Stephanie O'Brien's Blog

Pride Flag Cutout Art: Layers of the World

31/1/2022

For my latest pride flag cutout art series, I wanted to try something more ambitious. Instead of having a single theme for the pattern, I drew seven different layers of the world:

Outer space, with planets, comets, moons, and UFOS.
High sky, with birds, wind, and clouds.
Low sky, with treetops, dragonflies, and butterflies.
Ground level, with flowers, grass, and other graceful plants.
Underground, with tree roots, bunnies, and mice.
Shallow water, with sea stars, sea horses, and vividly pattered fish.
Deeper ocean, with jellyfish, octopi, eels, naked sea butterflies, larval lionfish, and ctenophores.

I'd initially planned to keep all the cutouts fairly simple, but as I so often do, I wound up getting more and more detailed. I went overboard with the butterflies and dragonflies, and I went absolutely apeshit with the fish, haha.

For those who are curious, I created this by placing a layer of black on top of the color layer, then erasing holes in the darkness, allowing the colors of the flags and the pastel rainbow background to shine through.

I also added spots and shimmers of white to give it brightness and texture.

I hope you enjoy the result!