HCA-2018 Winner Igor OleynikovNever Stop Asking Questions

Igor Oleynikov is one of the most appreciated contemporary Russian illustrators. He has illustrated so many and such various books that it could be enough for several persons' professional careers. The worlds that he creates spellbind both children and grown-ups. His artistic vision is unique, his space is vast, and his characters are unusual. His illustrations are very dynamic—sometimes they look like cinema shots. Oleynikov's interpretation of classical and traditional pieces of literature is always surprising; it is never what you expect. Any new edition with his art is an important event for connoisseurs of illustrated books.

The books illustrated by Igor Oleynikov vary in genres: from fairy-tales and myths to science fiction, from fantasy to the WWII memories, from the Bible to Soviet avant-garde poetry. Like a pioneer of the Age of Discovery, he is never afraid of exploring the new illustration grounds, eager to try his hand at difficult texts' interpretation and to challenge the most complicated topics. He admits to preferring the stories where the writer does not go too deeply into describing all the daily life details—so that he, the illustrator, is given space for his own imagination. For the same reason, he prefers illustrating writers from the past to contemporary ones, so no one would protest against the original plot's interpretation. In total, Igor Oleynikov has more than eighty books, with his illustrations published by various publishing houses in Russia and abroad—which makes him one of the most highly demanded contemporary Russian illustrators.

As many prolific artists, Oleynikov has a versatile background. Not having any artistic degree, he spent his early career years in Soyuzmultfilm, the main animation studios in Russia, and then nearly ten years in the Russian branch of BBC's Christmas Films Studio. At first, he was mostly a backgrounds artist, and then he gradually reached the position of an art director. The years in animation without a doubt have brought to his style the dynamic approach to narrative, the dramatic viewpoints, and a brilliant understanding of the right pace for each story he had to illustrate. Oleynikov's personages are incredibly vivid—also thanks to his animation background. He got used to paying particular attention to movement, unusual angles, expressive poses, and mimics. He is not interested in drawing an elegant portrait of a still standing person; he takes his audience to a film set, lets the readers take a sneak peak of the shooting process and see with their own eyes what miracle happens when "…and action!" is still tinkling in their ears.

Igor Oleynikov's first book, I've Been in the Computer City, was published in 1984, but he fully dedicated himself to illustration from the second half of the 1990s, seeking more artistic freedom and independence in decision-making. In the early 1990s, Oleynikov, among many talented Russian artists, collaborated with the innovative Tramway magazine, the ultimate perestroika-spirited periodical for the kids of the new generation. Its ironic texts were full of charismatic, funny, unforgettable personages—a general who turned into an ant, a dad and a son who learned to fly but got quickly bored, and many others. The magazine format itself required developing the character with just one or two pictures, and this is how Oleynikov became a "sprinter" illustrator—able to describe his heroes in a particularly short "distance."

The characters created at the beginning of his career as an illustrator are incredibly captivating—exactly the image one would expect of a fairy-tale animal, a beloved teddy-bear, or a mischievous boy next door—just as your childhood best friend was. After years of experiments with diverse illustration media, Oleynikov obtained this effect by his particular artistic techniques: first the oil paint and then gouache paint combined with the dry brush, worn rags, or old brooms. Such a technique permitted the artist to create numerous vivid, dynamic images in short periods of time and to be one of the most productive contemporary Russian illustrators. This sketchy style never really left him: even...