so that the artwork went outside the frame. I then separated it into layers for stacking. I used separate colors for the layers, so I could more easily identify the different layers in a 2D space. While this would have been an ideal project for a laser cutter, that is not one tool in my current arsenal. Since some of the inside corners are very tight, it is also not a good project for a CNC router.

24x48" 1/4" plywood

Wood glue

Glue stick

Acrylic paints

Wide format roll printer (or use a service bureau)

Tools

Scroll saw or Jigsaw

Sandpaper

I used a photo editing software (Photoshop or GIMP) to visualize what my final product colors would be, to give me an idea what I was trying to accomplish.

I spent a little time rearranging the layered pieces into an optimal pattern for a 24" x 48" piece of plywood. I had the pattern printed, then used a glue stick to lightly attach the print to the plywood. I used a jigsaw to separate some of the pieces, then the scroll saw to extract each part from the plywood. These photos are various stages of pieces being cutout and layered in place to see how it was progressing.

The spare parts of the original plywood were used to stack the frame in layers to add some back depth.

Glue all the pieces together. The first frame piece is the bottom of the artwork, but the top of the frame, so start there. Either build the frame behind it before you complete the lilies, or add the lilies first and complete the frame afterwards.

The layered frame also has a removable back piece. I thought of the option to make it removable so that a background or possibly a mirror could be used in its place. I ended up painting a makeshift background.

The layered plywood is quite appealing in it's own right, and contemplated using different wood stains to give it a truly woodworker type of feel, but ended up using acrylic paints instead. I covered all surfaces, so the acrylic works as a sealant once it has dried.

Start with a white base and cover everything. I gradually added colors to locations in phases, as some were very specific, and some were hard to reach. Add a new color once the previous one has dried. Hindsight I may have tried to paint it before assembly, but I was concerned about gluing it together after it was painted.

While it has a simple paint-by-numbers feel to it, I feel it came out quite appealing. Depending on the lighting angle, it can look rather flat or quite a bit of depth. This piece is hung on the wall.