Creating Hel and Baldr


This short story I based my final year project on, centers on two powerful figures from Norse mythology: Hel, the goddess of death, and Baldr, the god of light and beauty.

The narrative follows Baldr—a radiant young god beloved by all—whose heart is broken by a human in the realm of Midgard. Consumed by sorrow, he dies and descends into Niflheim, the land of the dead, where he encounters Hel, the solemn ruler of the underworld. A deal is struck in an attempt to bring Baldr back to life, but when the agreement is disrupted, he remains in Hel’s realm. Over time, a deep and unexpected bond forms between them, evolving into a story of love and redemption.

While this retelling draws inspiration from Norse myth, it takes creative liberties—most notably in the relationship between Hel and Baldr, which does not appear in the original lore. Nonetheless, the story is grounded in authentic mythological elements and aims to offer a reimagined perspective on these two complex deities.



My Process


Initial Research: Studying Norse mythology, especially Hel and Baldr’s mythological roles, realms, and iconography.

Storyboarding: Mapping key scenes to understand emotional arcs and environments across Asgard, Midgard, and Niflheim.

Character & Environment Design: Using environmental influences (ice, lava, light) to inform the physicality and textures of the characters.

SFX and Prosthetic Creation:

  • Face casting with alginate and plaster bandages.
  • Sculpting in Chavant clay and molding in silicone and gelatine.
  • Pre-painting prosthetics, testing color palettes, and refining the frozen/volcanic contrasts.

Makeup Trials: Experimenting with gold flakes, glass-skin techniques, and layering grease paints for both Hel’s duality and Baldr’s transformation.

Final Application: Creating full makeup and prosthetic looks for both characters, ensuring their aesthetic told their evolving emotional stories.

  • Applying prostehtics and make up. Colouring prosthetics
  • Applying wigs and costume.
  • Removal of everything post shoot

Photography: Setting up studio space and lighting. Photographing all final looks, editing and creating a graphic design poster for represenation of a film advertisment. (all glow from the lava effect comes from silicone dyes and lighting not post editing)



Hel


My interpretation of Hel's story inspired her look. The frozen side represents the cold stillness of Niflheim, while the scorched side draws from mythological descriptions of her being half-burnt—linked to the fiery core of the Tree of Life. I also used this contrast to explore the balance between female rage and the quiet power of death.

Baldr

Baldrs 3 looks show his transition from life to death. Beginning of his story he is beloved by everyone for his glowing presence which inspired me to try connect him to the element of gold just as I tried to connect Hel to the natural elements. His gold skins starts to erode as he dies and morfs into the underworld with Hel. Creating my own plaster moulds. I used gelatin for these prostehtic pieces. Colouring using alcohol paints.