Kristina Kostova

Ms. Kostova has been one of the primary driving forces behind a lengthy and possibly unending endeavor to help tell the stories of the musical act known as Create Your Monster x Conquer Your Monster aka C2YM.

During her time working with C2YM, she has created logos, concert posters, animations, comic book covers, character designs, sticker designs, and more comic pages than the band can keep up with. While creating all of her amazing art pieces for C2YM, she has graciously allowed for the band, which started out as the most amateurish of amateurs to slowly develop the voice that it needs to begin to conquer its own monsters and conquer the realm of comic books. The band has likely not been the easiest to work with when it comes to a lack of organization and follow through, but Ms. Kostova has honorably remained dedicated to seeing the band’s frequently absurd projects through, even when the band felt as if it didn’t deserve her dedication and in doing so, she has provided the band with much needed security and stability. The band genuinely couldn’t ask for a better or more professional collaborator. Ms. Kostova might be the only person the band has come across that is more hard headed than the band members themselves. Ms. Kostova’s presence has been a blessing in countless ways. The band might not always conquer it’s own monsters in a timely manner, but she has increasingly made the band desire to do and be better, so that we may all succeed in achieving our dreams.

If not for Ms. Kostova keeping track of everything on her end, the band’s intention of creating a comic book would have likely been lost years ago. She has displayed the greatest levels of honesty and professionalism possible, even when the band has faltered.

Ms. Kostova has added to the artistic quality of the various C2YM projects in ways that can’t easily be quantified. She has helped the band develop a stronger creative voice, assisted the band with creating stories that are more in tune with the band’s true intentions and goals, allowed for the band to learn by failing, and generally been a uniquely uplifting force in a frequently cold and dark world.

Ms. Kostova’s art speaks for itself. In the band’s humble opinion, she has advanced at a rapid pace when it comes to every aspect of her art and she was a damn fine artist to begin with. Her work has always been met with rave reviews by the band’s friends, family, and occasional fans.

Ms. Kostova appears to know that the road the band is on could be lengthy and the band can’t thank her enough for sticking with us.

Kristina Kostova, who graduated with a degree in Painting from The National Academy of Art (NAA) and brought her amazing skills and talents as an illustrator to the cover and pages of a book I was proud to publish in 2022 after venturing outside the Education market for children where my songs that accompanied books were published for twelve years by The Wright Group, the world’s largest purveyor of Whole Language reading materials for grade school children in The United States, Australia and New Zealand.

Ms. Kostova was the sole illustrator and gave the book a rich, consistent visual quality. As far as practicing procedural professionalism, she was consistently prompt in delivering her initial sketches and accepted our rare occasional notes and input graciously, and the sketches always quickly became finished masterpieces. Despite the time difference because of our geographic locations, it was never an issue. Communication was brisk and timely at every stage of the project.

Ms. Kostova demonstrated sensitivity by recognizing my characters’ identifying features by way of their dialogue and description and brought them to the page and made them memorable and three-dimensional whether they were the fun family members or looming, greedy villains.

As for her impact on the project and how her brilliantly creative work from cover to cover and in each and every chapter illuminated the story? Buyers’ reviews consistently contained praise for her “awesome” illustrations. “Terrific” was another word used, but “charmingly glorious” was a standout description and so well-deserved.

Finally, we were more than pleased and satisfied with every aspect of our work with Kristina, as we came to know the gifted, courteous and highly professional Ms. Kostova. We’re looking forward to more collaboration with her in the near future.

I had a project with an impossible deadline. Kristina not only met it, but hit each milestone well ahead of schedule. But more than that is her sheer talent. She is incredibly perceptive, creative and intuitive. She rendered masterpieces for my chapters that exceeded the ideas I had when I wrote them. My advice, for any other author who works with her, is to let her read the work and create the scene the way she pictures it. I think she might be borderline genius. I'm glad I only gave her limited direction in what I wanted per scene (which she was precise about adding) because her enormously creative mind is spectacular. Her pure professionalism, cheerful demeanor and willingness to make changes when asked makes her an absolute joy to work with. I have three other books in the works and will be asking her to illustrate, and design the covers, of all three. If she were unable to do them, I would probably go without artwork altogether. I don't think I could bring myself to work with anybody else. Very thankful for Reedsy! I can't believe my luck at finding such a talent (and such a delight to work with).

Kristina was great to work with. She was fast, flexible, and provided high quality work on the timelines she laid out. She was also open to feedback and able to make adjustments along the way. I would definitely recommend her to anyone looking for illustrations.

Phenomenal work. I will absolutely be going back to Kristina for future character art. She took my vision and brought it to life. I'm beyond ecstatic about the art she created for me.

I have known Kristina for many years and have always been fascinated by her art. For this reason, on behalf of the Association for Culture and Education Milcho Lleviev, we did not hesitate to hire her to create a variety of designs, including the album artwork for Milcho Leviev’s film music album Monday Morning, as well as numerous diverse materials for the National Music Competition “Milcho Leviev.”

The competition is intended to take place annually, and we hope that Kristina will continue working with us on future editions.

Kristina has always approached her assignments with great responsibility, creativity, and respect for the working process, which, due to the nature of organizing a competition, can often be quite hectic. She is exceptionally attentive and considerate of requirements and deadlines.

The first edition of the competition concluded with an official awards ceremony for the participating laureates, who received certificates designed by Kristina. The design and illustration of the cover for the Monday Morning album are both impressive and highly successful. She skillfully combines visual elements that reflect the intensity of the music, enhancing its overall impact.

People have been greatly impressed by the overall visual identity of both the album and the competition. I believe that Kristina has been an important part of the success of our projects. She deserves recognition for her skill and sensitivity in creating these visual interpretations.

We are extremely pleased with our collaboration with Kristina and would be happy to recommend her professionalism and talent for future projects.

Kristina was excellent to work with and delivered exceptional results. She has great creative instincts and execution. She's organized, responsive and priced fairly. I'm very pleased.

Kristina did a wonderful job! Professional, creative, and responsive!