Alena Kubíková
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ajinak.bsky.social
Alena Kubíková
@ajinak.bsky.social
1.6K followers 1K following 450 posts
Freelance illustrator from Prague, with a soft spot for both darker and silly. ☕️🎨 Card and board game art, book covers. | ✉️ email@ajinak.cz | 🔗 https://linktr.ee/ajinak
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ajinak.bsky.social
Alena Kubíková @ajinak.bsky.social · Jan 13
Hi #PortfolioDay, I'm Alena, a freelance illustrator who loves painting things with character, capturing little story moments. I mainly work in card and board games and book covers.

🎨 www.ajinak.cz | ✉️ email@ajinak.cz
A digital painting of a grey cat warlock standing ready in a misty, rocky landscape, holding a double-bladed topaz sword faintly glowing with magic. A giant rat skull rests on the rocks to the left, and a hissing rat appears on the right. A flock of birds flies in the background. A digital painting of a priestly mushroom figure with a blue scarf blindfold, standing in a forest with folded arms, spreading its white-spotted wings that resemble a red toadstool. Trees with mushrooms fill the back, and a snail on a plant observes the fungi character from the right. A digital painting of a sneaky red dragon inside a forest, moving on rocks above a stream, holding a bright red gemstone with its tail, just above the water, examining it. Bottom part of the image is submerged, showing other gems scattered on the stream floor. A digital painting of a hyena/gnoll trio in ragged clothing. The lead hyena holds a wooden weapon with teeth and shrugs shoulders, grinning sinisterly. Her shirt looks suspiciously like a lion's mane. One hyena in the background is tripping over a stone with a silly expression.
Reposted by Alena Kubíková
coreybrickley.bsky.social
Cover art I painted for George Mann's novel Star Wars: Tears of the Nameless
Two young male jedis in austere high republic uniforms with sharp gold lines have lightsabers drawn and look pensive as 3 4 legged alien creatures with squid tentacle snouts approach. The scene takes place in the ruins of a temple with intricate stone work and gold embellishments
February 14, 2026 at 2:32 PM
Reposted by Alena Kubíková
nord-sol.com
Second illustration from Cynthia Sheppard’s course at Smarter Artschool. The focus was on showing the story through characters interactions. I struggled a lot with ideas for the second part of the course, but I like what I came up with.
A grim illustration showing us a mysterious place. Children are standing in line, their heads bowed, l their parents behind them, holding them tensely. A weird old creature covered in a mix of rugs and jewelry, slowly goes by, gesturing towards one of them, a girl, marking their choice with creepy white hand, decorated with many bracelets. The girl is the only one looking at the creature, her face is tense but not scared.
February 13, 2026 at 4:44 AM
Reposted by Alena Kubíková
breebird33.bsky.social
Thrilled to announce my 5th (omg) graphic novel!!!

This standalone fairy tale is part an excuse to draw lots of monsters, part the agrophobia I've developed in these pandemic years, and the rest—a story of comfort that doesn't shy away from the dark 🧡🧡🧡

www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...
lil nervous Bean in their cap and flower smock illustration of lil Bean is panicking as they ride on the back a big wolf beast. above them, a screen shot from a rights report: Rosemary Brosnan at Quill Tree has acquired, in an exclusive submission, Bean by Bree Paulsen (Garlic & the Vampire). In this middle grade graphic novel, tiny (and agoraphobic) forest creature Bean is forced to face their greatest fears when the last remaining piece of their family is stolen, leaving them no choice but to confront the monsters they're most afraid of. Publication is planned for winter 2029; Britt Siess at Britt Siess Creative Management sold world English rights.
February 6, 2026 at 4:24 PM
Reposted by Alena Kubíková
nozomimats.bsky.social
Winter adventure! Personal project featuring my pets pt 2 ❄️
A brown shiba inu and a black and white cat out in a snowy beech forest with small birds looking on from the bushes.
February 12, 2026 at 1:47 PM
ajinak.bsky.social
A little painterly graphic for a writer friend's literary workshops. Or more precisely - a reworked version of an older one from 2021. I liked how it turned out, and so I decided to also share it myself. Got to paint a fennec after all.
A horizontal graphic showing the workshop title and the author's name, dates displayed on an open book image, contact information with hand-drawn icons, the logo of the Municipal Library of Prague, and a small painterly illustration of a fennec fox in glasses reading a book, set on a purple background with a mechanical moon.
February 12, 2026 at 9:16 AM
Reposted by Alena Kubíková
janpospisil.bsky.social
Here's the painting I did for Kromlech's release date trailer, without logos and uncropped.
February 9, 2026 at 4:08 PM
Reposted by Alena Kubíková
emilyhare.com
This spring I'm launching a brand new Mini Book Of Monsters! Diddy little creatures to put giggles in your tummy and smiles on your face. Get notified of launch here:
buff.ly/MbjucyL

This is Gareth. He enjoys crochet and making friends.

#monster #cutemonster #monsterbook #watercolour #art
a chubby green six legged squidgy monster with a pale green tummy, purple feet and tail. He is laughing happily and his eyes are closed in glee.
February 11, 2026 at 12:00 PM
Reposted by Alena Kubíková
karrahe.bsky.social
Some older work I can share now! A necromancer for @darkdicepod.bsky.social :D #dnd
Stylised headshot of a wan, corpse-like woman with cloudy eyes that still somehow hold a glimpse of life. She has thick sinew stitches going up either side of her neck and a long, ragged scar on her right cheek. Some veins are visible on her pale skin. Her lips are blue and bloodless. She has blonde hair, long and straight, held back from her face by a side braid. Her clothing appears to be slightly bloodied cloth wraps and clothing beneath with thick stitches resembling her own.
February 4, 2026 at 2:00 PM
Reposted by Alena Kubíková
isobelstarling.bsky.social
Bravo Ireland. This is such a great boost for artists. I have an Artists tax exemption in Ireland for works under 50k. It helped me so much - existence in a feast or famine career is hard. But consecutive Irish governments realized that writers, musicians, artists are the lifeblood of the country.
Ireland’s basic income for the arts scheme becomes permanent
When piloted, initiative that provided €325 a week to eligible artists recouped more than its net cost, study shows
www.theguardian.com
February 11, 2026 at 12:09 PM
Reposted by Alena Kubíková
uzairrashid.bsky.social
February 11, 2026 at 6:14 AM
Reposted by Alena Kubíková
kiikiibee.bsky.social
quick portrait of my daggerheart character Antonia, a TANK WIZARD 🛡️🪄 #ttrpg
February 10, 2026 at 11:39 PM
Reposted by Alena Kubíková
anthonyavonart.bsky.social
Of all the artists you can commission for dark fantasy art, I'm certainly one of them.
February 10, 2026 at 9:15 PM
Reposted by Alena Kubíková
slowedmountains.bsky.social
Thrill seeker // dog walker
Digital drawing of a goblin riding on a hare Digital drawing of goblin walking 4 rats on harnesses
February 8, 2026 at 3:52 PM
Reposted by Alena Kubíková
michaelkatchan.bsky.social
Blood token for @saltandpauper.bsky.social
February 9, 2026 at 1:38 PM
Reposted by Alena Kubíková
martinuche.bsky.social
Something new to share - at last! A bit unusual for me but so much fun, a poster for a local Carnaval!

The picture was planned with the title in mind so I'll show it that way, but I can share a no-text version later on as well :)
A very colourufl picture full of partying characters, falling from the sky.
February 8, 2026 at 5:46 PM
Reposted by Alena Kubíková
sandaldraws.bsky.social
The Valewatcher 🦖

I treated myself to a mentorship from @paulscottcanavan.com and this is the final result!

I met a bunch of cool people and learned so much and picked up so many new techniques & I'm excited to see how this knowledge will make me improve next!
A digital painting of a middle aged woman with a wavy bob wearing plate armor and a bright red cloak brandishing a spear atop a ceratosaurus: a blue feathered dinosaur with a long tail and two horns atop its beak, spit flying around as it screeches at the sky from the top of a waterfall. They are lit by a sunrise, birds flying around tall mountain peaks in purple and orange hues.
February 8, 2026 at 10:16 AM
Reposted by Alena Kubíková
anthonyavonart.bsky.social
Bloodsoaked Keep.
February 8, 2026 at 2:15 PM
ajinak.bsky.social
Campaign nears its end, and so I'll do this together this time. But Exploration and Equipment cards share a similar layout after all, as well as usage of icons. And so, here's a little selection of item artworks.

#cardgameart #itemart #boardgamesky
A collage of five illustrated cards set on a forest-themed background. Two cards have leafy green layout frames, three have brown frames, and they all feature painterly item illustrations (and various game icons): red berries; a pile of wood; two flints igniting a straw circle with sparks; a campfire; and a stone knife wrapped in cloth. Text at the bottom right reads: The Last in The Woods.
February 8, 2026 at 12:45 PM
Reposted by Alena Kubíková
emilyhancock.bsky.social
After many years I'm excited to see the Halloween game I illustrated has been announced!!
Dracula's Fortune by Trick Or Treat Games
icv2.com/articles/new...
February 8, 2026 at 6:09 AM
Reposted by Alena Kubíková
lsaintonge.bsky.social
New campaign, new aboleth fishman.
A painting of an undead seaelf.
February 8, 2026 at 2:33 AM
Reposted by Alena Kubíková
ajinak.bsky.social
Time to meet some of the characters. There are a few more to pick from, and two new ones will be joining the forest shortly. 🌲

Series are always fun. I tried making them distinct to each other, while also subtly hinting at their abilities.

(GF campaign ends tomorrow)

#cardgameart #boardgamesky
A collage of five illustrated cards and three cardbacks with life counters set on a forest-themed background. Cards have a leafy green layout frame and a wooden text box, and feature painterly portraits: an older lady with grey hair; a red-haired boy with a soot smudge on his cheek; a guy with blond beard and a chicken leg; a brown-haired woman with a headband and a backpack; and a blonde girl with a straw crown.
February 7, 2026 at 11:46 AM
Reposted by Alena Kubíková
hannahartwork.bsky.social
Costume designs inspired by the Inky Cap, Clathrus Ruber and Devil's Tooth mushrooms 🍄
Two illustrated figures. The left wears flaring layers of mushroom shaped armor and a ragged cape. The right wears a fitted, torn dress with slashed red and cream sleeves.
February 7, 2026 at 7:02 PM
Reposted by Alena Kubíková
eleonorpiteira.bsky.social
I'm preparing the files so I can post these soon, but in the meantime, look at the actual books!

Vicious and Vengeful by V.E. Schwab, with cover illustrations by me and design by Jane Tibbets., for Illumicrate.
Photo of two books, Vicious and Vengeful, by V.E. Schwab, with cover illustrations by Eleonor Piteira and design by Jane Tibbets
February 7, 2026 at 1:56 PM
Reposted by Alena Kubíková
anthonyavonart.bsky.social
Storm above Karanak.
Painted for Cosmere RPG.
AD by Matt DeMino, Johnny O'Neal.
©2025 Dragonsteel LLC and Brotherwise
February 6, 2026 at 8:06 PM
Reposted by Alena Kubíková
aledthompson.bsky.social
Floods, 2021
waterfalls going through some woods
February 7, 2026 at 12:40 AM