12 Papercut Artists You Should Know

Looking for inspiration in the art of papercutting? Explore the works of these 12 papercut artists and be amazed by their intricate creations

Papercutting (or paper cutting) is the art of paper designs. Paper art has evolved all over the world to adapt to different cultural styles. Paper cutting is all about connecting with a more intuitive way of creating, by playing and improvising with nothing but paper, a pair of scissors, and your imagination.

To inspire you with your own creative journey into papercutting, we have compiled this list of 12 papercut artists you can follow.

1. Kanako Abe

This Japanese artist has developed her unique style in papercut. Kanako Abe uses the kiri-e technique, with which she creates mandalas, landscapes and compositions inspired by nature. Kanako Abe manages to produce incredible compositions with leaves of different colors to create contrasts and shadows.

2. Rob Ryan

Paper is Rob Ryan's canvas and screen printing and paper cutting is his technique. For him it is the "real" way to create layers. His work is reduced to silhouette, cutting out words and phrases that he carried into entire books. He has illustrated books such as This Is for You, A Sky Full of Kindness and the trilogy, The Invisible Kingdom, The Kingdom Revealed and The Invincible Kingdom.

3. Helen Musselwhite

Helen Musselwhite's layered creations are stunning and aesthetically beautiful. Color, design and textures define the work of this great papercut artist. In her work we can see both nature-inspired worlds and detailed cityscapes.

4. Elsa Mora

Her personal experiences and stories surrounding this artist are her inspirations for creating her papercut art. Elsa Mora explores relationships, family and passion and turns them into authentic works of papercut art. Sometimes, Elsa uses a touch of color to emphasize the message she wants to convey with her spectacular papercut creation.

5. Andrea Dezso

This visual artist is very complete. She works with the techniques of drawing, embroidery, cut paper, animation, sculpture, installations and public art. Her works represent her life experience, from a figurative approach, and explores personal themes, such as the role of women, family, ideological and social influences, nature and the human body.

6. Hari and Deepti

Hari and Deepti create authentic universes with papercut and the magic of light. Papercut light boxes tell stories that have been inspired throughout their travels in Asia and Europe. "Paper is brutal in its simplicity as a medium. It is playful, light, colorless and colorful. It reflects light, creates depth and illusions in such a way that it takes the artist through a journey with limitless possibilities."

7. Pippa Dyrlaga

Pippa Dyrlaga's works are inspired by the natural world and also by everything that surrounds her in her daily life. Through papercut she expresses what she wants to communicate. For this artist, the process is as important as the final result: starting with something as simple as a blank sheet of paper and transforming it into a real work of art that has something to say.

8. Rosa Yoo

Microworlds created in detail form the work of the artist Rosa Yoo. She is also capable of creating entire cities in pop up with the papercut technique. The imagination of this visual artist never ends, you can find wonderful scenarios raised inside a can or any element elaborated to the smallest detail in miniature.

9. Paper Artist Collective

The Paper Artist Collective is a community of artists who share a passion for paper art. It is a community limited to 100 members from around the world, where they share ideas, collaborate and inspire each other. An ideal place to discover techniques, design and talent.

10. Guardabosques

The word "Guardabosques" already gives us a clear idea of the world we are going to find. Yes, exactly, we are going to see a lot of nature and polyhedral animal figures created in paper. Guardabosques are a couple of designers who experiment with three-dimensional natural recreations capable of generating texture and movement in their pieces.

11. Johanna Wilhelm

Works on paper cutouts, large or small scale. This artist has no limits. Her work with the papercutting technique can be seen in fashion campaigns, live projections and installations, creating from each experience a unique scenario. She has also worked in editorial illustration, illustrating the book Amarillo limón el Sol in papercut.

12. Paz Tamburrini

Paz is an illustrator and papercut designer of children's books, and also a teacher at Domestika with her course Illustration with papercut: create extraordinary books. Paz Tamburrini likes to explore the involvement of the support in the story. And this is how she creates literary works where the story is also told through paper.

If you would like to learn more about papercutting, why not check out these online courses:

Paper Cutting: Create Paper Scenes with Depth
Paper is one of the most versatile and attainable materials out there, and the main ingredient in all your paper cutting recipes. Paper cutting artist Noe Arata takes this technique to the limit producing projects for her brand Dobleufa and others like Lancôme, L'Oréal, and Isadora, as well as pieces for Cartier and MALBA (The Latin American Art Museum of Buenos Aires) events.

In this course, learn to create a fantasy scene using paper cutting without needing any previous experience. Noe explains step by step the cornerstones of this technique, how to approach the templates for a project, how to make the foldable structure that serves as the base, and how to exhibit your pieces without frames.

Paper Cutting Techniques for Storytelling
Learn the manual techniques to craft a theater book using paper and scissors. Throughout this course, discover some of the most important techniques and learn how they can be applied to a diverse range of storytelling articles.

With the help of Karishma Chugani, illustrator, fashion designer, and founder of L’École de Papier, navigate the world of paper cutting and learn how to craft a theater book, a hybrid between a tunnel book and a paper theater. Its peculiarity lies in the fact that it is flat and yet creates a sense of depth and perspective.