Didem Tereyagoglu
The Queen’s Gambit illustration series
This project explores the psychological landscape of a gifted mind through a blend of op-art and surreal symbolism. I illustrated the tension between genius and dependency—how the mind becomes both a battlefield and a sanctuary.
Chess pieces spiral into optical illusions, pills float through fragmented thoughts, and the queen herself fades into abstraction. The goal was to reflect the inner distortion of pressure, addiction, and brilliance through visual rhythm and distortion.
Genius often comes with chaos. This series invites the viewer into the blurry boundary between imagination and madness—where sharp moves are born from shadowed thoughts.
To visually capture the complexity of the main character’s inner world—her brilliance, vulnerability, and struggle—through hypnotic patterns and disorienting visual logic. The use of op-art was intentional: to pull viewers into her emotional vortex and reveal the beauty and fragility of control.
The challenge was translating psychological depth into visual form without relying on cliché. Balancing the elegance of chess, the intensity of addiction, and the poise of the character required restraint. Every element had to echo a state of mental unraveling while remaining composed—like the character herself.
This series allowed me to experiment with contrast, repetition, and symbolic abstraction. It was featured in several online art showcases and received strong engagement on social platforms. But more personally, it helped me build my own visual voice around emotional storytelling through pattern and surreal design.
