ANIMATION & ILLUSTRATION | MOSCOW
Breathe life into your brand through character, motion, and grotesque storytelling.
Hi! I’m Alisa Shnayder, a Moscow-based animator and illustrator from HSE Art and Design School. I create living character ecosystems, 2D animated promos, and bold brand identities that make audiences stop scrolling, feel, and remember.
Meet Kandi — your Tropical Guardian Spirit and guide through this portfolio!
Born inside my flagship project kandilla, Kandi came from tropical forests to melt away visual boredom and stress. As you scroll down, follow his journey to see how grotesque character design, emotional comedy, and systemic branding turn into powerful commercial tools.
FOR ENTERPRISE & BIG BUSINESS
Solving Corporate Visual Blindness
Most corporate communications rely on sterile vectors that fail to build genuine emotional connections with modern audiences. I offer big business three concrete visual solutions:01. Brand Mascots & Worlds: Developing charismatic characters for apps, retail, and gamification.02. High-Retention 2D Animation: Directing narrative commercial spots with expressive acting and dynamic timing.03. Collectible Merch & Packaging: Expanding brand universes into tactile products, interactive web constructors, and print.CASE 01 / BRANDING & ANIMATION
kandilla — Scented Candles as Guardian Spirits
The Challenge: The home fragrance market is flooded with repetitive minimalist glass jars lacking interaction.
The Idea: Reimagine scented candles as modular animalistic creatures that customers build on a website. According to the brand lore, these candles are tropical guardian spirits that relieve stress through soothing scents.
The Solution & Touchpoints:
• Interactive Web Constructor: An engaging digital UI where users combine colorful body parts to assemble their candle.
• Packaging & Lifestyle Merch: Custom die-cut boxes, patterned silk scarves, sleep masks, and tote bags.
• Animated Promo Spot: A 2D narrative video where lighting the candle releases a relaxing vapor, transforming stress into a peaceful tropical canopy («kandilla — smell your peace»).
Result: A complete, gamified D2C brand ready for retail and digital scaling.
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CASE 02 / 2D NARRATIVE ANIMATION
The Crown («Корона») — When Illusion Meets Brutal Power
The Narrative Challenge: Deliver a sharp, wordless psychological and political allegory in under 90 seconds.
The Idea: A stray dog discovers a paper crown dropped from a tower and naively believes he has become royalty — completely unaware that this fragile toy will provoke the state’s ruthless dictator.
• Anatomical & Character Contrast: The flexible, naive silhouette of the dog directly clashes with the heavy, angular mass of the ruler.
• Rhythm & Irony: Orchestral music underscores the escalating tension over the crown, concluding with a dark-comedy twist in the dungeon.
• Value for Clients: Proves end-to-end 2D production capabilities — from expressive storyboarding and visual timing to memorable character acting.
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CASE 03 / EDITORIAL ILLUSTRATION & ZINE
To My Beloved Self («Себе любимой») — Visual Introspection
The Challenge: How to translate everyday mental fatigue, anxiety, and personal vulnerability into a tangible print format.
The Idea: An author’s zine diving into an ordinary day — documenting routine actions, sensory overloads, and inner feelings through expressive monochrome drawings.
Graphic Execution & Editorial Value:
• Monochrome Contrast: Fluid ink linework sets the pitch-black silhouette of the protagonist apart from the densely crowded urban background.
• Visual Metaphor: Intricate compositions capture the claustrophobic rhythm of city life.
• Application: Demonstrates sensitivity and depth for book design, cultural media, and conceptual editorial commissions.
