Danijel Demšar (1954) graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Ljubljana. Initially an art teacher at a primary school, he abandoned the teaching profession after receiving the Levstik Award and devoted himself to illustrating books and designing puppets in various puppet theatres. He collaborated regularly with the magazine Ciciban. In 1992, he co-initiated the establishment of the Illustrators’ Section of the Slovenian Association of Fine Arts Societies. For several years since 2004, he served as one of its two vice-presidents. In his work he focuses on painting, graphic art, book illustration, and puppet theatre (designing sets, costumes, and puppets). He has developed a special process for etching colours on paper and printing from paper to paper with the help of computer printing. His works have been featured in 44 solo and 65 group exhibitions in Slovenia and abroad. He has illustrated 51 books, created 12 puppet shows, and designed three theatre sets. He has received nine awards for his work, including the Hinko Smrekar Award, the Hinko Smrekar Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Levstik Lifetime Achievement Award, and was named on the 2012 IBBY Honour List.