Two Ukrainian illustrators, Margaryta Winkler and Alina Kovtun, have won at the World Illustration Awards 2026. This was reported on the awards’ website.
Margaryta Winkler was recognised in the “Professional Animation” category for the animated short “Dreamtracks”.
According to Winkler, she completed the animation in spring 2025 as the culmination of her master’s dissertation at the Rhode Island School of Design.
Overall, the work took four months — from developing the concept to the final result. In it, the illustrator used graphite, coloured pencils and around 800 cards.
“It is both my love letter to travelling by train across Ukraine, born out of a deep longing for home, and an attempt to convey the dreamlike state of being between destinations,” Winkler shares.
Alina Kovtun received the award in the “Professional Book Covers” category for “Bunny: Alternative Book Cover Design”.
As Kovtun explains, the cover became her interpretation of Mona Awad’s novel “Bunny”.
“The book’s unsettling atmosphere, dark humour and the blurred line between reality and imagination inspired me to explore a surreal and symbolic visual language,” Kovtun says.
Kovtun began working on the illustration immediately after reading the book, and the creative process itself lasted about eight hours. In the work, she used the digital tools Procreate and Adobe Photoshop.
In total, more than 4,500 entries from 83 countries were submitted to the competition. Two hundred projects made the shortlist.
The winners were announced on 8 September during an online ceremony.
About Margaryta Winkler:
- Ukrainian artist;
- currently lives in Vancouver (Canada);
- creates illustrations, book covers and hand-drawn animations;
- in 2023, she received a Fulbright grant to pursue a master’s degree in the United States;
- in 2025, she earned a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Illustration at the Rhode Island School of Design.
About Alina Kovtun:
- Ukrainian illustrator and designer;
- has produced work for books, magazines and independent brands;
- her illustrations explore emotions, character and the playfulness of visual storytelling.
About the World Illustration Awards:
- held every two years since 2015;
- initiated by the Association of Illustrators (AOI), founded in 1973 in the United Kingdom, in partnership with the Directory of Illustration;
- this year, winners were selected in 44 categories;
- in 2026, the longlist also included Ukrainian illustrator Mariia Foia.