Olesia and the Cat – Sasha Kolesnik

Art Direction / Character Design / Illustration

Art Direction / Illustration / Print

Olesia and the Cat

CLIENT: Personal
YEAR: 2018

In the spring of 2018 I spent some fun time working on a personal project which was unexpectedly followed by some similar comissions. The task wasn't usual for me — not everyday I design a book from scratch — though I am really happy with the result.

THE
CHALLENGE

THE CHALLENGE

When my daughter Olesia was born I decided that it would be nice to draw and print a book featuring her and our cat as main characters. After a while I came up with a simple and cozy plot: Olesia and the Cat go for a walk, then it starts raining and they hurry home to drink some hot tea with cake. So I started drawing (when my main character was sleeping and not crying for attention).

VISUAL
DESIGN

VISUAL DESIGN

The main requirements were based on specifics of the babies’ ability to focus on the image.
So I needed to keep it simple, colorful and contrasting. I picked a few bright colors in addition
to black and white, used some simple patterns like dots and wavy lines, alternated white and colored pages.

The main requirements were based on specifics of the babies’ ability to focus on the image. So I needed to keep it simple, colorful and contrasting. I picked a few bright colors in addition to black and white, used some simple patterns like dots and wavy lines, alternated white and colored pages.

THE
RESULT

THE RESULT

When I was done with all illustrations and texts, another problem was to find the best way to print the book. After some research I desided to print it as a photobook, because this method provides good quality and all necessary features like thick cardboard pages and neat cover.
And this is what I got!

When I was done with all illustrations and texts, another problem was to find the best way to print the book. After some research I desided to print it as a photobook, because this method provides good quality and all necessary features like thick cardboard pages and neat cover. And this is what I got!

When I was done with all illustrations and texts, another problem was to find the best way to print the book. After some research I desided to print it as a photobook, because this method provides good quality and all necessary features like thick cardboard pages and neat cover.
And this is what I got!

AND
MORE

AND MORE

After the book was printed it turned out that some people I know want the same for themselves or as a gift to their friends. I came up with an idea not to print the same book for everyone, but to make every book slightly different and more personalized based on childrens’ and their pets names and appearance.