I'm excited to be back with a whole new batch of interviews! Today I'm sharing a peek into the process of making the book Circus of Shadows by Lidia Branković! This enigmatic book takes a closer look at the inner-workings of the subconscious, and it was a pleasure to pick Lidia's brain about it. Enjoy taking a closer look at this book!
About the book:
Lika has never given much thought to her shadow. Sometimes it’s long, sometimes it’s short… but it's never anything more than a shadow. That is until the day it starts acting strangely. When Lika waves a hand, Shadow raises a foot. When Lika sits down, Shadow stands up. Lika tries to hide, but the smaller she makes herself, the bigger Shadow becomes. When Shadow whisks Lika off to a curious land of shadows – and right into a spooky shadow circus – she must look deep inside herself to find her way back home.
Let's talk Lidia Branković!
LTPB: Where did the idea for Circus of Shadows come from?
LB: Before I started working on the book, I was going through an intense anxious period. I never really saw myself as an anxious person, but during that time, I started to realize I’d been wrong. I think the anxiety had always been there—I just didn’t know how to name it. I used to brush it off as just part of who I was. Looking back, I see that I was mostly ignoring it and trying to push it aside. The idea for Circus of Shadows came to me once I stopped doing that. I think when we stop avoiding the harder parts of ourselves, whether it’s anxiety, shame, or something painful we’ve been through, we make room for other things to come in. For me, that space was filled with creativity and the spark to write this story.
LTPB: Can you talk a little bit about the visual evolution of the book? As you got to know Lika and developed the story, how did your illustrations evolve?
LB: Circus of Shadows felt a bit more difficult to illustrate than my other books. Maybe because my goal was to make the illustrations feel scary and fun at the same time. The illustrations had multiple colours in the beginning. However, as I kept working red and blue tones seemed to take over most of the images. Moving away from many different colours to mainly two tones was the biggest evolution regarding the visuals. As for Lika, I had a very clear image of who she is, what she likes and wears. Probably because in a way Lika is a part of me.
LTPB: What did you find most difficult in creating this book? What did you find most rewarding?
LB: The most difficult was just dealing with the pressure of making the infamous “second book”. Since my first book was a success, I was nervous, always wondering will this one be good enough?
Most rewarding was when I finished the book and felt like I achieved a balance between tension and fun in the story.
LTPB: What did you use to create the illustrations in this book? Is this your preferred medium? How does your process change from book to book?
LB: For me every book starts with a pen and paper. I make multiple storyboards, and sketch out the different spreads. Once I’m satisfied with my roughs, I colour them with acrylic paint, scan my painting and finally edit everything on the iPad.
With this book I did a lot of editing in Procreate. Thought I’m trying to move away from working digitally. I’m a bit impatient, that’s why painting sometimes makes me feel like I’m loosing my mind. However, once I get over my impatiens, I enjoy painting much more than working digitally.
LTPB: What are you working on now? Anything you can show us?
LB: I’ve just finished The Grand Hotel of Feelings Workbook, which is a book where readers get to know their own hotels of feelings better. They can explore what their hotel looks like, how to check in different guest, and how to invite in guests. It will be published in April 2026.
LTPB: If you got the chance to write your own picture book autobiography, who (dead or alive!) would you want to illustrate it, and why?
LB: Wow—what a question! I thought long and hard about this one. But I’m just going to go with the person that came to my mind first: Frida Kahlo. I love her art and I think it would be so much fun to spent time with her.
LB: Circus of Shadows felt a bit more difficult to illustrate than my other books. Maybe because my goal was to make the illustrations feel scary and fun at the same time. The illustrations had multiple colours in the beginning. However, as I kept working red and blue tones seemed to take over most of the images. Moving away from many different colours to mainly two tones was the biggest evolution regarding the visuals. As for Lika, I had a very clear image of who she is, what she likes and wears. Probably because in a way Lika is a part of me.
LB: The most difficult was just dealing with the pressure of making the infamous “second book”. Since my first book was a success, I was nervous, always wondering will this one be good enough?
Most rewarding was when I finished the book and felt like I achieved a balance between tension and fun in the story.
LB: For me every book starts with a pen and paper. I make multiple storyboards, and sketch out the different spreads. Once I’m satisfied with my roughs, I colour them with acrylic paint, scan my painting and finally edit everything on the iPad.
With this book I did a lot of editing in Procreate. Thought I’m trying to move away from working digitally. I’m a bit impatient, that’s why painting sometimes makes me feel like I’m loosing my mind. However, once I get over my impatiens, I enjoy painting much more than working digitally.
LB: I’ve just finished The Grand Hotel of Feelings Workbook, which is a book where readers get to know their own hotels of feelings better. They can explore what their hotel looks like, how to check in different guest, and how to invite in guests. It will be published in April 2026.
LTPB: If you got the chance to write your own picture book autobiography, who (dead or alive!) would you want to illustrate it, and why?
LB: Wow—what a question! I thought long and hard about this one. But I’m just going to go with the person that came to my mind first: Frida Kahlo. I love her art and I think it would be so much fun to spent time with her.
A big thanks to Lidia! Circus of Shadows published from Cicada Books earlier this year!
Special thanks to Lidia and Cicada for use of these images!
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