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| the basilisk of warsaw . 2026 |
here's a new post for the new month! i was invited by the uae board on books for young people (uaebby) to participate in this year's edition of 'folktales reimagined', an initiative where artists reinterpret folktales from around the world through illustration (see previous editions of 'folktales reimagined' here). as the emirate of sharjah is the guest of honour at this year's warsaw international book fair, the folktales for this edition are from poland. plus, polish illustrators had the opportunity to reinterpret and illustrate folktales from the emirates as well!
i was assigned the story of the 'bazyliszek' – the basilisk of warsaw. i worked on a single illustration to represent the story, adding an emirati flare! the basilisk here is inspired by the falcon, and the young apprentice who figures out how to defeat the creature is in traditional emirati wear, with an armour made of mirrors.
the final illustration above was exhibited at the national library of poland in warsaw alongside other reimagined folktales by emirati and polish illustrators and artists. i'm really happy with the final outcome of the illustration, and i hope whoever sees it likes it too! thank you so much uaebby for the opportunity to be a part of this year's edition of 'folktales reimagined' in poland. i've never been to warsaw – hopefully i'll be able to visit in the near future...
ending this post with the proposal sketch i worked on before moving to the final. there's something about the looseness and movement in the sketch that i really enjoy...
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| the basilisk of warsaw sketch . 2026 |