Art by Orfan

Hi, I’m Maria (but you can call me Orfa) ✨ Just a digital artist from Russia who is still deeply emotionally attached to 2000s cartoons. I draw nostalgic fan art, love cartoon characters, and rarely finish things fast. Grab some coffee and welcome to my cozy hyperfixation corner! ☕🎨

[orfanart]

My name is Maria, but around here, I go by Orfa. I’m a digital artist from Russia, and if you’ve been looking for a place that smells like pure childhood nostalgia, congrats — you’ve successfully found it!

What do I do here? Well, I draw things. Mostly fan art. If you are as obsessed with 2000s and early 2010s cartoons as I am (yes, I’m looking at you, W.I.T.C.H. and Winx fans), we are officially best friends now. I love breathing new life into old, semi-forgotten universes that shaped our childhoods.

BUT! Here is a little plot twist: I don't just draw magical girls. My hyperfixations are pure chaos. One day I’m drawing childhood nostalgia, and the next day I might drop a fan art of Breaking Bad or some ultra-niche, indie arthouse movie that only three people on Earth have heard of (including me). So yeah, expect the unexpected. You’ve been officially warned! 🧪🎬

My style is all about vibrant colors, comics-realism and heavy nostalgia vibes.

A little warning/confession: I draw very slowly. Like... tortoise speed🐢

Between my 9-to-5 office job, gym, and English classes, my drawing time is limited, but I choose quality over speed. To keep this blog active, I’ll also be sharing my quick daily sketches, portrait practice, and warm-ups. It’s not always perfect, but it’s honest work!

And my English might be a little bit strangy sometimes, but I’m actively learning it! Please bear with me, I promise I'm doing my best!

Ground rules:

Feel free to look around, stay a while, and drop a comment! 💬

Reblogs are like oxygen for small artists, so if you like my work, hitting that reblog button would literally make my day.

Sharing my art: I actually don't mind you sharing or reposting my work on other platforms! All I ask is that you never erase my signature and ALWAYS include a clear link back to my profile. Let's keep it respectful and love each other. ❤️

Thank you so much for stopping by. I’d love to connect with other art lovers and cartoon fans, so don't be shy to say hi in the comments! ✨

Where else to find me: 🔗 Vkontakte - for those strong in spirit and Russian language

🔗 Telegram - my main base

[orfanart]

Unlocking another older piece from my archives!

(Standard note: Just like my previous post, this one still features my old signature "meran kyoya" because the original psd files were lost)

I’ve always been absolutely obsessed with Windblade’s design. Plus, her dynamic and complex relationship with Starscream is easily one of my favorite parts of modern Transformers lore.

Hope you like it!

All links in the first post in my profile. Remember, reblogs mean the world to me ❤️

[orfanart]

Time to unlock a very specific, deeply hidden childhood memory from my archives!

(Standard note: Just like my previous post, this one still features my old signature "meran kyoya" because the original psd files were lost)

Today I’m sharing my fan art of Nina, from a book series by the Italian author Moony Witcher called «Nina, the Girl of the Sixth Moon». I read this way before I ever discovered Harry Potter, which is probably why it left such a permanent dent in my brain.

Looking back, this series was an absolute wild ride. It’s not your typical Hogwarts magic. It’s the author’s unique, distorted and chaotic take on alchemy science.

The plot follows a 10-to-13-year-old girl who inherits her grandfather’s alchemy lab and has to fight an evil sorcerer who murdered her grandpa and is now hunting her down. Since it's a very niche book outside of Europe, it's hard to find anyone to talk about it with!

What made it so fascinating (and honestly, a bit bizarre) was the tone. One minute it’s a childish, fluffy story where "friendship saves the day," and the next minute the author casually drops some incredibly dark, gritty adult stuff. There are scenes where villains sacrifice animals for alchemical procedures, or characters choose to end their own lives.

But the real mind-blowing part is the author’s actual biography. It explains EVERYTHING:

The Crime Journalist Day Job: "Moony Witcher" is a pseudonym for Roberta Rizzo. She was a hardcore crime journalist who covered brutal real-life cases.

The Psychiatric Research: As an observer, she actually visited psychiatric clinics to study schizophrenia. Let that sink in while remembering she wrote fairy tales for kids. 💀

The Moscow Connection: Despite being born in Venice, she studied at Moscow State University (MSU) in Russia, where she wrote her thesis on philosophy!

About my illustration and the concept behind it:

This piece doesn't depict a specific scene from the books. Instead, I wanted to explore a broader, much heavier concept: the trauma of a child hero.

Authors love putting child protagonists through incredibly dark, bleak, and emotionally grueling situations. We see a young girl forced to make impossible moral choices. To survive and protect others, she has to fight back, hurt people, and inflict actual physical harm and suffering on her enemies. Even if a story like this ends with a "happily ever after," a child cannot go through that without being deeply broken inside. That's the heavy, post-war emotional weight I wanted to capture in Nina's eyes.

Did anyone else outside of Europe/CIS ever run into this series, or did I just unlock a core memory for the few people who remember Nina? Let me know! 👇

All links in the first post in my profile. Remember, reblogs mean the world to me ❤️

[orfanart]

Still digging into my 2021 archives...

(P/s: Just like my previous post, this one still features my old signature "meran kyoya" because the original psd files were lost)

Today I’m sharing my fan art of Namaari from Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon. To be completely honest, I didn’t really like the movie. The plot felt super childish, the twists were incredibly predictable, and resolving a massive conflict with a basic "friendship is magic" cliché was bad decision. Plus, the characters animation looks the same (with the same energy, gesture and rhythm). It isn't actually good animation acting.

BUT! I absolutely have to praise the visual team. The graphics, the world-building, and the character designs were top-tier. Namaari’s look was so sharp and badass that I just couldn't resist drawing her back then, despite my frustration with the script.

All links in the first post in my profile. Remember, reblogs mean the world to me ❤️

[orfanart]

Good works from 2020 is over (my older arts are too embarrassing to show them anybody)< so now we are starting with 2021 and yes, we are back on Cybertron!

Today I’m sharing my fan art of Elita-1, but specifically her incredible version from the IDW comics publishing. I am absolutely obsessed with how they redesigned her character there.

Forget the soft, traditional cartoon versions of Elita. In IDW, she is the fierce captain of a former ship of philosophers that was turned into a brutal military cruiser. She basically rules as a military dictator — harsh, uncompromising, but strictly just. She despises lies, which is ironic because she keeps hiding the dark past of her own ship. Such a brilliant, complex character!

And can we talk about her dynamic with Starscream? I love the scene where Starscream tries to manipulate her into joining his side using his traditional sweet talk and lies. Watching him immediately crash and burn because of her sharp mind and ruthless personality was great. 💅💥

Honest time: I actually haven't finished reading the comics yet. My English isn’t strong enough to understand all the heavy Cybertronian political dialogue, and the Russian translations are coming out way too slowly. But I'm actively studying, so hopefully, I'll catch up soon!

All links in the first post in my profile. Remember, reblogs mean the world to me ❤️

[orfanart]

Time for another drop from my 2020/2021 archive marathon!

Today we are moving into the Disney realm. Well, kind of. Cruella is honestly one of the very few live-action Disney remakes that I actually enjoyed.

(Reminder: Just like my previous post, this one still features my old signature "meran kyoya" because the original psd files were lost)

This illustration was a huge experiment for me. I was just starting to try new, non-standard techniques with different textures and brushes, so the style might look a bit different from my usual stuff. But Cruella would think that our life is boring without some surprises and risk.

Can we talk about the movie for a second? Yes, the plot is a bit ridiculous and messy (especially the final with skirt-parachute), but I am more than ready to forgive it just because of Emma Stone’s spectacular performance. Plus, the soundtrack was a masterpiece, and the costume designs? Absolute cinema.

My absolute while watching was the key necklace — Estelle’s mother’s pendant.

It was such an elegant, gorgeous piece of jewelry. I’m honestly so sad that no one on AliExpress or any Chinese replica makers ever released a high-quality version of it. I would wear it every day! 😭❤️

I saw some variants from Etsy, but it isn't available in my country.

All links in the first post in my profile. Remember, reblogs mean the world to me ❤️

[orfanart]

Back when I was deep into my Cybertron phase, I drew this Starscream piece for a t-shirt design contest called "FOR FANS BY FANS".

And surprise, surprise — I actually became a finalist!

My grand prize?

The ultimate, glorious, breathtaking honor of having my design sold on their official platform. I was legally entitled to a massive royalty of whole 2$ for every item sold.

Watch out, Wall Street, a new millionaire has entered the chat

In total, I sold 2 or 3 t-shirts. But before I could buy a yacht with my great fortune, the website decided to migrate to a new platform and they just deleted many artists from their system. Including me, of course.

Honestly? I am not sad about it. The website is gone, the big money is gone, but I still have this artwork.

I think Starscream looks really cool here))))

All links in the first post in my profile. Remember, reblogs mean the world to me ❤️

[orfanart]

Unlocking a Forgotten Masterpiece: Les Enfants de la Pluie 🌧️☀️

My interests are chaos, honestly.

We went from fairy girls to giant alien robots, and now we are diving into niche 2003 French animation. I love this parkour I’ve got going on!

This art was actually created as a cover illustration for a Russian fan artbook dedicated to the gorgeous animated movie «Les Enfants de la Pluie» (The Rain Children).

Except the cover I've also drown two illustrations inside an one sticker for sticker pack. Maybe I will show them later.

If you haven't heard of it, the plot is brilliant: it’s a fantasy world divided between two warring nations — the Pyros (children of the sun) and the Hydros (children of the rain). Water is lethal to the sun people, and sun transform the rain people to rock.

It’s such a beautiful, tragic concept with cool animation style, and it breaks my heart that this movie is so heavily underrated and obscure globally.

At the first time I watched this masterpiece in my childhood on VHS-cassette (Old ones here? Does somebody still remember this technology?)

I still have it. I don't now why...

I just can't throw it out

Does anyone on this dashboard actually know or remember this movie? Please tell me I’m not the only one trapped in this fandom! 😭👇

All links in the firs post in my profile. Remember, reblogs mean the world to me ❤️

[orfanart]

My obsessions are chaotical, literally 🤖💥

Back in 2020, I was deeply hyperfixated on Transformers, and this piece was created for a themed Transformers Calendar.

Since my page was all about Halloween, I just had to draw Soundwave getting into the spooky spirit.

(Reminder: Just like my previous post, this one still features my old signature "meran kyoya" because the original files are long gone!)

To be honest, I’ve always had a massive soft spot for the Decepticons because, let’s face it, villains are just inherently cooler. They always get the best designs and the most interesting and dramatic storylines.

Soundwave is one of my absolute top favorites villian characters because of his cold rational non-emotional mood. I even have its figurine by Newage (quality is very cool)

But if we are being 100% honest here… Megatron is still king. You just can't beat that terrifying, majestic leader energy. Sorry, Soundwave, I still love you! 🧎‍♀️👑

And Starsceam too, of course...

Who is your favorite Decepticon? Are you team Megatron, team Soundwave, or do you have another villain who stole your heart?

[orfanart]

Starting my blog with some archives! ✨

(A quick heads-up: The watermark on this drawing says "meran kyoya" because that was my old nickname back then! Sadly, I didn’t save the unwatermarked version to update it to Orfa, so you'll be seeing my old signature on some of my archive art! 🙈)

I drew this piece back in 2020 for the Russian Winx Digital Artbook, but I’m still incredibly proud of it. I wanted to capture the heartbreaking parallel that the 8th season brought us between Bloom and Icy.

Think about it: both are archenemies, yet their destinies are so tragically mirrored. Both lost their home planets. Both had their older sisters suffer a terrible fate — Daphne became a spirit, and Sapphira was turned into an ice statue.

But because it happened at different stages of their lives (Bloom was just a baby, while Icy had to witness everything), their paths split completely. One became a hero, the other a villain, but the trauma of losing a sister is exactly the same. Magical girl sisterhood hits different when it’s this dark.

Which sister duo’s story broke your heart more?

[orfanart]

New guy in Tumbrl

I've just created my account

Let's party start