Two weekends ago I took @lmdolan75's wonderful class and learned how to make branches, leaves, and nests from crepe paper. Papercraft definitely induces a flow state, playing to my love of plants, finicky details, and getting absolutely coated in Aleene's Tacky Glue.
New skills: Sculpting & wrapping armature wire, making leaves, acorns, nests
Lessons: It takes a lot of time and care to achieve perfect imperfection. Templates are useful, but freeform cutting better replicates the ordered chaos of nature.
Pay more attention to plants on walks & take pictures of the back of branches & flowers - much like drawing, there's a subtle difference between what you see and what you think you see.
A little bit of chalk pastel does wonders in making leaves look more realistic.
The natural ridges in crepe paper makes lovely bark.
What I'd do differently: Next time I'd like to pay a bit more attention to segments where branches intersect & the texture of bark on larger branches v. smaller twigs.
