How to make symbolism more than just a decoration in your art

Did you ever come across an artwork that looked beautifully ornamental, symbolic and emotionally charged, but somehow uncanny in that ‘woo-woo’ sense? Symbolism and folklore that were embedded in the culture we grew up in give our artworks a sense of depth that goes beyond aesthetics.

These elements carry inherited meaning and ancestral knowledge. They activate memory, ritual and emotion – even when viewer can’t explain why. As a Slovene I’m close to Slavic folklore in particular, which is rooted in cycles of nature, labour and liminal states of life/death, so its visual language feels primal and bodily.

As such, ornamentation is also presented as a form of protection and invocation (embroidery and weaving): repetition becomes rhythm, and rhythm becomes grounding. I’m using these forms today, not to quote history, but to try to reactivate it.

Viewers may not recognise the Slavic references, but they feel the presence of earth, labour, protection and ancestral continuity. In that way, Slavic symbolism doesn’t decorate an artwork. Instead, it roots it, giving contemporary images soul, memory and even ritual weight.

The symbolism in my art

Slavic folklore-inspired art — (Image credit: Katja Škorjanc)

The ‘monster’ in this artwork has key botanical symbols: vines and dark ferns that grow close to the ground, symbolising buried tenderness, grief, root and karmic descent (cold colour values). The only warm exception is the bright flower placed in the chest area, symbolising faint hope in his heart. The shape of his body is big and ominous above ‘Maiden’.

The maiden features warm florals (reds, corals), which represent life force, heart-fire and compassion. She carries warmth, but not innocence – it‘s chosen empathy, not naivety. Her figure is showing more skin: she’s more exposed compared to Monster, especially her neck, which symbolises love at risk.

Her shape is small, but her posture with the lifted chin speaks about endearment and curiosity. Both figures wear flowers, just in different palettes. This implies they’re the same being at different stages of acceptance. Leaf density versus exposed skin (protection versus vulnerability) indicates that Monster is fully armoured while Maiden is partially exposed.

I use the visual language of patterns, shapes and flowers to relate to the viewer who each character is, along with their nature.

Body and shape

Build the figure as a vessel, not a body. The silhouette that we see here is rounded, iconic and spiral, and there’s sacred logic behind it. It’s depicting Mokosh, the Slavic goddess of earth, weaving, fertility, woman’s work and destiny.

She’s known for weaving the thread of destiny of people, so her shape is symbolically spiralled: it echoes cycles of fertility, spinning thread and earth currents. Perspective is secondary here; space is flat and clear.

I try not to chase realism, but rather clarity of meaning. Let the image feel timeless, almost ritualistic and not overbearing. Repeating motifs (leaves, petals, dots) work like a chant. In folk art, repetition isn’t boring – it’s magical reinforcement, incantation. Repeating shapes creates rhythm, memory and spiritual gravity

Limit your palette

Earthy reds, moss greens, bone whites and soot blacks – all earthy and plant based dyes. Restricting colour strengthens the symbolism, so think what you want to tell with your art and the colour palette that you’re using.

Each hue should feel earned, not decorative. That’s why a large number of oversaturated colours can feel overwhelming. I’ve grown to like more ‘peaceful’, calming, earthy colour palettes lately. They are an escape from the overstimulating times we’re a part of right now. I just want more peace and time, ha ha!

Light vs shadow, life vs death

Our culture’s mythology can be liminal and this is also how I approach most of my art. I want it to have clear contrast, in these cases Maiden/ Monster, bloom/decay, above/below, etc.

A character split between worlds – the conscious self adorned, and its shadow self that’s rich with (hard edged) secret growth. Compose your pieces around mirrored states – not necessary opposites, but two reflections of the same soul.

Ornaments and patterns as symbols

Choose ornaments based on emotion and fate, not aesthetics alone. Let them grow from the body/silhouette and treat decoration (florals) as extensions of the skin or soul. Notice how vines either replace clothing or become anatomy. In folk art, patterns aren’t decorative – they emerge organically. Every leaf, petal and dot should feel intentional, like an offering.

Emotion is carried by pattern and posture, not expression. Flowers in symbolism carry weight as well: roses/ poppies (love, sacrifice, blood and remembrance); carnations (devotion, grief and resilience); wildflowers (ancestral memory and untamed feminine energy); and marigolds (protection and birth), for example.

Avoid perfection

Striving for perfection is where authentic art goes to die. At least in the early stages. Whenever I look back at my art it’s the most authentic, not the most technically perfected artwork, that holds the best quality and meaning (in me and in the viewers’ eyes).

So I try to avoid perfection and focus on humble, repetitive forms that create more of a spiritual and introspective idea in the artwork.

Visual plan

Create a mood board of images, photos, quotes and text that inspires you and keeps your work visually (and thematically) consistent. This approach also helped me find my own way through multiple art styles that I have tried out over the years.

While working full-time in a mobile game industry where I create a completely different kind of art, it really helped having a mood board that forced consistency into my personal style. And above all, make sure the mood board displays items that you really feel drawn to, and are inspired by.

Let it become a representation of little pieces that make you who you are, in your most authentic way possible

Know your lore

Dive into the theme of your motif before you start. Research its background, especially if it’s somehow historically connected to the theme and message that you’re trying to convey.

Perhaps it’s just an emotion, or maybe it’s just a beautiful visual – all of the details that you’re going to use in it can hold some kind of symbolism of your own choosing, which will then spark a degree of emotion or memory in the viewer.

Try to think why this artwork is especially important to you and what do you want it to say.

Combine beauty with unease

Slavic aesthetics often balance softness with something eerie. Floral patterns wrapped around darkness, monsters rendered tenderly – such tension is key. If it’s only beautiful, then it’s missing the folklore edge.

You can also notice calm faces, closed eyes and tilted heads. Folk imagery often avoids overt drama. Emotion is contained, which makes it more powerful. Stillness becomes haunting

Be creative

Humans have such a strong need to create and it’s one of our most primal desires. So please, go draw, create that music piece, go do that sculpture, build that house or write that book.

You were granted with a curiosity for the creative field and your whole life is going to involve searching for knowledge and experiences to grow within it. As long as you’re doing that, it’s going to make your heart sing. And isn’t this what we came here for?

This article originally appeared in ImagineFX. Subscribe to ImagineFX to never miss an issue. Print and digital subscriptions are available.

Katja is a full-time senior concept artist and art director at a mobile game company. She has an art history masters degree and is a musician in her free time, playing a range of instruments.

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