T: +1 (647) 407-5843   E: kira@kirashaimanova.com

ADCC Feature Story: Proud FM, Award Winning Campaign

My Proud FM series has been winning awards from all over the place. Never did I think my work would be featured all over, winning huge awards and getting recognized by so many people in the art industry. I’m super grateful to have worked on this campaign, it wasn’t a walk in the park sculpting so many pieces and details in a short period of time, but with a great team behind me, I made it happen. This campaign won Gold at the ADCC awards and turned into a feature... Read The Rest →

Bees are dying | Making of “Beeloved”

Hey guys, It’s been a while since I shared photos of my sculpture illustration process and I want to show you how to sculpt and make a doll. My latest piece took about 2 weeks to create (on and off). During the down time, I like to step away from my work and see what is working and not working; then change aspects to create a strong piece. One of the changes you may notice in the doll making process is that this girl had black liner on her top... Read The Rest →

Published in 3×3 Illustration Annual

After submitting for the past 4 years, my work is finally good enough to land on the pages of the 3×3 Illustration Annual. I’m beyond excited about this and hope to get lucky again next year. Over 6,000 submissions and only about 450 get into the book, it’s pretty wild. If you pick up your copy, find me on page 122.

Award Winning Proud FM Advertisements

I’m super thrilled my ads for Proud FM have been pretty popular this year. I worked on this series during last summer, but only recently have they been released. It’s really been, what I think, is my best work to date. Thanks to a wonderful team of people I got to work with including, Instil Productions’ Philip Rostron, Saatchi & Saatchi’s Joel Arbez and Matt Antonello. I can’t wait till the next one :). See my winning artwork featured in Marketing MAgazine 2014 & Applied Arts Photography and Illustration 2014

MAD Magazine – HBO GIRLS Dolls

 After graduating illustration in University, it was always a dream of mine to land my artwork in MAD Magazine. I got super lucky and finally landed a gig with one of my dream clients. I got to work on MAD Magazine’s spoof on HBO GIRLS, the main characters portrayed as American Girl dolls. American Girl dolls are idolized by little girls, they have different outfits, accessories and each one has a back story. These dolls were to resemble the American Girl dolls, but also HBO Girls characters (Hannah, Marnie, Shoshanna & Jessa).... Read The Rest →

Toys R Us Holiday Cover

My approved sketch for Toys “R” Us. The scene had to be a snowy holiday setting with toys that would appeal to young boys and girls. I wasn’t able to add a Santa or anything pertaining to a certain religion. I went for a little Christmas village type of town, small and cozy. Below are some of the work in progress shots I had taken to send over to the client while I was at work on these little guys. Most of the buildings are made form cardboard and trees from paper.... Read The Rest →

The Making of Bitsy Bear: Art Toy Tutorial

I wanted to share with you a mini tutorial of how I created my stuffed Bitsy Bear. I used a soft, fluffy fabric from Fabricland, along with matching sewing threads. The stuffing can be used from a pillowcase, an old stuffed toy, small pine shavings, plastic pebbles, or anything really. It all depends on the feel you want to achieve with your personal art toy creation. I used air dry clay for the face, hands and feet of the bear. I chose to sculpt him on a rounded surface to get... Read The Rest →

Lone Wolf Magazine Feature

My recent interview for Lone Wolf magazine. What a gorgeous issue, pick up a copy in the book store, there’s so much lovely work. I’m so happy to be featured, thanks Lone Wolf!  Read about my beginnings as a sculpture artist and how I discover my style.

103.9 Proud FM Ads

A series for a Toronto gay and proud radio station, 103.9 Proud FM. Taking your every day song that you hear on the radio and twisting a lyric into a visual gay innuendo. Client: 103.9 Proud FM / Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi / Art Director: Joel Arbez / Copywriter: Matt Antonello / Photography: Instil Productions Inc. – Philip Rostron A magical behind the scenes look at the making of the Proud FM series:

The Sheepdogs Dolls & The Juno Award

A year ago, I was approached by the very talented photographer /director Matt Barnes from Westside Studio about a very exciting project for The Sheepdog’s new music video “Feeling Good”. I was asked to recreate the band members from The Sheepdogs and their individual likeness as dolls. The goal was to make them as realistic as possible so they can be in their own video in live action through their doppelganger miniatures. Every little detail from skin, to hair and facial hair was carefully crafted and painted by hand. It... Read The Rest →

« Older Entries