I saw this video tutorial over on papercutsbyjoe.com. His papercuts are amazing, and he explains how he cut out his portraits. This is my first try. I showed it to Adam, and the first thing he said was, "Who is it?" It's me, by the way. :P There's the photo that I took of myself, then what it looked like after I doctored it, then the final piece!
Papercuts have to tell so much more with their simple lines than a photograph. Children's books use less words than novels, but that just means that each word has to mean something, has to contribute to the story, has to be important. Papercuts help me to look at the world more simply, and to concentrate on what's important.