[BRAND] — CASE STUDY
Zaljubljene kvačice — Picture book illustration
Illustrations for 'Zaljubljene kvačice' — a picture book by Ratko Bjelčić, published by Naklada Semafora. Anthropomorphic staples navigate love, obstacles, and perseverance. Mixed hand-made and digital technique in red, white, and black.
Context
“Zaljubljene kvačice” is a picture book by author Ratko Bjelčić, published by Naklada Semafora. The commission: illustrations for a story about staples — kvačice — who fall in love and must overcome a series of obstacles to be together. A reminder, aimed at children and adults alike, that the right things are worth fighting for.
The illustrations were exhibited at Knjižnica Kustošija (Ilica 312a, Zagreb) as part of the O’bojeni zidovi project — a collaboration between Kulturni klub O’Grada and Knjižnica Grada Zagreba bringing Croatian illustrators into public library spaces.
Visual system
Three-colour palette — red, white, black — with expressive ink line work throughout. No gradients, no texture fills. Technique is a combination of hand-drawn and digital: characters drawn by hand, then composited and coloured digitally. The red functions as both the emotional register (hearts, love, emphasis) and the architectural ground plane the characters inhabit.
The staple’s angular silhouette translates naturally into a standing figure — two prongs become legs, the squared-off top a head. City architecture appears in the background, reduced to simple grey geometric shapes so the characters stay the clear visual priority.
Fine art illustration
Alongside the book project — standalone pen and ink work in stippling and crosshatch technique. The frog illustration below is approximately 1,200 hours of stipple work: individual dots, no shortcuts, no filters.
