Making your own cardboard cutouts is not complicated; it requires a few simple tools and is inexpensive compared to using commercial services. You will need to find cardboard in large sizes, build a portfolio of photographs suitable for cutouts, and set aside a ventilated work area for working with large sheets of materials. You will also have to license inexpensive software for enlarging your images or shop around for deals on large output graphics in your area.
Instructions
Select and Enlarge the Cutout Image
1. Take or select a sharp, high resolution photograph with good contrast and color saturation. Remember that any defects will be enhanced when the image is enlarged. Make sure the background is obvious so you can trim the cutout image easily from it later.
2. Determine the size of cardboard you will use for your cutout. Common single-wall sizes of corrugated material range in size from 5 by 7 inches to 60 by 120 inches; double wall sizes range from 36 by 72 inches to 60 by 96 inches. Cardboard suppliers will likely have minimum order requirements, so if you only need one or two sheets try purchasing from a local art supply or framing store.
3. Enlarge the image to the size you want for your cutout and the size of cardboard you purchased. If you do not mind seeing a few seams you can work from a digitized image and use your inkjet printer and any number of software packages (about $20) that will expand the original image into 8.5-by-11-inch mosaic pieces you piece together after printing. An external supplier with large output graphic capability can produce a seamless image. Call ahead to find out the maximum width of its printers.
Mount and Cut Out the Image
4. Lay down protective paper or plastic to cover a flat, clean work area. You will also need a second piece of cardboard or other material you can cut into so you do not damage the surface underneath.
5. Apply a positionable mounting adhesive to the back of your enlarged image or mosaic pieces. Your options range from mounting sheets and spray mount type to wallpaper paste, thinned one-coat rubber cement or even white glue if you can work fast enough. Use a foam roller to apply liquid adhesive quickly and evenly.
6. Position the image on the cardboard, making sure to square off a region at the bottom so the cutout will stand. Cover the image with protective paper and, starting at the center and working diagonally to the corners, use a squeegee or roller to fix the image to the cardboard and remove any air bubbles. Allow the adhesive to dry.
7. Make several passes with either a sharp utility or heavy craft knife to trim the cutout image from the background. Leave the protective paper in place as much as you can to protect the image surface as you go.
Reinforce and Provide for the Cutout to Stand
8. Add lathe strips and construction glue to add stability to the back of your cutout if necessary.
9. Cut, sharpen and glue a 1-by-2-inch board to make a yard stake if the cutouts are being placed in a yard outdoors.
10. Cut a length of 1-by-2 to stretch from the bottom of the cutout up about two thirds to the top if you'll be standing the cutout indoors. Move the 1-by-2 down about three to four inches inches and glue the top to a piano hinge. Glue the other side of the hinge to the cutout. Tie a string between the the back of the cutout and the 1-by-2 to keep the supporting leg in place..
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