"Patience you must have," Yoda would say.<br /><br />That's the least you need to painstakingly recreate classic Star Wars scenes from single sheets of paper using a knife, "kirigami" style.<br /><br />This one is from the beginning of <em>Star Wars IV: A New Hope</em>: "I love using forced perspective in my work such as in this piece. A lot of the original sets did that too before they where digitally enhanced," says the artist, London-based <a href="index.php?page=&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pixeldandy.co.uk" target="_blank" target="_blank">Marc Hagan-Guirey.</a>
Princess Leia giving R2 the Death Star plans —
"Patience you must have," Yoda would say.

That's the least you need to painstakingly recreate classic Star Wars scenes from single sheets of paper using a knife, "kirigami" style.

This one is from the beginning of Star Wars IV: A New Hope: "I love using forced perspective in my work such as in this piece. A lot of the original sets did that too before they where digitally enhanced," says the artist, London-based Marc Hagan-Guirey.
courtesy marc hagan-guirey
Why Star Wars? "I've grown up with it. I'm fascinated by it - especially the original trilogy," says the artist. "I was too young to catch them upon release, but my brother was the right age to initially get hooked on them and I naturally inherited that from him."
The Carbonite freezing chamber —
Why Star Wars? "I've grown up with it. I'm fascinated by it - especially the original trilogy," says the artist. "I was too young to catch them upon release, but my brother was the right age to initially get hooked on them and I naturally inherited that from him."
courtesy marc hagan-guirey
How long does it take to make one of these? "It really varies. If I get a clear run at something, it's usually about 5 days. But I tend to step away from a piece and go back to it a few days, weeks, or months later. For example, the Carbonite Freezing Chamber model, I've been working on this one for 2 years. So, I'd say anywhere between 5 days and 2 years."
The Carbonite freezing chamber —
How long does it take to make one of these? "It really varies. If I get a clear run at something, it's usually about 5 days. But I tend to step away from a piece and go back to it a few days, weeks, or months later. For example, the Carbonite Freezing Chamber model, I've been working on this one for 2 years. So, I'd say anywhere between 5 days and 2 years."
courtesy marc hagan-guirey
"Faithfully recreating interiors brings a whole new set of challenges - especially elements that you want to appear overhead such as the crane grips above frozen Han."
The Carbonite freezing chamber —
"Faithfully recreating interiors brings a whole new set of challenges - especially elements that you want to appear overhead such as the crane grips above frozen Han."
courtesy marc hagan-guirey
Picking which scenes to recreate out of paper is actually quite difficult: "There are so many great scenes to choose from. I have a list of 20 I want to do. The ones that get produced, which will be at least 12, will be decided by how successful the funding on <a href="index.php?page=&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.kickstarter.com%2Fprojects%2Fpaperdandy%2Fcut-scene-kirigami-inspired-by-scenes-from-star-wa" target="_blank" target="_blank">Kickstarter</a> goes."
The bunker on Endor —
Picking which scenes to recreate out of paper is actually quite difficult: "There are so many great scenes to choose from. I have a list of 20 I want to do. The ones that get produced, which will be at least 12, will be decided by how successful the funding on Kickstarter goes."
courtesy marc hagan-guirey
"I place little Easter eggs in some of the models. There may or may not be an Ewok hiding in here somewhere..."
The bunker on Endor —
"I place little Easter eggs in some of the models. There may or may not be an Ewok hiding in here somewhere..."
courtesy marc hagan-guirey
The legendary Battle of Hoth is a favorite among Star Wars fans, and Hagan-Guirey is no exception: "It's my favorite bit of the whole saga. I don't always put characters in scenes because I don't like to have freestanding rather than structural elements - in this case, though, I really wanted loads of rebels and snow troopers to set the scene. I might add some more."
The battle of Hoth —
The legendary Battle of Hoth is a favorite among Star Wars fans, and Hagan-Guirey is no exception: "It's my favorite bit of the whole saga. I don't always put characters in scenes because I don't like to have freestanding rather than structural elements - in this case, though, I really wanted loads of rebels and snow troopers to set the scene. I might add some more."
courtesy marc hagan-guirey
The original works are plain white in color, like the paper they're made from. But the lighting makes them really pop: "It's as important as the paper itself. The creations take on a dual role. In daylight you get to appreciate the simplicity of the engineering, but in the dark, with colored lighting from the shadow boxes, that's where to story gets formed. That's when your own knowledge of the film starts to feed in. I laugh because it reminds me of being a kid -- you start adding your own dialogue and explosions and 'pew-pew' gun noises."
The battle of Hoth —
The original works are plain white in color, like the paper they're made from. But the lighting makes them really pop: "It's as important as the paper itself. The creations take on a dual role. In daylight you get to appreciate the simplicity of the engineering, but in the dark, with colored lighting from the shadow boxes, that's where to story gets formed. That's when your own knowledge of the film starts to feed in. I laugh because it reminds me of being a kid -- you start adding your own dialogue and explosions and 'pew-pew' gun noises."
courtesy marc hagan-guirey
"I'm so happy with this one. Lots of clever little engineering tricks for it to appear to be raised off the ground."
The Millennium Falcon —
"I'm so happy with this one. Lots of clever little engineering tricks for it to appear to be raised off the ground."
courtesy marc hagan-guirey
Disney, who currently holds the rights to the Star Wars films, is notoriously protective: "Kickstarter give me the opportunity to not get into trouble with Disney, essentially," says Hagan-Guirey. <br /><br />"I'm a big fan or Star Wars and the last thing I would want to do is break any rules when it comes to copyright. Through Kickstarter, all the money goes to the production of the exhibition. I will make no profit on it. In fact, I'll probably make a loss on it but I'm 100% genuinely doing this for the love of it and for my fan base and the Star Wars fan base. And if it gets overfunded, I'll just make it a better experience."
The Millennium Falcon —
Disney, who currently holds the rights to the Star Wars films, is notoriously protective: "Kickstarter give me the opportunity to not get into trouble with Disney, essentially," says Hagan-Guirey.

"I'm a big fan or Star Wars and the last thing I would want to do is break any rules when it comes to copyright. Through Kickstarter, all the money goes to the production of the exhibition. I will make no profit on it. In fact, I'll probably make a loss on it but I'm 100% genuinely doing this for the love of it and for my fan base and the Star Wars fan base. And if it gets overfunded, I'll just make it a better experience."
courtesy marc hagan-guirey
"So far I'm most pleased with this one - it's highly technical. I tried a few methods for the sails, some a lot more complicated, but I think the simple silhouette does it justice in the end."<br /><br />As for what the most challenging aspect of the project is, Hagan-Guirey has little doubt: "STARTING! I've been doing this professionally for three years now and every time I sit at my desk to start, my mind goes blank."
Jabba's barge —
"So far I'm most pleased with this one - it's highly technical. I tried a few methods for the sails, some a lot more complicated, but I think the simple silhouette does it justice in the end."

As for what the most challenging aspect of the project is, Hagan-Guirey has little doubt: "STARTING! I've been doing this professionally for three years now and every time I sit at my desk to start, my mind goes blank."
courtesy marc hagan-guirey