[2] Helquist served as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Hong Kong, then earned a bachelor's degree in fine arts from Brigham Young University in 1993.
The series was beloved for its terrifying artwork by Stephen Gammell, which caused universal backlash against Helquist's comparatively tame illustrations.
In August 2017, Helquist donated several boxes filled with early sketches of his illustrations for A Series of Unfortunate Events to BYU's Special Collections department.
[6] In February 2019, Helquist was the Artist Guest of Honor and Keynote Speaker at the 37th annual Life, the Universe, & Everything science fiction and fantasy arts symposium.
[9] In 2024, The Mona Lisa Vanishes: A Legendary Painter, a Shocking Heist, and the Birth of a Global Celebrity, which Helquist illustrated, won the Sibert Medal.