How Long Did That Take? A Look at A Day in the Life

Recently, I’ve been asked a lot, “How long does it take to make your paper cut art?” My usual response is ONE MONTH. But as I thought about it, that’s not really an accurate answer. It does take 4 to 6 weeks (or a month and a half) to create a paper cut artwork, but it’s not so simple.

Technically, I think I could finish one artwork in approximately two weeks if I worked a typical 9-5, 5 days a week and had no other work-related tasks. Which is not the case. And after doing the math, it looks like I’m actually spending upwards of 70 hours on one artwork.

Here’s a little breakdown of where that time is coming from.

A Day in the Life #

Here’s a quick peek into my typical day:

Morning #

• Start the Day

It usually takes an hour for me to wake up, because I am not a morning person. Get out of bed, make tea, feed the dogs and them attempt to motivate myself for the day. Sometimes I check social media, or read a bit of a book, play some video games, or something else relaxing that gets my mind awake, inspired, and working for the day.

• Set Intentions and Goals for the Day and Journal

After the morning routine of getting dressed, I sit and write in my journal to get the anxious thoughts out so they don’t bother me all day, then see what goals I need or want to complete. I like making lists and checking off tasks, so I make a list of things I want to complete for my routines, work, and personal tasks and check it throughout the day.

I use a Hobonichi planner for all this; it’s a great all-in-one place for tracking all the things, and I love layout and cover options. (Not affiliated, but here’s a link if you’re interested.)

• Eat the Frog

I mostly hate doing the business stuff. Checking emails and DM’s, posting, updating my website, uploading pictures for printing, taking pictures… there’s always so many little things to do that pile up (cause I’m bad at doing them) and end up taking too much time. So I take work mornings and do what I can so I don’t end up needing a week away from art to do it all (which has happened, so I’m trying to avoid that by spreading it out).

I also use Notion to help track all my art and business stuff. I got a template from Mimimoo and adapted it to also track my business tasks, habits, and goals. (Again, not affiliated, but here’s the link to the template, and a link to try Notion.)

• Sketching & Commissions

If there is time after finishing the business stuff, (or if it’s making me irritated) I’ll sketch. This is the time I take to warm up, remember how to draw, and draw whatever I want. Sometimes, when I’m in the right mood, I’ll study something, like hands (ugh), or try to find the right composition for my next paper artwork. I’ve got the most patience in the morning, so it’s the best time to learn something new and not get frustrated.

This is also the time I use for commissions. Since I’m only doing digital art commissions right now, I use this morning time to work on those. I haven’t been inundated with commission work yet, so this is a nice balance for me to stay motivated on both personal and paid work without having to give up or feel like I need to give up either.

Afternoon #

• Breaktime

I cook lunch for myself everyday, so I take a nice break midday. Sometimes I’ll walk my dog at this time (if it’s not too hot or cold), make some more tea for the afternoon and sometimes do something relaxing. Like reading or hanging out in my imagination.

I then take some time to start preparing to go live (Tuesday through Friday; 2-4pm MST). While I have a good setup, it does require some effort to get ready and clean up everyday, depending on what I’ll be doing. The time feels more successful and less stressful if I have a good idea of what to accomplish in that two hour window, and (literally) set myself up for success.

• Live Painting

For two hours, four days a week, I work on art and share it live on Tiktok. This is where the majority of the timing for the paper art comes from. Doing art live has kept me accountable to my deadlines and creative goals. I never used to share my art or process before, so doing this has let me let go of some of the anxiety I have surrounding my artwork and embrace the un-perfectness of creating. It’s a time I look forward to each day I plan to do it.

Afterwards, I take a little time to decompress and review whatever I did. It’s clean-up time, reorganizing, rewatching the live to see if there’s any part of it to share, and determining what I’ll do the next time.

Evening #

• Dinner & Family Time

The end of the live signals the end of the workday, so then it’s time to spend a few hours with the family, watching tv, making dinner, and hanging out with my dogs. For the most part, I like cooking and picking meals for the week. Just like my art, it’s not always perfect, but as long as it’s edible, it’s enough.

• Letting the Imagination Run Wild

Before bed, there’s always a little free time and what I do with this time varies. Usually, it’s hobby time; crochet, video games, movies, or reading. Most days, I will sketch or work on digital art because I get the motivation for it. Occasionally, I write. Most nights, before bed, I daydream.

I’m a maladaptive daydreamer, so there are days where I literally live in my imagination to cope with whatever stress or anxiety I’m feeling. It’s not particularly healthy, but it’s something I’ve done since I was a child and it’s where a lot of my creativity comes from. In my daydreams, characters and worlds come to life, and then I put those images on paper. Most of these I keep to myself, but these vivid dreams are what keep me motivated to keep creating. Allowing me time to live in my imagination before bed helps keep the daydreams from distracting me from the other work I want to do throughout the day.

PSA: Maladaptive daydreaming is a symptom or response to anxiety, depression, OCD, and ADHD. It is different from regular daydreams, and not just having an “overactive imagination”, but rather a form of escapsim as part of mental illness. I only understand it in terms of my own mind and journey with mental health. Please talk to a health professional if you think your daydreams are causing issues with daily life.

That’s the typical day, but it varies week to week. I give myself the flexibility to give more attention to the business side if it’s needed, or with the art when that’s needed. Despite having several methods to track and plan my days, I’m not a planner; I do things when I am in the mood to do it, including the things I don’t like to do. Sometimes I want to edit photos and create social media posts; most of the time I dont. Sometimes the art doesn’t want to art and I ignore my current work. For me, trying to stick to a strict schedule ruins my motivation.

The Math #

Let’s add up a few hours;

• 2 hours of live art
• ~1 hour of sketching in the morning
• ~1 hour of artwork in the evening

That’s 4 hours a day x 4 days a week = 16 hours a week x 4 weeks = 64 hours in a month, or; 4 x 4 = 16 x 6 weeks = 96 hours for a single paper artwork.

So How Long Does It Take? #

Between 60-100 hours for one artwork.

This is just an estimate.. There are days I spend more than an hour on sketching; some days I might spend six hours on art. There are other days when I don’t do art at all. I don’t time myself when I do art, or give myself strict deadlines or specific time to do art (like forcing myself to do an hour everyday). Some artwork doesn’t need 10 hours to get the sketch and line art done; some needs double that estimate. Some artwork is more detailed and the paper art takes more than four weeks to paint, cut, and assemble. The more I push and challenge myself and my skills, the more time it takes.

But that’s part of why I love this work, and I guess that’s why I wanted to share this.

I love the time it takes to see an artwork come together. I don’t mind taking an extra five hours to get the sketch just right, or repaint a whole section because it didn’t turn out right the first time. I don’t mind taking an extra day to work out composition. I like the four hours it takes just to paint the sides of cut peices to make them look good. Whatever it is, I like doing it (unless it’s taking photos).

TLDR #

• Estimated, it takes a minimum of 60 hours to create a single paper cut artwork.
• I typically spend half my work day on business related things (like posting to social media and updating my website and Etsy shop).
• In a single day, I do approx 4 hours on art, including sketching, research and practice, painting, or live art process.