Paper Cutout vs. Digital Collage: What's the Difference?

Defining the Styles

While often used interchangeably, paper cutout and digital collage have distinct characteristics.

Paper Cutout

The paper cutout style focuses on the object itself. It simulates a piece of paper that has been physically cut from a larger sheet. Key features include:

• White/Colored Borders: The "halo" around the subject where the scissors cut.
• Texture: Visible paper grain or imperfections.
• Dimensionality: Drop shadows that suggest the object is sitting on top of a surface.

Digital Collage

Collage is about assembly. It combines disparate elements—vintage photos, newspaper clippings, hand-drawn scribbles—into a unified composition. Collage often relies on:

• Juxtaposition: Placing unrelated objects together for surreal effect.
• Blending Modes: Using "Multiply" or "Overlay" to merge textures.
• Mixed Media: Combining vectors, pixels, and text.

How to Combine Them

The best designs often mix both. You can use a paper cutout tool to prepare your assets—isolating people or objects with a nice torn edge—and then assemble them into a digital collage using a layout tool like Canva or Photoshop.

By treating your digital assets as physical "stickers," you add a tactile reality to your design that flat, clean-cut images simply can't achieve.