We share with you an interesting conversation with Nadiya Doycheva, the illustrator of our "Dark Matters" trilogy. We are glad to announce that the long-awaited final part - "The Amber Telescope" - will be released in November.

Nadia, when you were working on the "Dark Matters" trilogy, what was the easiest for you and what was the hardest? Who are your favorite characters from history and why?

Of course, the easiest for me were heroes with whom I somehow identified myself or drew from myself. This is Serafina and Mrs Colter. In the third part of the trilogy, I somehow began to sympathize with the last one, her life is a drama. And the favorite heroes of the second of the plan are witches and gypsies, galivspains.

How did you look for the images of the heroes? Do the characters have real prototypes?

I am constantly collecting references. When I see an interesting image somewhere on social networks or on some sites, I save it the library If necessary, I contact them. In my head, I have a rough index of everything that is in my folders. And then me I work like a neural network.I compile an image from various references, and this is already an unconscious process. These people do not exist in reality, but my task is to make them look real. The main thing is to skip the "uncanny valley" (hypothesis Masahiro Mori, professor of robotics, according to which a robot or 3D model arouses disgust in the viewer if they too humanoid).

Would you like to live in the world of Philip Pullman?

In Lyra's world - a world with inequality, questionable medicine, lack of mass vaccination and some wild creature next to it, with its own set of viruses and bacteria - definitely not). We are all watching how it might end. On mine opinion, we live in the best of all times that have been. I hope the best is yet to come.

Imagine that you have a daemon - what kind of beast would it be?

If there was nowhere else to go and had to choose a damon, it would most likely be some small snake. Its easy to carry in the sleeve. I also really like owls and predators of the cat family. It is difficult to think romantically with the practical approach of the 21st century)

How is your process of working on projects? Are there any rituals to work better?

I work best at night. But I have to interact with society and consider my responsibilities to my family, that's why I am I'm trying to give up the night mode and I'm suffering a little because of it. The best ritual is to get some sleep, to do something like morning gymnastics and drink coffee. And further - depending on the set schedule.

You have a lot of experience illustrating books. Advice for beginners, what should an illustrator do to get noticed by a publisher?

I would advise you to start getting to know publishers and propose your own projects as early as possible. But don't be complex either those who start working in this direction in adulthood. It's never too late, and it's worth accumulating even rejections, to make them easier to perceive. One publisher will decline, another will accept or find you later. It is important to be friendly and positive. Regardless of the quality of work, no one canceled software skills. And, as it is not trivial, do not be afraid and believe in yourself.

What literature do you read and what do you dream of illustrating?

Recently, I have been reading very little fiction, mainly listening to some popular science podcasts or lectures, or just music. I still want to illustrate the Decameron. And not even in the format of a printed book. It could be a painting series or an animated film.

Do you have idols? Whose works do you admire?

Old masters of painting always remain my idols, I am also interested in later periods in art. Because now I am studying animation, then I am fascinated and research the best examples of this direction of art.

What would you do if not illustration?

If it were something completely unrelated to the fine arts, it would be something closer to biology, medicine or mathematicians It is difficult to say, because after the 9th grade I entered an art school, it is a completely different world, far from regular school.At the age of 14-15, I wanted to be a plastic surgeon. I had to see victims of plastic surgery on TV surgery at that time, and since I had already drawn portraits quite similarly, it seemed to me that I could do better face). How little I knew then...

How do you rest and what gives you strength?

In general, I rarely rest. Sometimes I walk in the forest, sometimes I even run there. And strength is best restored by sufficient sleep. We were very impressed with your children's interactive project, if possible, tell us about it.

This is an international project, the goal of which is to restore interest in books in the age of gadgets. Actually, this is a book that will be translated into more than 50 languages, with detailed graphics, a large number of animations, music by famous composers and performers with world names, with texts by famous poets, voiced by very famous actors, also with games for children. I can't say the details and release date yet. The project is technically quite complex and requires me to master certain new skills.