An Artist Cuts Stories Into Leaves, and Nickelodeon and Disney Appreciate His Work

Kanat Nurtazin from Kazakhstan found an extraordinary way of creating art — he uses leaves. This idea came to him when he was on a quest to find himself. He tried different creative spheres and started to draw. He used unusual things for this: jam, pancakes, gypsum, nails, threads. And one day in autumn he looked at fallen leaves and decided to try cutting them.

The results exceeded all expectations. And we at Bright Side talked to Kanat and can’t wait to share his work with you. It’s so fragile yet impressive that we are in complete awe.

Kanat manages to cut a leaf on his first try in just 2 hours. But the whole process of creating an idea, thinking through all details, and post-production takes nearly a week.

He gets inspiration from anything: a movie, a song, a book, advertisements, news, events in the world, and even his own life. And we can easily see this in the diversity of topics he cuts.

Movies

Cartoons

Social issues

Even famous photos

...and people

Looks impressive, right? But that’s not all. His art has been the catalyst for collaboration with some very impressive companies.

Collaboration with Nickelodeon and Disney

Nickelodeon and Disney saw his art somewhere on the internet and immediately contacted him. As he remembers, “Their marketing staff wrote me on Instagram and said they were very impressed with my work on the leaves.”

“At the beginning, I didn’t believe it, I thought it was a joke or fake. I felt a great responsibility, a certain fear and pressure that something wouldn’t work out or that they wouldn’t like it. But in general, I was overwhelmed with joy and pride that I was able to work with them.”

He carved some of the famous cartoons we all know and love, and even created some pieces for premieres like Frozen II and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil.

With all of his work, Kanat proves that the impossible is possible. And even world-famous companies will appreciate your skills if you try your best. But what do you do if you know you want to create art, but you don’t feel like you’ll ever “make it”?

Here is some advice from Kanat: “Don’t give up, you will always encounter difficulties, other people’s opinions, and your own doubts along the way.”

“The main thing is to concentrate on the development of your creativity and your style, which will distinguish you from others. You need to practice and be patient. Not all things work the first time you try them.”

What do you think about art on leaves? Have you ever created something? What was it? You can show us photos of your art in the comments.