Slovak illustrator and designer of puppets and stage scenery. After studying graphic arts in the 1940s, Bohdan Slavík founded an amateur puppet company named Detské divadlo filmu (Cinema Theatre for Children), out of which came the State Puppet Theatre – Štátne bábkové divadlo – in Bratislava in 1957. From 1951 to 1956, he worked for the Slovak film studios in Bratislava, where he directed the art and special effects department. As such, he was one of the pioneers of Slovak animation.

From 1957 to 1974, he worked at the State Puppet Theatre (Štátne bábkové divadlo) designing scenery and puppet characters. His principal interest was in the dynamics of scenery and the theatrical space, integrated with puppet movements, lighting effects, and projections, and reinforced by the high contrast black and white style of his graphic designs. For the productions he conceived, Bohdan Slavík called on many different puppetry techniques, along with his experience in film animation (Moment Musical, 1967; Concertino Unisono, 1973).

(See Slovakia.)