With Just A Few Cut Paper Illustrations, One Artist Created An Incredible World.

Artist and illustrator Morgana Wallace‘s pieces are beautiful and mysterious. These works are even more incredible when you consider the detail in each one. Instead of drawing or painting, Wallace creates images out of layers of cut and folded paper, creating a three-dimensional, textured look. Extra details like faces and hands of figures are added in with watercolor and gouache.

Wallace’s work has a mythical, dreamy quality to it. Her characters float in cloudy realms and wear fantastical costumes. They have a mysterious, powerful feeling, and are often accompanied by animals.

Mythologies from around the world inspire Wallace’s illustrations. They are at once simple and complex, much like the tales inspiring them. Wallace is less likely to provide the backstories for the images, leaving it to the viewer’s interpretation of what’s going on in each image. Wallace is known to use modern mythologies as well, including her image of Link from the Zelda games. The bright colors and crafty design is folksy and approachable, but the intricate layers and small details speak to a larger context.

Images via Morgana Wallace