Upper Deck: Hello Maria, would you like to introduce yourself?

Maria Poliakova: Hi, I’m an artist from Kiev. I’m 26 years old, and drawing is my work and hobby at the same time.

Maria Poliakova

UD: What does “being creative” mean to you?

MP: For me it means to see wider, see the ordinary stuff in not ordinary light

UD: How did you create your own style?

MP: I couldn’t say I did anything special for that. Because an original style is not something that develops in a day. It’s not like “starting from today I’m going to draw in my own style”. This is something one works towards on a daily basis, one should draw every day to realize oneself  as an artist step by step.

UD: What made you decide to pursue a career in the art world?

MP: Since childhood, I was addicted to drawing and that is why I went to an Art Institute. So it seems I had no choice. Drawing is the only thing that brings me joy and money at the same time. Of course it was hard in the first years and still hard sometimes, but it’s very exciting.

UD: What kind of creative patterns, routines, or rituals do you have? – or – How do you work? Is there a “process” or more of a “flow”?

MP: I just sit and draw, almost every morning. I believe that you don’t need to catch inspiration or ‘work mood’. All I need for work: quality sleep, good health and tea in the morning.

UD: Who are some of the artists that have inspired you?

MP: I’m very inspired by old painters: Repin, Mucha, Klimt, Zorn etc. Also there are so many inspiring artists from nowadays: Ruan Jia, Piotr Jabłoński, Andrey Surnov, Chengwei Pan, Even Amundsen, Ayran Oberto and many others

UD: Who is your favorite Marvel comic book hero or character?

MP: Oh, it’s easy. My favorite hero is Wolverine. He has an unusual fate – he lives for so long and saw so much. His story gives a boost to my imagination. I like to fantasize about the different stories that happened during his long life.

Ant-Man & The Wasp’s Imperceptible Journey

UD: What were/are some of your favorite games to play?

MP: Civilization was my first strong passion. I played from the first game and to the latest one. I liked to conquer the world.

UD: What type of work do you most enjoy doing? (Graphic novel, advertising, comics, gaming, conceptual, fine art for galleries, etc.)

MP: I like the variety. Even if I most enjoy drawing people portraits, after that I always want to draw something different. Environments for example. Because of that I’m always open for experimenting.

Peek into the process of creating digital art.

UD: What’s your favorite piece of personal work you’ve ever created?

MP: I think it’s “Into your arms” I drew this work when I fell in love and every time I look at it there are so many good memories.

UD: What is your dream project?

MP: I’ve always wanted to work on big film projects, it could be concept art or illustration. It’s exciting to know that you can take part in such great project with other professionals, and that you can create something new or draw a famous character and many people will see it.

UD: Who would be your dream collaboration with?

MP: I would love to collaborate with a great team of talented artists like Ryan Lang, Sergey Kolesov and Maciej Kuciara

UD: What was your favorite part about working on this product?  

Ant-Man & The Wasp’s Microscopic Odyssey

MP: Everything. I was free to draw this illustration in my style and I just enjoyed every stage of work.

UD: What were some of the challenges that you faced?

MP: Building the right perspective was a challenge for me in this work. It’s my weak spot.

UD: Anything else you would like to add?  

MP: Thank you for our collaboration! It was exciting

Websites and Links:
https://www.artstation.com/tubikraski

https://www.instagram.com/tubik.kraski/

https://www.facebook.com/tubikraski

https://www.deviantart.com/tubik-kraski