Visualizing Fear with Scissors and Glue: Picture This exercise

This week, I’ve been working on the Picture This exercise that I mentioned earlier—every day since Monday! The challenge? Create a visual that evokes fear using only four sheets of colored paper and a pair of scissors. The prompt:
"Bird(s) or Shark(s) Attacking a Victim."

On Monday, I started with a diver being attacked by a shark. Although I thought I had finished it that day, I realized that one of my earlier compositions had more impact—so I went back and reworked it.

On Tuesday, I created a scene of a sea lion surrounded by sharks. I used diagonal lines to suggest movement and danger, pushed the sea lion to the edge of the composition to create a sense of being cornered, and played with size contrast—distant small fins and close-up large fins—to show depth. The sharp shark fins versus the sea lion’s rounded body also added to the tension. I wanted to create that sense of doom: even if the sea lion escapes one shark, there are plenty more waiting...

On Wednesday, I took on the moment a hawk’s talons swoop down on a small bird. Choosing colors was tricky, especially how to use white. I ended up using white for the nest to suggest innocence and safety—like an egg. I used horizontal tree branches to create a calm, grounded feeling. Only showing the hawk’s legs made the predator feel massive, and I placed the tiny bird near the edge to heighten the urgency. I also chose a darker green for the background to help the orange of the bird and talons stand out more clearly.

Today (Thursday), I made a scene where a hiker accidentally stumbles under a crow’s nest—and is suddenly surrounded by angry crows! Above the hiker, baby crows call frantically to their parent, and the climber is frozen as a circle of glaring eyes and sharp beaks closes in. I used purple as the background to create an ominous mood, and red for the hiker’s panic, the parents' protective rage, and the intensity of the crows’ eyes. White made the whole mountain feel snow-covered... which wasn’t my intention, but oh well!

Once again, I pushed the human to the edge of the cliff, used sharp pointy shapes for the beaks, diagonals for energy, and large-vs-small scale to heighten the fear. I especially like how the radial shape created by the beaks naturally draws the viewer’s gaze to the hiker in the center.

It’s been so long since I’ve worked with paper and glue like this. The process—cutting, placing, moving things around—was such a refreshing change from working on a screen. I really want to come back to the remaining exercises in this book in November!