This is my interpretation of a Slavic calendar myth about the transition from Winter to Spring. I approached the story not as a literal retelling, but as a visual exploration of nature’s cycle, its opposing forces and the divine figures that embody seasonal change.

The illustrations combine character-driven storytelling, symbolic details and atmospheric environments to create a world that feels rooted in folklore while still visually contemporary. Through contrast between cold and warm palettes, recurring motifs and shifting landscapes, the series follows the transformation of the natural world and turns an old myth into a cohesive visual narrative.

For me, this project reflects the way I work with illustration: taking an existing cultural story, finding its emotional core and rebuilding it through my own visual language so it can feel alive and relevant again.

Beer Monsters is a series created from a brief for Pabst Blue Ribbon, where the brand’s visual language is reinterpreted through iconic monster archetypes. Instead of their usual attributes, the characters interact with beer, turning familiar horror imagery into playful, contemporary advertising illustrations. The project shows how I can work with an existing brand identity while keeping a strong authorial style and building memorable character-based visuals.

Savannah Residents was created from a brief for HSE Concept Store and focuses on a completely different tone: cute, eccentric and slightly absurd African animals designed as expressive print characters. Together, these projects show my ability to adapt visual storytelling to different commercial contexts, from bold branded campaigns to playful merchandise, while keeping character and personality at the center of the image.

Next series follows the adventures of Marusya, a mischievous local girl, and the Firebird, her equally restless companion. Both characters are deeply connected to Nizhny Novgorod and its traditions, but instead of treating folklore as something static, I reimagined it through humor, movement and everyday chaos. Their relationship turns familiar cultural motifs into a playful contemporary story.

The project was developed across several formats: two murals, a modular illustration system and a three-dimensional photo zone. Working across these different scales allowed me to keep the characters recognizable while adapting the composition and storytelling to each physical context. The series shows how I approach illustration not only as an image, but as a flexible visual world that can move from wall graphics to spatial installations while preserving its narrative and personality.

This illustrations reinterprets Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid through a restrained monochrome visual language. The compositions are built around the contrast between two environments: the dense, enveloping sea and the harsh, almost burning space of the land. Instead of focusing on the fairy tale’s romantic surface, I wanted to emphasize the heroine’s isolation, silence and emotional displacement.

The absence of bright color reinforces the feeling of longing and emptiness, while the character-focused compositions keep the emotional tension at the center of the story. For me, the project shows how a familiar literary narrative can be transformed through atmosphere, visual metaphor and a contemporary authorial interpretation.

Have a story that needs its own visual world?
I create character-driven illustrations, reinterpret folklore and cultural narratives, and adapt visual storytelling for publishing, brands, murals, installations and other creative formats.

If you’re looking for an illustrator who can turn an idea into something memorable and alive, I’d love to hear about your project.

✎ Email: vkkovina@edu.hse.ru