Layered Visual Metaphors by Sandra Rilova

Spanish illustrator and animator Sandra Rilova creates layered visual worlds where portraits, landscapes, flowers, animals and small human figures fold into one another. Her work has a soft, literary quality, but the compositions are crafted with sharp control, using silhouettes, flat shapes and textured gradients to turn each image into a miniature narrative.

Sandra’s illustrations often feel like scenes from books you half remember, which makes sense given how much of her work sits within book covers and publishing. Based in Spain, Sandra studied Fine Arts at the University of Bilbao before completing postgraduate studies in illustration at EINA in Barcelona. Since starting her illustration career in 2018, she has worked across publishing, editorial, advertising and animation, with clients including Google, Facebook, The Folio Society, Penguin Random House, Harvard Business Review and the Hans Christian Andersen Museum in Odense, Denmark.

For more of Sandra Rilova’s work, visit her portfolio and follow her on Instagram.

More illustration Sandra Rilova’s website