Paper Lion

Drawn by hand

Editorial illustration, brand marks and lettering from a two-person studio in Cape Town.

See the work

Editorial · Identity · Lettering · Packaging · Murals · Print

What we make

Commissions for publishers, agencies and brands — from a single spot drawing to a whole identity.

Editorial illustration

Spot drawings, full-page pieces and covers for magazines, books and long-form journalism.

Brand marks

Hand-drawn logos, crests and mascots with the character a typeface alone can never give you.

Lettering & type

Custom wordmarks, title treatments and drop caps drawn to fit the words exactly.

Murals & large format

Walls, shopfronts and packaging artwork scaled up without ever losing the line.

Inside the studio

Paper Lion is two people working almost entirely in ink, above a print shop in Woodstock. Every piece starts on paper — nib, brush and a great deal of cross-hatching — and only goes digital once the line is right. We both trained as printmakers, which is why the work looks pulled rather than rendered: few inks, honest paper, and a little mis-registration left in on purpose. We take a handful of commissions at a time, so the thing you brief gets a whole desk rather than a slot in a queue. Since 2016 that has meant covers, packaging, a coffee brand and two very large walls.

Kind words

They took a loose brief and came back with a cover we would never have thought of. It ran to three print runs.
Lerato Dube · Editor, Longform Quarterly
The mark they drew for us is still doing the heavy lifting five years later. Worth every rand.
Sam Okonkwo · Founder, Ridgeback Coffee
Files arrived separated, named, and with the fonts outlined. Our printer sent a thank-you note.
Hannah Vermeulen · Production Manager, Blue Crane Press

Commission rates

Starting points, not a vending machine — every job gets a written quote before a line is drawn. Excludes VAT.

Spot

From R3 500 per drawing
  • One finished drawing
  • Two rounds of roughs
  • Print and web files
  • One year, one territory
  • About a week
Enquire

Cover or campaign

From R14 000 per project
  • Three concept roughs
  • Hand-lettering included
  • Spot-colour separations
  • Layered working files
  • Three years, worldwide
  • Two to four weeks
Enquire

Identity or mural

On request
  • A full drawn picture language
  • Primary mark and motif set
  • A usage sheet your team can follow
  • Paint schedule and on-site days
  • Six to eight weeks
Talk it through

Working together

How long does a commission take?

A spot illustration usually takes a week; a cover or a brand mark two to four, depending on how many rounds you want. Rush work is possible — it simply costs more.

What do I actually receive?

Print-ready files in the formats you need, plus the original scan at full resolution. Brand marks come with a short usage sheet so your team knows how to place them.

Who owns the artwork?

You license it for the uses we agree up front — territory, media and term all written down before anything is drawn. The original stays with us unless you buy it.

Do you take on small budgets?

Sometimes. Tell us the number early and we will tell you honestly whether we can make something good inside it.

Have something to draw?

Tell us about the piece — the brief, the deadline, and roughly what you can spend.

Start a commission

Start a commission

We answer every enquiry within two working days.