Maya Babeanu (pronounced "bah - bey - ah - new”) is an inky pawed illustrator and author based on the rainy, creature filled coast and unceded traditional territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, and səlilwətaɬ nations known as "Vancouver, BC”. Her work explores softness, otherness, and the arduous process of embracing one’s true self — shaped by a lifelong journey of trauma recovery, self-discovery, and reclaiming joy. 

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As a neurodivergent artist, Maya’s stories draw deeply from

her personal experiences: learning to rest without guilt, embracing her otherness, and finding power in the parts of herself long described as “too much” or “not enough”. Her illustrations celebrate feral intuitions, thick hair, tender tummies, animal-kin, and the beauty of the forests she calls home, weaving them into whimsical, folkloric worlds where witches and magical creatures thrive. 

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Driven by a love for storytelling, and a desire to help others feel seen, Maya crafts tales and visual narratives that inspire both childlike wonder and quiet introspection. She hopes to offer solace to other young little humans like her, and to anyone learning that it’s enough to simply be as they are. 

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Her art practice, full of ink, watercolour and pixels, is her cocoon: a space to grow, wander, and reimagine what a life can look like when it’s built on self acceptance rather than survival.  Through her work, Maya invites others to reclaim their own softness, to wander without a map, and to trust the slow becoming of oneself.