Who or what made you want to become an illustrator?

I've been drawing as long as I remember myself, so it's hard to answer what exactly became the reason for it. It's probably an insatiable need to say something with images that I really can't express in any other way! I always imagine stories and characters in my head, so the best way to bring them to life is to draw.

How and why did you decide to pursue illustration as your career?

To be honest, I can't imagine any other profession other than illustration. When I was a kid, I used to visit my parents in their offices, and from that moment on, I realized that this kind of job wasn't for me. I knew that I wanted creative freedom, to organize my own schedule and working hours, and I knew that I wanted to create illustrations for books - this is my dream job!

Who or what have been some of your major artistic influences?

One of my main inspirations in art was Chris Riddell - I was fascinated by his artistic style and expression. I have a completely different style, but I learned it by studying his illustrations when I started drawing book illustrations at university, and this resulted in my own artistic style and vision. So, thank you, Sir Chris Riddell!

Which books from your own childhood really stand out?

Aside from Harry Potter (obviously) it is A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket. I absolutely loved this book with its dark humour and gruesome atmosphere, but the characters and adventure were the main aspect. It got to the point where I decided to illustrate the entire first book as my graduation project for the university! And recently I decided to reacreate some illustrations to see how far I got with my skill and how my style has changed over time. It is so exciting to see such progress! 

What was your first commission as a professional illustrator?

I used to work in watercolor technique, so my first commission was a picture book about a fish - it was called Awkward Angelfish, written by Alexandrea Sims. In fact, you can still find it on Amazon! It was a great experience, and I was so proud of the result. And the fact that I earned money for drawing a picture book - it was incredible. In that moment I realized that I'm ready to do this for all my life. 

How many times do you tend to draw a character until you are happy with it?

Surprisingly, most of the time it only takes me one attempt to draw a character. Then I develop it further, drawing from different angles and in different situations. One of my favorite characters is a shy fluffy monster. Because of his personality, I tried to draw him with appropriate emotions and in the right poses to demonstrate the experssion. One of the publishers saw this character design and invited me to create a picture book with a similar character, a cute furry monster, but much younger. It was such a fun project!

Talk us through the process of creating one of your latest illustrations or books.

It is always such a fun process! But basically it's going like this:

I create character design and storyboard according to the customer's brief and send it for approval. After it is settled, I create more detailed sketches and a colored draft of the storyboard to show how the book might look in color. And then it is the most fun part - making sketches into full colored illustrations. I prefer to work on the cover last as a final chord of creating a developed image of the book. 

Do you offer more than one style, if so – talk us through the different approaches and the audience you are targeting for each.

I think it's important to keep one artistic style to create the right expression for publishers - they will know what to expect from you and will come to you for specific tasks. However, I like to experiment! I want to expand the age group of my audience, and that's why I recently started working in black and white, using a slightly different technique that should be more suitable for books aimed at a more adult audience.

In addition, sometimes the publisher wants to make some changes to your style so that it is more suitable for a particular project. For example, I was asked several times to redraw the character's eyes and appearance, and it was totally fine for me as I understood it would be better for the project. 

What would you say is a distinguishing feature of your artwork?

Vivid characters, lovely colors, whimsical style! My favorite types of illustrations are those that shows lots of characters interacting with each other. 

Outline your dream project.

It would definitely be a detective book for children - I absolutely love a good detective story with an unexpected plot twist! 

What advice would you offer someone just starting out as a children’s illustrator?

Try different approaches, find the most comfortable way of work, look at other artists' work for better viewability and don't be afraid to share your work. 

Are you an author/illustrator?

Not yet! But I'm in the process of creating my own silent book and I have a lot of ideas for stories, so it's just a matter of time. 

If you weren’t an illustrator, what would you be doing?

A detective solving crimes or a marine biologist looking for hidden underwater creatures.