According to his website, his artistic passion sparked early on, with his love for calligraphy starting at just 11 years old, when he took an odd job of writing the names of graduating students’ high school diplomas. This was his first foray into the world of letters and typography.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Patrick Cabral (@darkgravity)

Growing up, he began his career as a web developer and animator and worked for various clients ranging both local and abroad, from corporate branding and digital advertising to fashion websites.

But we first stumbled upon Cabral’s name when we came across his Endangered Species series, meant at highlighting various endangered species. Using papercutting techniques, he carves portraits of animals such as tigers, pandas, and even pangolins, adding intricate details by hand. The result is breathtaking, to say the least.

His series is supported by the philanthropic organization Acts of Kindness, and is also in partnership with World Wildlife Fund Philippines, with the aim to educate the public about the plight of at-risk animals. According to Cabral, a portion of the sales from this collection has gone towards supporting nature preservation in the Philippines.

See more of his impressive work on Instagram:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Patrick Cabral (@darkgravity)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Patrick Cabral (@darkgravity)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Patrick Cabral (@darkgravity)

The post The Paper Animals of Patrick Cabral appeared first on PlayJunkie.

Her favorite material, as it turns out, is paper, from which she forms sculptures of birds, insects, fish, and plants. Currently based in Bristol, where she recently graduated with from UWE, with an MA in Fine Arts, Herrera’s work has been exhibited in solo and group shows across Europe, Asia, and the US.

“When I started to work with paper, I was developing very structural elements,” she explained in an interview with My Modern Met. “I used to have a lot of strips of paper that I used to cut and glue to form a volume.” According to Herrera, this process is very flexible, as almost any shape can be created with paper. “I spend a lot of hours collecting images of the subject in different positions,” she explained her process, “then I do some reading to find the right measurements.” 

According to her personal website, her interest in economic materials in general, is based on their potential of transformation, using the simplest of techniques and processes based on repetition. Much like patterns found in nature, her sculptures comprehend massive groups of elements that together compose a major complex system.

For Herrera, there is a considerable distance between humans and nature, and throughout her work, she aims to repair this relationship by producing elements that are constantly removed, altered, and forgotten. Her work is, therefore, presented as a resistance of time. Her sculptures portray the ideal state of a thing and also act like a model of representation of a reality that doesn’t suffer any change.

The post Diana Beltran Herrera’s Paper Art Is In Full Bloom appeared first on PlayJunkie.

Her work these days mostly consists of creating paper props — a niche she admits she stumbled into. “After making some 2D paper-cut illustrations for myself and some friends, a guy in Brussels asked me to build some paper bird-head masks for his art project,” she recalled in an interview with Sixtysix Magazine. “I accepted and decided to see how it would go, but I knew already I had a good vision for size and volume. It worked out really well, and I got a lot of positive feedback.”

She went on to accept a few other projects and started to build a portfolio. When she had enough work samples, she applied for a position at a creative studio in London, which looked for paper prop makers. “That was my chance,” says Bee. “I was quickly hired and from there it became official: I could make a living out of this.”

When it comes to her inspiration, it naturally consists of paper. “I have a box full of sketchbooks, lonely sheets of paper, Post-its, napkins… all waiting to be presented and used,” she detailed. “I also keep all the sketches from previous projects. They’re not useful anymore, but I have fondness for them. I can recall the time I discussed that idea with someone and scribbled out the project. It’s not just a napkin anymore; it’s a real memory!”

Take a look at some of her original paper designs.

The post This Art Director Specializes In Paper Prop-Making appeared first on PlayJunkie.

“What I like about paper is its flexibility,” she noted in an interview with Jung Katz. “I’ve worked with paper for a long time and there is always a new way to use it. It’s a material which offers many textures, aspects, and colors, and I like to mix all these possibilities.”

The paper (colorful or plain, heavy or light) allows her to fold it, open it, accumulate it, and superimposes it layer upon layer, creating patterns and volume. Sculpted by Vantours, the flat piece of paper is transformed into a precious object. It’s this versatility that also allows her to oscillate between art and design, appealing to major luxury brands with which she collaborates, but also to more local brands.

“I have four steps in my work process,” relayed Vantours. “The first one is to find the concept, an idea. Second, to create the graphic design. Third, choose the color matchings. Then the last step is the production in paper and volume.” She adds that every project is different, and as such can take anything from three days to three months to complete.

“The inspiration can come from anything,” she notes, “an exhibition, a book, an advert. I try to vary my trend inspirations because I want to propose something new for every project, to try something I’ve never done. I do lots of research, samples and try more complicated shapes, new graphic designs, colors or materials to find new orientations.”

Take a look at some of her eye-popping paper creations in the gallery below.

The post Maud Vantours Turns Paper Into Magic appeared first on PlayJunkie.

Based in Mumbai, India, Karnik knew she wanted to pursue art as a career, ever since she was a young child. “I have always had a very keen interest in beautiful writing, calligraphy, be it the names of my family, friends, and even people I idolized,” she recalled in an interview with All Things Paper.

According to Karnik, pursuing an education in art was only natural. Having completed a degree in graphic design, she focused on typography, which she calls her first love. “In my final year project, I concentrated purely on paper and 3D paper sculpturing,” she says. “Fortunately the result came out very well. I thought why not try and experiment a little more by combining the two, so as a fun way to pass the time one afternoon, I randomly started making alphabets out of paper.”

Her paper alphabet proved to be a raging success, and as she shared her work online, it became somewhat of a viral sensation. “Before I could finish the entire letter series, I started getting offers from advertising agencies to collaborate with them,” says Karnik. “And I have been very busy ever since, working with agencies in the U.S, Europe, the Middle East, South America, and South Africa.”

Join the hype!

The post Sabeena Karnik’s Paper Alphabet Deserves the Hype appeared first on PlayJunkie.

Anchored in craftsmanship, they create everything by hand, from drawing to cutting and assembling. “Our approach is mainly focused on the use of handmade crafts to create visuals, window displays, installations, and so on,” they told Adobe’s online magazine. “We have a predilection for paper because it’s a versatile material, easy to sculpt, and very rich in terms of color or texture. Most of the time our designs are very intricate and time-consuming and use bold colors. We like projects that tell a story, not just decorative stuff.”

According to them, paper provides an endless source of inspiration for its versatility, an infinite range of colors, and unique textures. The flat paper sheets turned into volume are giving an installation the poetry of ephemeral material.

“At the very beginning, we started working with paper just for fun between graphic design commissions, and of course because Lucie’s family was working in a paper factory in the Vosges Mountains,” they say. “We had access to a lot of paper sheets, so we just played with paper. That’s how our first paper project came out. Then we dropped it on the Internet, we had some positive feedback, and we were quickly contacted by a client for our first commission.”

Based in France, their collaborations include clients like Hermès, IBM, Microsoft, and TIME, which means they’re kind of a big deal. Take a look at some of Zim & Zou’s work below:

The post Zim & Zou Have a Predilection for Paper appeared first on PlayJunkie.

Evocative of natural forms and organic processes, her work is simultaneously irregular and ordered, with her pieces bringing to mind aerial landscape views, satellite imagery, and biological cellular processes.  “It is perfectly imperfect,” she explained in an interview with Zoneone Arts. “I love all kinds of organic processes. They are visually intriguing and engaging.”

Indeed, the natural world is a clear source of inspiration for Genser’s work, which admits she is fascinated by the flow of water, the shape of beehives, and the organic irregularity of plants, flowers, rock formations, barnacles, moss, and seaweed.

“We spend a lot of our summers on the beach in Rhode Island,” she says. “I love watching the water, the rocks, and the light. Our beach has rocks with these really neat barnacles and seaweed. Their colors are always changing. Sometimes there’s a lot of it, and sometimes just a little. It’s neat to watch the progression. One day when the seaweed was purple, brown, yellow and green, my husband made the awesome observation that nature never clashes. I love that.”

Take a look at some of her observations, as she translates them into paper:

The post Amy Genser’s Paper Art is Perfectly Imperfect appeared first on PlayJunkie.

Born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, she received her Bachelor of Architecture from the University of New South Wales, Sydney, but decided to put architecture on hold and pursued her love for creating art in smaller scales. She has since amalgamated both architectonic and visual language using papers and fibers as the predominant mediums in her practice.

“The idea of layering became more apparent when I started to draw with my penknife,” she says. This process includes cutting and layering one layer after another, “no drawn plans, no guide, just the knife, paper, and glue.”

Each work begins with a piece of paper, sometimes a large sheet of paper layering inwards, other times a tiny piece of paper (most often an offcut piece from previous work), which she then works outwards. But most often than not it’s a combination of both – inwards and outwards layering – depending on what the design needs.

Take a look at some of her intricate paper worlds:

The post Jacky Cheng’s Art Is Part Architecture, Part Paper appeared first on PlayJunkie.

All of their pieces are crafted by hand, each of them unique and never to be replicated. “The paper allows for implementing quick and easy ideas that we imagine,” the Russian duo explained in an interview with Wowcracy. “As far, we work mostly with wigs and costumes, it’s hard to imagine what other material could go so well.”

Rather than simple clothes or accessories, their creations are first and foremost works of art. “Textiles or other similar material would look too literally,” they say. “Our task is to ignore the literal reading of the suit as the practical thing and create an artistic thing.”

The versatile white paper is used not only as a tool but also as a concept, which helps express the historical process in a symbolic fashion. The images of Mongolian, African, Scythian, Venetian, Baroque, Art nouveau cultures are easily recognizable throughout their designs.

But when it comes to the creative process itself, it all starts with a sheet of paper.

The post Russian Artists Create Wearable Art Out of Paper appeared first on PlayJunkie.

Her huge installations appear to be sprawling across walls and floors – a sort of alien creature made of paper. “Installation work is just drawing in space,” explained Wagner in an interview with Juxtapoz. “For me, it is important that I am comfortable with my visual vocabulary.”

But as opposed to drawing on paper, working on an installation is (quite naturally) a much more intense experience, usually with 12 hour days that span over a week. “Each installation and each drawing is a different conversation I am having,” she explains. “The gesture is the introduction, the first impression, and everything else tumbles out.”

Aside from her artistic work, Wagner also works commercially. Notable commissions include a large-scale installation for The Flaming Lips; a large-scale installation piece for NIKE; and two installations for Viacom, one of which is a 117 ft piece at their headquarters in Times Square.

“Every ink drawing I do helps me understand how I organize marks, situate shapes, and is an extension of the way I see,” she says. “The only difference I feel when I am working on large installations is that instead of alluding to space, I get to utilize it. Which to me… is awesome!”

Take a look at the incredible ways she utilizes space:

The post Crystal Wagner Treats Her Art as a Drawing in Space appeared first on PlayJunkie.

According to his website, his artistic passion sparked early on, with his love for calligraphy starting at just 11 years old, when he took an odd job of writing the names of graduating students’ high school diplomas. This was his first foray into the world of letters and typography.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Patrick Cabral (@darkgravity)

Growing up, he began his career as a web developer and animator and worked for various clients ranging both local and abroad, from corporate branding and digital advertising to fashion websites.

But we first stumbled upon Cabral’s name when we came across his Endangered Species series, meant at highlighting various endangered species. Using papercutting techniques, he carves portraits of animals such as tigers, pandas, and even pangolins, adding intricate details by hand. The result is breathtaking, to say the least.

His series is supported by the philanthropic organization Acts of Kindness, and is also in partnership with World Wildlife Fund Philippines, with the aim to educate the public about the plight of at-risk animals. According to Cabral, a portion of the sales from this collection has gone towards supporting nature preservation in the Philippines.

See more of his impressive work on Instagram:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Patrick Cabral (@darkgravity)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Patrick Cabral (@darkgravity)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Patrick Cabral (@darkgravity)

The post The Paper Animals of Patrick Cabral appeared first on PlayJunkie.

Her favorite material, as it turns out, is paper, from which she forms sculptures of birds, insects, fish, and plants. Currently based in Bristol, where she recently graduated with from UWE, with an MA in Fine Arts, Herrera’s work has been exhibited in solo and group shows across Europe, Asia, and the US.

“When I started to work with paper, I was developing very structural elements,” she explained in an interview with My Modern Met. “I used to have a lot of strips of paper that I used to cut and glue to form a volume.” According to Herrera, this process is very flexible, as almost any shape can be created with paper. “I spend a lot of hours collecting images of the subject in different positions,” she explained her process, “then I do some reading to find the right measurements.” 

According to her personal website, her interest in economic materials in general, is based on their potential of transformation, using the simplest of techniques and processes based on repetition. Much like patterns found in nature, her sculptures comprehend massive groups of elements that together compose a major complex system.

For Herrera, there is a considerable distance between humans and nature, and throughout her work, she aims to repair this relationship by producing elements that are constantly removed, altered, and forgotten. Her work is, therefore, presented as a resistance of time. Her sculptures portray the ideal state of a thing and also act like a model of representation of a reality that doesn’t suffer any change.

The post Diana Beltran Herrera’s Paper Art Is In Full Bloom appeared first on PlayJunkie.

Her work these days mostly consists of creating paper props — a niche she admits she stumbled into. “After making some 2D paper-cut illustrations for myself and some friends, a guy in Brussels asked me to build some paper bird-head masks for his art project,” she recalled in an interview with Sixtysix Magazine. “I accepted and decided to see how it would go, but I knew already I had a good vision for size and volume. It worked out really well, and I got a lot of positive feedback.”

She went on to accept a few other projects and started to build a portfolio. When she had enough work samples, she applied for a position at a creative studio in London, which looked for paper prop makers. “That was my chance,” says Bee. “I was quickly hired and from there it became official: I could make a living out of this.”

When it comes to her inspiration, it naturally consists of paper. “I have a box full of sketchbooks, lonely sheets of paper, Post-its, napkins… all waiting to be presented and used,” she detailed. “I also keep all the sketches from previous projects. They’re not useful anymore, but I have fondness for them. I can recall the time I discussed that idea with someone and scribbled out the project. It’s not just a napkin anymore; it’s a real memory!”

Take a look at some of her original paper designs.

The post This Art Director Specializes In Paper Prop-Making appeared first on PlayJunkie.

“What I like about paper is its flexibility,” she noted in an interview with Jung Katz. “I’ve worked with paper for a long time and there is always a new way to use it. It’s a material which offers many textures, aspects, and colors, and I like to mix all these possibilities.”

The paper (colorful or plain, heavy or light) allows her to fold it, open it, accumulate it, and superimposes it layer upon layer, creating patterns and volume. Sculpted by Vantours, the flat piece of paper is transformed into a precious object. It’s this versatility that also allows her to oscillate between art and design, appealing to major luxury brands with which she collaborates, but also to more local brands.

“I have four steps in my work process,” relayed Vantours. “The first one is to find the concept, an idea. Second, to create the graphic design. Third, choose the color matchings. Then the last step is the production in paper and volume.” She adds that every project is different, and as such can take anything from three days to three months to complete.

“The inspiration can come from anything,” she notes, “an exhibition, a book, an advert. I try to vary my trend inspirations because I want to propose something new for every project, to try something I’ve never done. I do lots of research, samples and try more complicated shapes, new graphic designs, colors or materials to find new orientations.”

Take a look at some of her eye-popping paper creations in the gallery below.

The post Maud Vantours Turns Paper Into Magic appeared first on PlayJunkie.

Based in Mumbai, India, Karnik knew she wanted to pursue art as a career, ever since she was a young child. “I have always had a very keen interest in beautiful writing, calligraphy, be it the names of my family, friends, and even people I idolized,” she recalled in an interview with All Things Paper.

According to Karnik, pursuing an education in art was only natural. Having completed a degree in graphic design, she focused on typography, which she calls her first love. “In my final year project, I concentrated purely on paper and 3D paper sculpturing,” she says. “Fortunately the result came out very well. I thought why not try and experiment a little more by combining the two, so as a fun way to pass the time one afternoon, I randomly started making alphabets out of paper.”

Her paper alphabet proved to be a raging success, and as she shared her work online, it became somewhat of a viral sensation. “Before I could finish the entire letter series, I started getting offers from advertising agencies to collaborate with them,” says Karnik. “And I have been very busy ever since, working with agencies in the U.S, Europe, the Middle East, South America, and South Africa.”

Join the hype!

The post Sabeena Karnik’s Paper Alphabet Deserves the Hype appeared first on PlayJunkie.

Anchored in craftsmanship, they create everything by hand, from drawing to cutting and assembling. “Our approach is mainly focused on the use of handmade crafts to create visuals, window displays, installations, and so on,” they told Adobe’s online magazine. “We have a predilection for paper because it’s a versatile material, easy to sculpt, and very rich in terms of color or texture. Most of the time our designs are very intricate and time-consuming and use bold colors. We like projects that tell a story, not just decorative stuff.”

According to them, paper provides an endless source of inspiration for its versatility, an infinite range of colors, and unique textures. The flat paper sheets turned into volume are giving an installation the poetry of ephemeral material.

“At the very beginning, we started working with paper just for fun between graphic design commissions, and of course because Lucie’s family was working in a paper factory in the Vosges Mountains,” they say. “We had access to a lot of paper sheets, so we just played with paper. That’s how our first paper project came out. Then we dropped it on the Internet, we had some positive feedback, and we were quickly contacted by a client for our first commission.”

Based in France, their collaborations include clients like Hermès, IBM, Microsoft, and TIME, which means they’re kind of a big deal. Take a look at some of Zim & Zou’s work below:

The post Zim & Zou Have a Predilection for Paper appeared first on PlayJunkie.

Evocative of natural forms and organic processes, her work is simultaneously irregular and ordered, with her pieces bringing to mind aerial landscape views, satellite imagery, and biological cellular processes.  “It is perfectly imperfect,” she explained in an interview with Zoneone Arts. “I love all kinds of organic processes. They are visually intriguing and engaging.”

Indeed, the natural world is a clear source of inspiration for Genser’s work, which admits she is fascinated by the flow of water, the shape of beehives, and the organic irregularity of plants, flowers, rock formations, barnacles, moss, and seaweed.

“We spend a lot of our summers on the beach in Rhode Island,” she says. “I love watching the water, the rocks, and the light. Our beach has rocks with these really neat barnacles and seaweed. Their colors are always changing. Sometimes there’s a lot of it, and sometimes just a little. It’s neat to watch the progression. One day when the seaweed was purple, brown, yellow and green, my husband made the awesome observation that nature never clashes. I love that.”

Take a look at some of her observations, as she translates them into paper:

The post Amy Genser’s Paper Art is Perfectly Imperfect appeared first on PlayJunkie.

Born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, she received her Bachelor of Architecture from the University of New South Wales, Sydney, but decided to put architecture on hold and pursued her love for creating art in smaller scales. She has since amalgamated both architectonic and visual language using papers and fibers as the predominant mediums in her practice.

“The idea of layering became more apparent when I started to draw with my penknife,” she says. This process includes cutting and layering one layer after another, “no drawn plans, no guide, just the knife, paper, and glue.”

Each work begins with a piece of paper, sometimes a large sheet of paper layering inwards, other times a tiny piece of paper (most often an offcut piece from previous work), which she then works outwards. But most often than not it’s a combination of both – inwards and outwards layering – depending on what the design needs.

Take a look at some of her intricate paper worlds:

The post Jacky Cheng’s Art Is Part Architecture, Part Paper appeared first on PlayJunkie.

All of their pieces are crafted by hand, each of them unique and never to be replicated. “The paper allows for implementing quick and easy ideas that we imagine,” the Russian duo explained in an interview with Wowcracy. “As far, we work mostly with wigs and costumes, it’s hard to imagine what other material could go so well.”

Rather than simple clothes or accessories, their creations are first and foremost works of art. “Textiles or other similar material would look too literally,” they say. “Our task is to ignore the literal reading of the suit as the practical thing and create an artistic thing.”

The versatile white paper is used not only as a tool but also as a concept, which helps express the historical process in a symbolic fashion. The images of Mongolian, African, Scythian, Venetian, Baroque, Art nouveau cultures are easily recognizable throughout their designs.

But when it comes to the creative process itself, it all starts with a sheet of paper.

The post Russian Artists Create Wearable Art Out of Paper appeared first on PlayJunkie.

Her huge installations appear to be sprawling across walls and floors – a sort of alien creature made of paper. “Installation work is just drawing in space,” explained Wagner in an interview with Juxtapoz. “For me, it is important that I am comfortable with my visual vocabulary.”

But as opposed to drawing on paper, working on an installation is (quite naturally) a much more intense experience, usually with 12 hour days that span over a week. “Each installation and each drawing is a different conversation I am having,” she explains. “The gesture is the introduction, the first impression, and everything else tumbles out.”

Aside from her artistic work, Wagner also works commercially. Notable commissions include a large-scale installation for The Flaming Lips; a large-scale installation piece for NIKE; and two installations for Viacom, one of which is a 117 ft piece at their headquarters in Times Square.

“Every ink drawing I do helps me understand how I organize marks, situate shapes, and is an extension of the way I see,” she says. “The only difference I feel when I am working on large installations is that instead of alluding to space, I get to utilize it. Which to me… is awesome!”

Take a look at the incredible ways she utilizes space:

The post Crystal Wagner Treats Her Art as a Drawing in Space appeared first on PlayJunkie.