Children's books with beautiful illustrations are rare these days. By chance, my child and I came across the fairy tale Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, which impressed both of us with its beautiful pictures. We present to you its artist - Maya Bocheva.
What does it mean to be a children's book illustrator? How things happen
Illustrator of children's books means first of all that you have kept the connection with the child in you. Not to try to understand how children think, but to remember yourself how you thought and what you loved as a child.
On the one hand, things just happen – when I read the text, the brightest moments pop into my head. They are precisely the ones that will be illustrated. Then comes the stage where I draw them and then I really see them. Until the end, I myself do not know how the pictures will look. And this with my drawing style is a long process. Especially now that I look after my little daughter and draw 2-3 hours a day. One book solution I do it for about a month.
Has motherhood changed your artistic perspective
Yes, even when I got pregnant it was an inspiration for me. I find that I've had a jump in my development since then… and now the little girl prompts and reminds me how to see the world through a child's eyes - very useful for me!
Is there an age when a child starts drawing
The age at which he can hold a pencil in his hand. Then the drawing of circles and dashes begins. Most children like to draw. My daughter, when she discovered the pencil, spent whole days just drawing. Everything is interesting to her now and she doesn't dwell so much on just the paper.
Tell us about your latest project - Tui-onui
Until now I have almost no personal projects. The first was a story about Vicky the witch, which I published as a comic in the new issue of Rainbow magazine. Then Vicki took part in an eco-book. And for now, this was her last appearance.
For 10 years I have drawn many books and worked on many projects. I put a lot of effort and my best into them, but often the books came out either in poor quality or with redone designs and interference with my views. And I'm not just talking about the books. When you work on a given task, you comply with the requirements, and often the children did not get what I wanted.
That's why I felt more and more the need to do something uncompromising and real for kids, without going through a bunch of surveys and focus groups.
Thus little by little an old idea of mine came to life. "Tui-onui" is a fairy-tale world that provides the answers to children's curious questions. As the answers are in the form of funny stories and are intended to develop children's imagination, not to flood us with encyclopedic knowledge.
The main thing in the project is the interactive series of books, which have an electronic version in which the games from the book can be played, and the story can be watched on film. The first book in the series is "Who Lighted the Moon?" In general, I combined my favorite things in one place - book, fairy tale, games, computer games and cartoon.
What's the best thing you've drawn? Can you describe it in a few words
The best thing is what I have yet to draw. But if I had to describe something drawn either by me or someone else, I couldn't with the help of words. That's the good thing about paintings - they work with other senses and shouldn't be described. Otherwise, I would say that my newest drawings are always the best! In this case, these are the illustrations from the second part of the Tui-onui disc series.
Recommend us your favorite recipe for something delicious
When I want to prepare something more interesting and tasty, I look at Joanna's blog. I make muffins at home every week and our favorite is the Apricot Muffins with Crunchy Almond Oatmeal Topping. I also made them for my daughter's christening, only in the form of pop cakes - the decoration is at my discretion and with fondant.
What will you wish our readers
I wish them with all my heart to love each other and love life. Strive for harmony! To rediscover the child in themselves.
