She received the award at the Slovenian Biennale of Illustration in 2014, when she was just 26 years old. She became one of the youngest winners of the Hinko Smrekar Pzrze. She was recognized for her illustrations of the Ukrainian story The Little Mitten. The award, which is usually given to more established artists, surprised Hana, who received it for her first picture book.

Animals, especially rabbits, have a special place in her artistic oeuvre. "When I was a child, I spent most of my time drawing princesses, but when I received a female rabbit as a pet when I was nine, I began to draw the rabbit and her adventures – both real and fictional. I always draw myself as a rabbit named Wolfgang Johannes Hoffmann. I got Wolfgang from Mozart, Johannes from me, and Hoffmann from E.T.A. Hoffmann, and that's the last name of all our rabbits. My mom came up with that idea in the '90s, because she was illustrating the Nutcracker at the time. It's fun to think that she always drew herself as a rabbit, but I never realized that."

Hana's mother was the illustrator Marija Lucija Stupica, who died at a relatively young age. Her grandparents were Marlenka Stupica, a giant of Slovenian illustration, and Gabrijel Stupica, an icon of 20th century Slovenian painting. Hana carries on the family's tradition of creativity.

From Snow White by the Brothers Grimm and Thumbelina, The Sleeping Beauty, The Ugly Ducking, Pippi Longstocking to the stories of Ela Peroci and Bubbles by Oton Župančič – these are all images brought to life by Marlenka Stupica. Meanwhile, Marija Lucija Stupica illustrated both Andersen's Shepherdess and the Chimney Sweep and Hoffmann's The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. Which works of her predecessors stand out for Hana? "Scary stories in particular. I always argue that children are attracted to them more than we think. That's why Lenora has always been one of my favorite picture books by my mom, even when I was a child. I tend to avoid cuteness, even though my illustrations can seem adorable. My favorite illustrations by my grandmother are those from The Ugly Duckling, Snow White, and Pinocchio."

She goes on to explain her creative process: "The illustration begins in my mind, when I see an image – sketched out but not detailed. Almost immediately after I make a rough drawing, I begin working on the final illustration. Throughout the process, I study books, browse the Web, and so on. I would say that my illustrations are intuitive; almost all the elements are created as I go along. Apparently, I have a funny creative process. I build illustrations by going from a white page with minimal outlines straight to the final details."

Dolores Subotić, Translated by J. B.