Igor Oleinikov: Russia ⋆ Illustrator

Igor Oleinikov began where most illustrators do not: as a student of chemistry at the Moscow Institute of Chemical Engineering. Born in Lyubertsy in 1953, Oleinikov started his journey as a science student, but heeding his passion, decided to work as an assistant art director at a design institute. Oleinikov succeeded quickly in his position and eventually became the art director himself, without any formal education in art or design whatsoever. The illustrator went on to become a well-known animator for a number of Soviet cartoons, including the very popular show The Mystery of the Third Planet. Oleinikov extended his practice by branching out to film, and eventually onto children's periodicals and various book publishers. Oleinikov has illustrated for a number of very popular titles by Russian publishing houses, including Lewis Carrolls' Alice in Wonderland, The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by R.L. Stevenson, and J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan. Oleinkiov has now worked for publishers all over the world.

Oleinikov usually works quite quickly; he has illustrated over fifty books with his signature quirky style, making him one of Russia's most prolific contemporary illustrators. His work is full of motion, which results in very vivid and dynamic end product. The technique Oleinikov uses is dry brush gouache, which allows him to work in tiny strokes, dots, and points of shades of the same color, which produce characters who seem utterly full of life. Oleinikov is creative in his depiction of fantasy, and his work inspires the imagination both in children and adults. He works to draw a connection between the young and old, and his illustrations often involve humor and subtle irony, as well as beauty. Oleinikov gets his inspiration from the world around him, as he believes "everything that amazes can become a fairytale in our li[ves]."

Igor Oleinikov has won a number of awards in Moscow, and has been nominated for many more throughout the world. In 2012, Oleinikov made it onto IBBY's honor list for the creation of a recognizable yet ultimately unique world in A Ballad About a Small Tugboat. His distinctive style of graphic instability has labeled him an innovator among art gallery dealers in Russia, who have even gone so far as to coin Oleinikov's style as "art-illustration."