About me
I’m Katya Shabashova, an illustrator and book designer interested in telling stories through images, especially for children and young adults.
MY APPROACH: — Explore complex themes through familiar images and visual metaphors. — Draw on history, folklore and childhood memories to develop characters and stories. — Use colour, composition and scale to create atmosphere and guide the reader’s attention. — Bring illustration, typography and layout together to shape the experience of a book.I believe that young readers deserve honest conversations about serious subjects. In my work, I look for ways to make these subjects approachable while leaving room for interpretation, curiosity and emotion.WHAT I CAN DO
✶ Book illustration
✶ Book covers
✶ Book design and layout
✶ Character design
✶ Illustrated posters
✶ Illustration for merchandise
Bluebeard
✶ Illustrated book
Concept
This project is an illustrated edition of Charles Perrault’s fairy tale Bluebeard for readers aged 12 and above. Through contrasts in scale, dramatic compositions and selective colour accents, I explore the story’s themes of curiosity, fear and power. I created the illustrations, cover and layout, shaping the book’s visual rhythm to build tension as the story unfolds.
Developing a Visual System I built the visual language around the contrast between the heroine and Bluebeard. His oversized figure dominates the compositions, making her appear small and vulnerable. Diagonal lines and shifts in scale create a sense of unease, while detailed interiors invite the reader to explore the house alongside her.
A restrained palette of grey, blue and red connects the illustrations throughout the book. Blue draws attention to Bluebeard, while selective red accents mark moments of danger. The recurring image of the key links the endpapers to the story, turning a small object into a central visual motif.
Final Product The result is a complete book design for Charles Perrault’s Bluebeard, bringing together original illustrations, a cover, endpapers and page layouts. The colour palette and compositions work together to guide the reader through the story and build tension. The book is presented through digital spreads and mockups.
39.3°
✶ Illustrated alphabet
Concept
39.3° is an illustrated alphabet inspired by Slavic mythology and the strange imagery of fever dreams. Each illustration introduces a mythological creature alongside its corresponding letter. Elongated figures, distorted spaces and ornamental details bring these characters into an unsettling world where folklore and hallucination intertwine.
Developing a Visual System I wanted the illustrations to feel like fragments of a fever dream. Elongated figures merge with their surroundings, while distorted proportions make familiar settings feel strange. Each creature appears among objects and details associated with its role in Slavic folklore.
A limited palette of blue-grey, cream and red unites the series. Ornamental borders and integrated letters give each composition a shared structure, connecting the individual scenes into an illustrated alphabet.
Final Product The result is a series of six illustrations for an alphabet inspired by Slavic mythology. Each composition brings together a letter, a mythological character and its surroundings. A shared palette and ornamental details connect the images, while each scene reveals a different part of the strange, dreamlike world of 39.3°.
You Cannot Leave Until You Finish!
✶ Illustrated series
Concept
A series of large-format illustrations exploring familiar phrases children hear at the dinner table. Everyday objects and childhood scenes become visual metaphors for care, pressure and guilt, inviting teenagers and adults to reflect on the memories these words carry.
When I eat, I’m deaf and mute
Developing a Visual System I used familiar objects — plates, spoons and patterned tablecloths — to turn everyday phrases into visual metaphors. Exaggerated proportions and close-up views make ordinary dinner scenes feel uneasy.
