Ukrainian Artists Win World Illustration Awards 2026 for Animated Short Film and “Bunny” Cover

Ukrainian illustrators Margaryta Winkler and Alina Kovtun have been named winners of the World Illustration Awards 2026, according to results published on the competition’s official website.

The competition received more than 4,500 entries from 83 countries, with 446 works selected for the longlist and 200 advancing to the shortlist. Winkler and Kovtun were recognized as winners in two separate professional categories.

Winkler won the Professional Animation category for her animated short film Dreamtracks, a work inspired by train journeys through Ukraine and the experience of longing for home.

“It's both my love letter to train travel through Ukraine born of a deep longing for home and an attempt to capture the dreamlike state of being suspended between destinations,” Winkler explained.

Kovtun received the award in the Professional Book Covers category for her alternative cover design for Mona Awad’s novel Bunny.

The book’s unsettling atmosphere, dark humour, and blurred line between reality and imagination inspired me to explore a surreal and symbolic visual language,” Kovtun said.

Winkler is a Ukrainian visual artist currently based in Vancouver, Canada, whose work spans illustration, book covers, and hand-drawn animation. Meanwhile, Kovtun is a Kyiv-based Ukrainian illustrator and designer who transformed a personal passion for illustration into a professional creative practice, creating work for books, magazines, and independent brands.

Their recognition follows another recent international achievement for Ukrainian illustration. Ukrainian artist Masha Foya received two Merit Awards at the 23rd 3×3 International Illustration Awards Show, she announced on Instagram on July 16.

Among the works recognized was a series of illustrations created for Touch Me, a short story by Ukrainian writer Maksym Popil.