Mariya Goltseva was born in Kazakhstan but grew up on the small picturesque island of Northern Cyprus in the Mediterranean Sea. She holds a B.A in Plastic Arts.
After graduating in 2018, she has worked various jobs like graphic design, teaching, and even working at a law firm, but has since returned to her true passion of illustrating and telling stories. Between her day jobs, she illustrated three locally published picture books (Tan ve Cabani, Tan ve Cabani Okulda, Ali’nin Sihirli Kalemi). She has also drawn a number of short auto-bio comics, as well as a lushly illustrated short fantasy comic titled “The Hidden Folk”.

Mariya writes and draws her stories to the accompaniment of birdsong spilling in from her studio windows. She is inspired by folklore, mythology, nature and everyday life, in turn weaving her inspirations into tales of friendship, fun and magic for both kids and adults alike.

In her free time she likes to go on long walks by the seaside, cuddle with her cats, play video games or learn new skills. Her newest hobby is bird-watching. She likes to experiment with style and materials to keep her work fresh and exciting.

​

Mariya is currently open to freelance illustration and graphic novel/comics work.