Emotional, expressive, evocative: Illustrator Ilya Kazakov is proving that cute is the way forward

Originally from the Russian territory of Sakha – also called Yakutia – Ilya Kazakov is one of the most northerly illustrators we've featured in a while. Over 40% of his homeland sits in the Arctic Circle, close enough to the North Pole that we're willing to accept Ilya as an expert on the topic of Santa Claus, a character he's illustrated numerous times. He even designed a set of Santa installations for a Moscow shopping mall back in 2020.

However, there's a lot more than snow and long white beards to this artist's story. With his army of cute characters, Ilya has become a pioneer in NFTs, catering to a community of supporters who back projects like his recent Fake Trading Card Game (FTCG) on the Ethereum L2 platform. People can buy packs of five digital character cards to trade and ask for specific artwork from Ilya.

"The unique feature of my NFT projects is that they are built on collaboration," says Ilya. "Anyone can request or come up with, for example, a character, and I will draw it. This makes my projects even more diverse because one person alone could never come up with as many variations as several hundred people."

Speculative ventures like this earn revenue streams alongside Ilya's client projects – such as his aforementioned Christmas campaign for the Avenue South-West shopping centre in Moscow. Here, he concepted a variety of Santas, each of which was associated with a brand operating in the mall. "It was my first experience designing physical objects," says Ilya. "I worked with a team of sculptors who created these large Santa Claus figures. The process had many technical nuances and constraints, but everything turned out well."

When the OFFF Festival came to Moscow in 2021, Ilya had the honour of creating the opening titles – a job many illustrators and animators would envy. Directing and animating the project took six months, with sound design by Daruma Audio, and it's one of his favourite projects to date.

Like many illustrators, Ilya takes inspiration from nature and people-watching, but deep inside him is a fascination with ancient peoples, their art and architecture. It goes back to his earliest years in Sakha, where his grandfather taught him to draw and where he learned about the magical creatures and spirits of Sakha mythology – elements of which remain in his work.

Though he became an art director working in UI/UX and moved to Moscow in 2005, the urge to draw stayed with Ilya, and as 2019 turned to 2020 and the pandemic hit, he became a full-time illustrator. In 2023, he was granted a talent visa by France and moved to Paris, where he now lives and works.

As for his cute style, he didn't choose it; it chose him. "My style has constantly evolved and simplified over time, and even now continues to develop," says Ilya. "It allows me to work fast and capture my emotions on the go. It's true that the 'cute' style is popular right now, and it helps me find clients who resonate with my approach. This allows me to tackle creative challenges while staying within a visual style close to me."

Ilya's next NFT project will be a personal one. Entitled GM – Good Morning – it features a sketch drawn first thing in the morning each day for an entire year. Rife with cute characters, the vibe is generally positive, but it also reflects the ups and downs of settling in Paris. "Not every morning is great. One day, you might break a cup, have an allergy attack, or simply wake up in a bad mood.

"Now I'm revisiting these images; I look at them like a photo album full of memories. Each illustration means something more to me than just a picture – it's a reflection of my emotions and mood at the time of drawing," says Ilya.