Fig. 27 Chrysanthemums
Dimensions: 27 by 27 centimeters
Chrysanthemums are referred to as hermits of flowers metaphorically. They are much loved by ancient Chinese men of letters. The author depicts full-blown chrysanthemums in autumn with bright colors, changing their aloof and cold image into enthusiastic beauty.
CHAPTER V
Advanced Tutorial
By now, you should have become an expert in paper quilling. What you need to do is to observe and experience life carefully, give the fullest play to your own creativity and imagination, and then create works of your own style with paper slips. The four works in this chapter take spring, summer, autumn and winter as the theme, using details to express the artist’s own impression of the seasons and his emotion. They display the artist’s skills in the Chinese artistic techniques and his strong personal style in artistic creation. The works are hierarchically rich and use many graceful curved lines to create artistic conceptions that are either far-reaching, tranquil, open-minded or statically beautiful, and the overall style is impressionist, natural and smooth. Are you ready for a try? Then start right now!
1. Spring Mountains
As the warm spring breeze melts ice and snow and turns trees green, the mountains also become a riot of colors, full of life and vitality. In this work, the author depicts the colorful mountain rocks and trees with paper slips of assorted colors.
Materials and Elements
Mountain rocks: 
crescent: irregular crescent; line: broken line
Trees: 
crescent: ruyi scepter-shaped crescent, irregular crescent
Bushes: 
coil: loose coil, teardrop coil
Background: white watercolor paper (suggested size: 39 by 54 centimeters)
1 Make two basic crescents with the ultramarine-blue paper slips. Then shape them as shown in the picture by pinching. They will serve as the upper part of the first group of rocks.
2 Superimpose the flesh-color, earth-yellow and light-brown paper slips and make a basic crescent with them. Then make two basic crescents, one bigger and the other smaller, with the dark-green paper slips. Pinch the three basic crescents into the shapes shown in the picture, which will serve as the lower part of the first group of mountains.
3 Make two crescent elements as shown in the picture with chocolate and burnt-umber paper slips, which will serve as the lower part of the second group of rocks.
4 Continue to make the upper part of the second group of rocks with the chocolate, burnt-umber and medium-gray paper slips.
5 Make two irregular crescents with the medium-gray, light-brown and flesh-color paper slips, which will serve as the third group of rocks.
6 Make an irregular crescent with the light-green paper slips. Then make several sections of broken lines with the light-purple paper slips. They will serve as the fourth group of rocks.
7 Make the fifth group of rocks as shown in the picture with the ultramarine-blue paper slips.
8 Make more than 10 ruyi scepter-shaped crescents with deep-green paper slips, which will serve as trees. Make some ruyi scepter-shaped crescents with the grass-green paper slips. Pinch some of them into irregular shapes.
9 Make more than 20 teardrop coils with paper slips of different shades of green as the main color, which will serve as bushes.
10 Make many loose coils with paper slips with different shades of green as the main colors, which will serve as another type of bushes.
11 Add the upper half of the first group of rocks to the lower-right corner of the picture. Add the lower half of the first group of rocks.
12 Add the lower half of the second group of rocks to the lower-left corner of the picture.
13 Keep adding the upper half of the second group of rocks.
14 Add the third group of rocks to the upper-left corner of the picture.
15 Add the light-green outline of the fourth group of rocks to the right side of the third group of rocks.
16 Arrange the light-purple curved lines into the fourth group of rocks as fillers.
17 Add the two bigger elements in the fifth group of rocks to the upper-right corner of the picture.
18 Add the three smaller elements to the lower-right corner of the fifth group of rocks.
19 Add deep-green ruyi scepter-shaped crescents to the bottom of the first group of rocks to form trees.
20 Add deep-green and grass-green trees under the fifth group of rocks.
21 Add loose coils and teardrop coils along the right side of the lower half of the second group of rocks in imitation of bushes.
22 Add bushes to the left side of the second group of rocks as well.
23 Add bushes here and there among the first group of rocks.
24 Add some bushes to other groups of rocks, too. Complete the work by adjusting its contents and fixing with white latex.
2. Summer Water
In mid-summer, the sunshine nourishes all things on earth and there is life and vitality everywhere. During this time, the best way for families to escape from the summer heat is to go to the seaside and play in the water. In this work, the author chooses the scene of people surfing in the sea. The huge surging waves and the small lone surfers form a vivid visual contrast, showing that, although man is in awe of nature, he also tends to challenge it.
Materials and Elements
Sea waves: 
line: curved line; crescent: basic crescent
Sprays: 
coil: loose coil
Surfers and surfboards: 
coil: irregular coil
Sails: 
coil: triangular coil
Background: white watercolor paper (suggested size: 39 by 54 centimeters)
1 Take out a large number of paper slips in shades of light blue, paste them together on both ends, and bend them as shown in the picture.
2 Make two groups of crescents with lake-blue, cobalt-blue and violet paper slips.
3 Make some curved lines as shown in the picture with dark-blue and violet paper slips.
4 Make two groups of curved lines by scraping the ultramarine-blue and peacock-blue paper slips.
5 Make many curved lines of different lengths with the light-blue, violet and light-green paper slips.
6 Make a lot of loose coils with paper slips in shades of blue and dark-green and light-purple paper slips.
7 Make two surfers with earth-yellow coils. Make two surfboards with orange-yellow and lemon-yellow paper slips.
8 Make five triangular coils with light-green, lemon-yellow, violet and cobalt-blue paper slips, which will serve as sails.
9 Add the group of curved lines made from paper slips in shades of light blue to the center of the picture in imitation of the sea level.
10 Add crescent sea waves above the sea level.
11 Surround the crescent waves with a ring of curved lines made of the deep-blue and violet paper slips to create waves that are turning up.
12 Add groups of curved lines made from the ultramarine-blue and peacock-blue paper slips below the sea level to create a three-dimensional effect.
13 Add one more group of ultramarine-blue curved lines.
14 Add some curved lines at the bottom of the surging sea waves in imitation of waves surging forward.
15 Add some curved lines to the sea level and the upper-left corner of the picture.
16 Add some curved lines above the surging sea waves.
17 Add many loose coils at the bottom of the picture to represent splashing water.
18 Add a large number of loose coils above the sea level.
19 Keep adding loose coils on the top of the picture. Be sure the color of the loose coils gradually fades from the bottom to the top of the picture.
20 Add the two surfers on the surging sea waves.
21 Add sails between the sea waves on the top of the picture.
22 Complete the work by adjusting its contents and fixing with white latex.
3. Autumn Forest
Autumn is the season for harvesting. It is also when things begin to wither and turn from prosperity to decline. This work depicts autumn leaves turning yellow and falling gracefully down to the ground. The artist uses broken and curved lines to create trees and loose coils for leaves, with two spotted deer as decorations. The whole work is natural, smooth and lively, showing the beauty of harmony in nature.
Materials and Elements
Soil: 
line: broken line
Trees: 
line: broken line
Tree crowns: 
line: curved line
Leaves: 
coil: loose coil
Deers: 
coil: irregular coil, loose coil
Background: white watercolor paper (suggested size: 54 by 39 centimeters)
1 Take out a large number of lemon-yellow, light-yellow, and medium-yellow paper slips, paste them together on both ends with white latex, and fold them into three groups of broken lines.
2 Make nine broken lines with the light-yellow and lemon-yellow paper slips.
3 Paste purple-red paper slips together at the beginning ends and make six groups of broken lines as shown in the picture, which will serve as trees.
4 Make many broken lines with the light pink-purple, white and light-gray paper slips.
5 Take out some orange-yellow and orange-red paper slips, paste them together at the beginning ends, and scrape them into six groups of curved lines. These will serve as the crowns of the trees.
6 Make more than 10 spiral curved lines with the orange-red and deep-red paper slips.
7 Make many loose coils with flesh-color paper slips and paper slips in shades of yellow, which will serve as tree leaves and patterns on deers.
8 Make coils with the burnt-umber paper slips. Pinch them into different body parts of the first deer.
9 Piece together the body parts to form the first deer.
10 Make the second deer with the same method.
11 Arrange three groups of broken lines at the bottom of the picture to serve as soil.
12 Between the broken lines add shorter yellow broken lines.
13 Add three groups of purple-red broken lines on the soil to form two trees. The left tree is composed of two groups of broken lines superimposed upon each other.
14 Add the remaining three groups of purple-red broken lines.
15 Add pink-purple, white and light-gray broken lines between the purple-red trees to create the impression of many trees.
16 Add the first deer between the trees.
17 Add the second deer to the left of the first deer.
18 Add groups of orange-red and orange-yellow curved lines above the tree trunks as the crowns of the trees.
19 Arrange some orange-yellow spiral curved lines on the crowns.
20 Keep adding deep-red spiral curved lines.
21 Add loose coils in shades of yellow on the body of the deers for their spotted coats.
22 Arrange many loose coils in shades of yellow and flesh color on the soil to represent fallen leaves.
23 Add a large number of loose coils in shades of yellow and flesh color onto the crowns in imitation of tree leaves. Pay attention to be sure the leaves on the trees are brighter in color than the fallen leaves.
24 Add some falling leaves between trees. Complete the work by adjusting its contents and fixing with white latex.
4. Winter Snow
In winter, the freezing northern wind brings heavy snow, turning the earth into a pure white world. In this work, the artist presents the theme of winter by depicting a pair of foxes hunting for food outside, a frozen river, a vast expanse of cold-resistant pines, and snowflakes floating all over the sky. The whole picture is complete in composition, vivid in shape, simple but elegant in color, and displays the beauty of winter in northern China.
Materials and Elements
Foxes: 
crescent: basic crescent, irregular crescent; coil: triangular coil, ring coil, marquise coil, irregular coil; line: curved line
River: 
crescent: basic crescent, harp crescent
Pines: 
line: curved line
Stones: 
coil: marquise coil
Snowflakes: 
coil: loose coil, curved teardrop coil, irregular coil
Snow: 
coil: loose coil
Background: white watercolor paper (suggested size: 54 by 39 centimeters)
1 Make the red fox with the scarlet and burnt-umber paper slips. The body, limbs, and tails are made of crescents, the thorax and abdomen with curved lines, the head with irregular coil, the pattern on head with marquise coil and ring coil, the ears with triangular coils, and the eyes and the nose with long and slim ring coils.
2 Make the body parts of the yellow fox with the medium-yellow and burnt-umber paper slips following the same method used to make the red fox. Mind the changes on its face and limbs.
3 Piece together the different body parts of the red fox.
4 Piece together the different body parts of the yellow fox.
5 Make some basic crescents and harp crescents with the pink-blue paper slips. Make more crescents with paper slips in shades of light blue.
6 Make many groups of curved lines with paper slips in shades of purple and light-gray paper slips that are 1.5 millimeters and 3 millimeters wide.
7 Make some marquis coils with the medium-gray and green-gray paper slips to serve as the stones on the riversides.
8 Make some curved teardrop coils and loose coils with the pink-blue and white paper slips. Combine them to make snowflakes.
9 Make some snowflakes consisting of six diamond-shaped coils with the pink-blue and white paper slips.
10 Make a large number of loose coils with paper slips in shades of light blue.
11 Make a great deal of loose coils with the light pink-purple and white paper slips.
12 Add the two foxes to the picture. Arrange some blue crescents under their feet to form the river.
13 Add more blue crescents to increase the river’s three-dimensional quality.
14 Make two pines with groups of purple curved lines and arrange them above the foxes.
15 Continue to make four smaller pines to form a pine forest.
16 Add the gray marquise coils on the riversides to serve as stones.
17 Add a large number of pink-purple and white loose coils at the bottom of the picture to represent accumulated snow.
18 Add many pink-purple and white loose coils on the top of the picture in imitation of falling snow. Add some blue loose coils here and there in the picture to make the work richer in color.
19 Add snowflakes on the pine trees.
20 Add some snowflakes here and there in the picture. Complete the work by adjusting its contents and fixing with white latex.