In this series, we’ll look deeper into some of the projects on Behance.net that were especially admired in our community. This time, we spoke to Zim and Zou , (a French design studio formed by Lucie Thomas and Thibault Zimmermann) – whose paper-craft installations are constantly found in the “most appreciated” list. We spoke with them about these intricate sculptures on display in their latest, Cabinet de Curiosites.

What was your inspiration for this project?
We were inspired by the Cabinets of Curiosities of the 16th and 17th centuries, which were collections shown to the public full of all sorts of interesting things, mainly animals from around the world, strange artifacts, gems, skulls, and other crazy things. These “Cabinets of Curiosities” were the ancestors of Museums.

Can you describe your process in creating this project?
We looked a lot of engravings of the Cabinets before starting the project. Then, we chose to focus mainly on animals, so we studied shapes of birds, crustaceans, and insects. After doing rough drafts of the creatures, we started to work on the internal structures. It was pretty challenging because of the rounded shapes. As we are more used to working on geometric objects, dealing with “organic” elements was pretty difficult. The best solution that we found was to create the structure with rings of papers (to act as a skeleton), stuck together and covered with scotch and tissue paper to give it a smoother form. Then, we had to think about color harmonies, frames, and special cuts. Finally we installed the elements together on mid-tone colored backgrounds to shoot the pictures.

Did you expect it to be as popular as it’s been on The Behance Network?
Honestly, it’s always very difficult to know if a project will be appreciated or not! Especially for this project, because we used mid-tone papers, shining gold paper, glitter papers, framed papers – these colors are very different from the flashy colors we’re used to working with. We wanted to try something new for us and we’re very pleased that people like it!

Did you go through many versions and iterations before coming up with these final pieces?
Yes, we often go through many versions for the same work. I think that’s part of the reflexion process. We need to try a lot of compositions before selecting the best one.

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In this series, we’ll look deeper into some of the projects on Behance.net that were especially admired in our community. This time, we spoke to Jirka Väätäinen, a Finnish graphic design student in the UK. His “Envisioning Real Life Disney Characters” captured the imagination of Behancers – and was picked up all over the web (including on Reddit!) We spoke with him about his inspiration, and how he transformed these familiar characters.

What was your inspiration for this project?
I have always been interested in character design, as well as in the way people look and what makes them unique in their appearances. But the idea for doing these characters basically came out of nowhere; one day I just thought about exploring what the character of Ursula from the Little Mermaid could look like in real life. Having grown up with a lot of these characters, the sense of nostalgia made it such a fascinating and a fun personal project to explore and carry on with.

Can you describe your process in creating this project?
Being familiar with all the characters and having a clear idea of what I’m looking to portray, I start by finding appropriate inspiration from real life people and photos that somehow remind me of the character. Then, I start working towards my vision, and I basically pick a feature from here and there, manipulate it, and combine and blend different elements together. I guess you could call my method a modern day ‘frankensteining’. All of this photo compositing and manipulation is further enhanced by doing digital painting by hand.

Did you go through many versions and iterations before coming up with these final pieces?
No, not really. I usually have a strong vision on what I would imagine the characters to look like, so the final pieces usually come together quite easily. It’s usually just a series of small tweaks, not multiple versions that I need to go through. But surely, it all takes a lot of man hours to get my vision just right!

Did anything interesting happen as a result of the success of  this project?  (fans contacting you, job opportunities, blogs picking it up, etc).
Oh, definitely – it has been a very interesting time! I do get a lot of lovely comments on my blog, and have people emailing me personally. It feels great to know that so many people have been able to appreciate what I have done, and that I have inspired other creatives as well. And yes, blogs have picked it up, and I have been lucky enough to be featured on a bunch of great sites. I have also received some interesting job opportunities, but being a final year University student, sometimes it has been difficult to go along with these. All of this exposure also landed me an exciting internship that I will be looking to take on in September!

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In this series, we’ll look deeper into some of the projects on Behance.net that were especially admired in our community. This time, we spoke to Attila Szamosi & Lars Wunderlich (PEACHBEACH) an illustrator and graffiti artist living in Berlin, about their project, Colour in Forgotten Places. Szamosi says “there is too much gray in the world,” and, with the help of some collaborators, is filling Berlin’s out-of-the-way walls with unique, kickass illustrations.

What was your inspiration for this project?
First of all: This is not a commercial project. We have been Graffiti-writers for quite a long time. Lars has been doing signs on walls for 16 years now – he started in his early youth. So putting our creations on walls was always essential for us. This is not just a hobby, it’s the pure love to paint something big on places we love. We love to discover new spots, which mostly means to visit and explore old abandoned rotten dark cellars and creepy rooms, where the wind whistles on every corner. Sometimes, it is like an adventure holiday.

Can you describe your process in creating this project?
Mostly we walk around searching for the right spot. When we find it, we start sketching in front of the wall, then we move onto painting. Mostly, we use wall paint and spraycans.

Did you go through many versions and iterations before coming up with these final pieces?
No. Mostly we try to work freestyle at these spots, directly from mind to wall.

Do you feel that this project is “done,” or is there anything you’d like to improve on or change in the future?
No, this work will never be done. There is to much grey in the world.

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