Hasta La Ideas

Papercraft becomes motion graphic-inspired art

Having just sold his first framed piece and a short-film project getting underway, Sao Paulo-based Ricardo Filomeno is poised to turn his whimsical papercraft hobby into a profession.

Filomeno and his girlfriend, art director Carol Bella, who also works with the medium in her free time, are collaborating on an experimental papercraft horror amusement park project. Inspired by The Funhouse, the short film will employ live action rather than stop-motion as a way to animate the scenes and characters. They’re currently in the testing stage, playing around with simple motors and tiny lamps to see how they might be incorporated to pull off the scenes filmed inside the house. The project is expected to be completed in three months.

Filomeno, a freelance motion graphics artist who primarily works in Brazil’s advertising industry, was first turned on to the art form in 2008, particularly by the pieces of Los Angeles artist Elsa Mora, and trips to France.

For Filomeno, his work creating graphics provided a natural foundation for his new endeavor. He started making various pieces in his spare time, creating cameo brooches of pop culture characters found in comic books and Wes Anderson and sci-fi films. A recurring personality is Deus Mendingo, which translates roughly as “hippie God” in English. Filomeno originally used the pieces as business cards to make a lasting impression on potential clients of his animation work, but after participating in a bazaar in São Paulo last year and successfully selling a few, it was obvious his work could reach a bigger audience.

With plans to show his pieces on a bigger scale, Filomeno is set to share his burgeoning hobby well beyond São Paulo. For more information, or to order custom pieces visit the artist’s website, and keep an eye out for his paper-craft horror show later this year.