Helen Musselwhite • Handsome Frank • Home to the world's greatest illustrators

Helen Musselwhite

Illustration showcasing this artists portfolio

All about Helen.

When it comes to the art of paper engineering, Helen's expertise and talents are second to none. With painstaking integrity and a great eye for colour and design, her intricate, layered creations are as mind boggling as they are aesthetically pleasing.

Her work truly shines when she works with natural, flora and fauna-based projects, but then again, she’s equally at home creating cityscapes for the likes of Audi. Her other clients include McDonalds, Cadburys and Nokia as well as numerous editorial commissions. She works from a home studio near Manchester.

The Handsome Frank PodcastHelen Musselwhite

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A podcast about 'paper engineer' Helen Musselwhite

Helen's Process

Process: Step 1.

Helen's beautiful work all begins with an initial pencil sketch. This helps to show her intended composition and overall ideas for the piece.

Helen's Process

Process: Step 2.

Once the sketch is approved, Helen then adds colour and also shares some paper samples.

Helen's Process

Process: Step 3.

Once the sketch stage is complete it's time to start cutting! Helen creates a loose composition out of paper and shares photos taken using her phone.

Helen's Process

Process: Step 4.

Helen continues to create the paper model, adding further detail and building depth between the different layers. Not everything is stuck down at this stage, so it's still possible to amend and adjust things.

Helen's Process

Process: Step 5.

Here's another phone shot of the final model. We always ask clients to approve the paper model before it is photographed professionally.

Helen's Process

Process: Step 6.

The final stage is to photograph the finished paper model with high quality DSLR camera. We use studio lighting to capture all the details, which also gives us greater control over shadows and highlights. The final piece is delivered as a high-res JPG or PSD.

"The more I work with paper, the more I find I can do with it." - Helen Musselwhite

Want to commission Helen?

Interested in working with Helen Musselwhite? If you've got a project in mind, drop us an email with some additional information. Generally it's helpful to see some of your initial sketches if you have them, plus some info about the brand and how you intend to use the illustrations. Also, what timings you're working to.

tom@handsomefrank.com

+44 (0)7740 334423