About

Margarita Kukhtina is an artist and illustrator based in Batumi Georgia. She’s been doodling and drawing since she was a kid, covering anything she could with her art.

After getting a degree in Fine Arts, Margarita explored various creative paths, like making packaging designs, board games, creating surface pattern designs for kids clothing, and designing toys. But she eventually found her true love in illustrating children’s books. With a decade of experience Margarita had worked on more than 20 titles that had been translated into multiple languages.

She works both with traditional and digital media to create atmospheric illustrations inspired by nature and folklore. In her free time, she loves to play around in her sketchbook and take long walks by the seashore.

Clients include

Harper Collins, Nosy Crow, Odd Dot (MacMillan), Simon & Schuster, Usborne Publishing, Fleurus Editions, Clever Publishing, BBDO, IKEA.

Contact

Say hi or send enquiries to: hello@gitkadraws.com

Publishing history

Coming out in 2026 Pop-up Nutcracker by Rosie Dickins, Usborne

2025 Welcome to the Night-Time Train by Louise Fitzgerald, Nosy Crow

2025 The Strange Disappearance of Imogen Good by Kirsty Applebaum (Middle grade cover), Nosy Crow

2025 The Unexpected Lives of Ordinary Girls by J. Anderson Coats (Middle grade cover), Simon & Schuster

2025 The Children’s Illustrated Book of Tarot by Kristen Witte, Odd Dot (Macmillan)

2025 I Love You More (board book) Cottage Door Press

2024 The Sleepiest Sleep by Barry Timms, Nosy Crow

  • 2023 Today You Were Born! (Clever Lift-the-Flap Stories) Clever Publishing

    2023 Happy First Birthday! (Clever Lift-the-Flap Stories) Clever Publishing

    2023 Drawn to Change the World in collaboration with other artists, written by Emma Reynolds, HarperAlley (Harper Collins)

    2022 Father Christmas and the Three Bears by Lou Peacock, Nosy Crow

    2021 Illustrated Stories of Mermaids by Lan Cook, Usborne

    2021 The Secret Garden by Geraldine McCaughrean, Frances Hodgson Burnett, Nosy

    Crow

    2019 Sheep Lullaby written by Boris Voitsehovskiy, Clever Publishing

    2019 The Big Book of ABCs, Clever Publishing

    2018 Histoires en 5 minutes avant d'aller au lit by Olivier Dupin, Fleurus Editions

    2018 Big Book of Words: Find, Discover, Learn, Clever Publishing

    2018 Our Animal Friends by Evgeniya Popova, Lilu Rami, Clever Publishing

    2018 The Holiday Season: 989 Things to Find, Clever Publishing

    2017 Petit Pik a besoin d'air! by Sophie De Mullenheim, Fleurus Editions

Awards

Red Dot Design Awards: illustrations for website

Exhibitions

2019 LUSTR illustration, Prague, Czech Republic

2019 MIBF Moscow International Book Fair, Moscow, Russia

2019 BIISA International Illustration Bienal, Amarante, Portugal

2017 MORS International Festival of Book Illustration & Visual Literature, Moscow, Russia