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About Advocate Art
Kate Johnson
Lisa Musing
Natasha Harding
Ghislaine Gayyo
Amanda Hendon
Eunsun Lim
Maria Creech
Courtney Walls
Sophie Youle
Advocate Art was founded in 1992, with a group of illustrators who liked the idea of having an agent but not the other things that often came with that. We call our ethos four “F.A.C.T.s”: Fairness, Ability, Creativity and Trust. It’s about doing the right thing and being with the right people. We think our principles set us apart from conventional agencies, sticking to them has meant we have attracted the most creative illustrators and artists who in turn attract (with a little help) the best clients. The people we represent are perfectly able to conduct their own affairs but like working with Advocate Art because we offer value to them in the services we provide. Clients are assured that we represent artists that are like-minded professionals, pre-vetted and able not only to get the job done without fuss, but also to surpass expectations. It’s their choice to be with us, we have a high retention rate - with the most popular artists in our group being with us from the start! We were one of the first Agencies to give direct client contact with our illustrators, allowing creativity to flow without being diluted in translation. We were one of the first to offer re-sales as an important secondary income to artists. Now we have gone beyond that too, with the development of an on-line portal - ARTicle which enables artists to have transparency into the back office functions of the business, such as royalty management and credit control, amongst other things. Business is all about relationships, which is why we have a very high artist to agent ratio, clients often use us as artistic advisors, project managers as well a trend forward resource for pre-qualified talent. It is for these reasons that Advocate Art has become the largest illustration agency around and I’d like to think one of the most respected but- we understand we didn’t get that way by acting like the biggest. Come and find out for yourself…
LIMITED EDITION PORTFOLIO PRINT /
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ADRIANA SANTOS
Adriana Santos was born in Seville, a beautiful city in the south of Spain, and she currently lives in a small town nearby. She studied Fine Arts at Seville University and after working as a graphic designer for almost twelve years she decided to pursue her interest in illustration. It made sense because she had spent most of her time between books and crayons since she was a child. It was a great decision! She loves saturating her work with good moods, playful banter, hidden details, vibrant colours and a little bit of tenderness. She usually likes to mix the warm feeling of the pencils and pen with the bright and intense colours of digital in her work and to add warm textures. In her free time, she reads books and hangs out with her children: two big sources of inspiration for her work. She simply adores what she does and she always says that there is never a dull moment.
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ALESSANDRA FUSI
Alessandra Fusi was born in Rome in 1984, where she attended the IED Institute of Art and Design, graduating in Illustration and Multimedia Animation in 2006. Since then, she has worked as an illustrator of children’s books, puzzle games and stationery products. As a painter, she has exhibited her work in various solo and collective art shows accross Italy, Europe and the United States. She has a true passion for animation and loves all things illustration, so she’s always learning new things, as well as teaching them, through the courses and workshops that she organizes for her cultural association “Imagoblu”, based in Bologna. Currently, she lives and works in Bologna, with her two loved ones: her boyfriend and her chubby ginger cat, Rino. She loves fairytales, tea, music, swing dancing, and cats (of course).
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ALIDA MASSARI
Alida Massari is an Italian artist specializing in illustration for children, including picture books and stationery products. Alida was born in Rome, where she qualified in art at the high school and then went on to specialise in illustration at the European Institute of Design. She has always loved art from a young age. She finds inspiration for her work from the architectural details of the ancient buildings, from the folk traditions and ancient art. She likes travelling and sketching everything that catches her eye in her countless sketches books! She loves fairy tales, ancient myths, folk stories, Shakespeare’s stories and everyday life! She has illustrated many books, collaborating with Italian, English, German, Australian and American publishers. Her books have been translated in numerous countries. She has taken part in many collective illustration exhibitions in Italy and elsewhere in Europe.
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AMANDA ENRIGHT
Amanda completed a BA in Graphic Design at Camberwell college and an MA in animation at the Royal college of Art. She worked in the greeting card and animation industry for several years before going freelance. She lives with her family in West Sussex and works in her garden studio on a vast range of projects, many of which are children’s books and products.
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ANDY CATLING
Andy Catling is a professional illustrator with more than 40 illustrated titles under his belt. He works in traditional mediums and digital wot-nots to make artwork with a rigorous mangle-like process. First he draws a picture. Then he rubs it out and draws it again. He colours using watercolour, pencils and ink, sniffs it, screws it up and starts over. The digital work process is much the same but without the sniffing. (All digital artwork smells of screen wipe.) Andy has worked for many different publishing houses such as Usborne, Oxford University Press, Parragon, QED, Franklin Watts and others.
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ANNA SHUTTLEWOOD
Anna comes from Bulgaria. She has a degree in Mural Painting and Fine Art from the National Academy of Arts, Sofia, but is now based in South West England. Her art education was very traditional; she was taught a lot of art history, theory and practical techniques, which, she thinks, is this is why she now enjoys what she does so much. Her parents are both artists so she doesn’t think it ever occurred to her that she could have any other profession! Her work varies greatly in style but is always friendly, welcoming and approachable. She creates an enthralling atmosphere with a witty intricate detail; she likes the idea of having a ‘before’ and ‘after’ and that her picture is only a momentous peek into a better, more friendly and happier world. She looks for inspiration in everyday things; funny things she reads in the paper or books, seeing new places and people and funny situations she witnesses or imagines. Sometimes, a single thought can inspire her to create a whole new series of works!
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ANNIE WILKINSON
I was born in Saskatchewan, Canada in 1966 to a family that encouraged artistic pursuits of all kinds - including writing, drawing, photography and music. At the age of 21 I came to Vancouver with the band I was in, in order to find a new drummer (we would eventually go through 8 before disbanding). I had not considered being an illustrator in spite of drawing my whole life, but now that I’m doing it cannot imagine any other job I would like to do more. The artwork I produce is created digitally using my iPad pro, either with native apps or as a graphics tablet, and I am interested in juxtaposing traditional looking elements with purely digital elements to create something that looks new. My work is constantly evolving. When I’m not drawing or pouring juice for my two kids, I play in a few bands with good friends, where the socializing is as important as the singing together. Lastly, in order to clear my head of everything else, I love to engage in a weekly game of ice hockey in the winter, and baseball in the summer.
08 ANUKI LOPEZ
Anuki is twenty-five years old and studied Fine Arts Grade at the University of Seville in Spain. She has been drawing since she can remember; a notebook and colour pencils were her favorite toys. Once she’d grown up, she studied Art and Graphic Design Art at university. In her final year, she discovered the fantastic world of children illustration and fell in love with it. She loves working and living her life as an illustrator, creating children’s illustrations that are full of color, magic, humour, animals, respect and, of course, love. Since she graduated a year ago, she has been thinking about her own projects, such as “Coco & Cookie” and “The Seven Crows”, she has illustrated some book covers, like “Burbuja Espejo” by Carmen M. Lobato (Editorial Seler) and she has written and illustrated a tale for a Movies, Series and Comic event in Seville (SevillaFicción). She really likes drawing with colour pencils, watercolour and pastel wax colours, but digital drawings give much more freedom, so she likes to mix traditional and digital methods into one. She loves drawing animals, particularly dogs. Her dog, Taunki, is her daily inspiration! Anuki’s project, ‘Coco & Cookie’, is based on her relationship with her dog and all the good things it has given her. Anuki is always listening to music, even when she’s drawing. To relax, she likes to go for long walks with her dog in the park or the countryside. She also likes watching movies, hanging out with her friends and crafting!
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AYESHA LOPEZ
Ayesha L. Rubio was born in Madrid, Spain, one cold afternoon in February in 1981. Like many other children, she loves drawing, but unfortunately for her family, any surface is an empty canvas for her... Her grandfather teaches her how to draw horses and to choose paper instead of furniture or walls, as a better material to draw on. Years later, she studies Fine Arts at the Complutense University in Madrid, and finishes her degree in Leeds, England. Later on she specialises in illustration in Serra I Abella’s art school in Barcelona, and starts to work as an illustrator collaborating with national and international publishers. At the present she has two own books, published in national and international markets (and a third about to be launched), all of them translated into various languages. Her latest journey has led her to London, where she has started to explore the animation world, an art form she has always been in love with, and she wants to incorporate this discipline to her tool kit to develop her art a step further in her professional career. Ayesha currently lives in London, and feels fortunate to turn her passion into work.
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BARBARA VAGNOZZI
Barbara is an Italian based illustrator published in the UK, Italy, USA, Korea, Australia and publications all over the world. She especially likes working for little children and inventing funny animals of all sorts. As her two sons are grown up, she enjoys doing workshops and presentations in museums, schools, libraries, bookshops and festivals, where she can still tell stories to little ones. Her work has been exhibited in collective shows in Italy, Paris and London. She was selected for the Best British Contempory Illustrators in 2009 and 2010 and for Illustratori Italiani Annual from 2006 till 2014. When she’s not illustrating books she does paintings and illustrations for children areas of cruise lines. She also enjoys theatre practice and contemporary dance.
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BEATRIZ CASTRO
Beatriz Castro was born on September 19, 1985, in Logroño, La Rioja, Spain.When she was a little girl, she was always drawing and was writing fantastic stories. She studied at the school of arts in her native town, Logroño. After graduating in Illustration at the School of arts in Logroño from 2004 to 2008, she embarked on a career as a professional illustrator. Her books have been published by many international publishing houses: Anaya (Spain), Ediciones SM (Spain), Oxford University Press (Spain and England), Usborne (England), Harper Collins (England), Auzou (France), Rovio (Finland)... Beatriz’s illustrations appear in text books, illustrated books and covers. She loves make colored illustrations and funny character designs. She likes animals and books, classic stories and fairy tales and listens to rock and punk music.
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CARLO BERANEK
Carlo Beranek is a freelance illustrator based in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. He studied animation at a creative college in Rotterdam but soon discovered that his true passion was for illustration, particularly the creation of whimsical characters that bring people, children especially, joy. His work is bold, bright and colourful, and often invested with strong messages that carry forward Carlo’s belief in art’s ability not only to entertain but also to educate and inspire. If Carlo weren’t an illustrator he would have been a chef. He loves reading, listening to music, going to the cinema, and would jump at the chance to move to a big city like London or New York and adopt a dog.
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CECILIA PUGLESI
Cecilia was born in the far, far away land of Mendoza, Argentina, and spent her childhood drawing and hiding from bullies. She used to sit for hours surrounded by her mother’s art books, looking at reproductions. That is how she came across artists that would later become her favorite ones: Schiele, Goya, Sorolla, Chagall, Gauguin, Brueghel, Toulouse Lautrec, Millais. As she grew older and after she felt in love with animation, graphic novels and comics, she acknowledged what she wanted to do and therefore she spent three years doing the opposite: studying engineering. After realizing that she was going to be bored for life with so much security and family ful lled expectations, she changed her career and became a designer. She recentlyspent two years in NYC with the help of a Fulbright grant to pursue her third -and last- Master degree in Computer Art, and she now lives and works in Paris.
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CESAR SAMANIEGO
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CLAIRE O’BRIEN
Claire is an Irish illustrator who loves bright colours, picture-books, folk-art, and collecting woolly hats. She holds an M.A. in film-direction and production from the National University of Ireland, and undergraduate degrees in Music and Media Communications Studies from the University of Limerick and the University of Glamorgan. Her passion for travel and learning about different cultures has brought her to beautiful Hong Kong, where she really enjoys eating more egg-tarts than she should and avoiding busy train platforms. She also enjoys extreme jigsaw puzzling (it’s not, but it sounds a lot cooler when you say it that way), and pronounces the letter ‘r’ like ‘oar’ (it’s an Irish thing). And, once upon a time when she was but a smallie herself, she decided to eat one of her yellow and black stripy flip-flops. But in her defense, it did look pretty delicious.
16 COSEI KAWA
Cosei Kawa has enjoyed a career as a children’s illustrator since completing his MA in Illustration at Falmouth University, UK. He plays the piano and likes doodling on the beach looking at Mt. Fuji. He is an associate professor at Sizuoka University of Art and Culture. Prizes and awards 2016: IPPY Awards (US), Bronze Medal. 2016: Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award (US), Honor Book. 2014: CCBC Choices (US), Selected for the best-of-the-year list. 2013: Sydney Taylor Book Award (US), Silver Medal Honnor. 2013: Kirkus Reviews(US), Selected in the Best Children’s Books. 2011: Mitsubishi Art Gate Program (Japan), Selected and purchased. 2007: Macmillan Prize for Children’s Books(UK), Highly
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DAVID CREIGHTON-PESTER
David (a.k.a. Wandering Bert) was born in Hamilton, New Zealand, in the eighties, where he also currently lives and works. Inspired as a child by picture books, animation, and all things arty, he spent endless hours drawing crazy characters and coming up with silly stories. Now, as an adult, he is still inspired by picture books, animation, and all things arty. And he still spends endless hours drawing crazy characters and coming up with silly stories. He is passionate about illustrating for children, especially picture books, and is particularly excited by the opportunity to bring fun, imagination, and fantastically silly scenarios that expand the realms of reality to kids around the world. Aside from illustration, he owns a graphic design company, Scorch Design, which has been in operation since 2009. He holds a Bachelor of Computer Graphic Design from the University of Waikato and Wanganui Polytech. He is also a SCBWI member.
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DUBRAVKA KOLANOVIC
Dubravka studied at Savannah College of Art and Design in the USA and at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, Croatia, where she got a degree in a painting . She published her first book, A Special Day, in the USA at the age of eighteen. Since then, Dubravka has devoted herself to children’s book illustration. She is very proud of her lonstanding collaboration with UNICEF. Dubravka has designed more then 80 cards and posters for them. Her books have featured on CBeebies Bedtime Hour. Dubravka’s work was awarded by the Oshima Museum of Children’s picture books in Japan . Her illustrations were also awarded and appeared in 3x3 , a magazine of contemporary illustrations. For years , she has volunteered in projects for the protection of the environment and animals throughout the world. All her travels and time spent in such wonderful parts of the globe as the Amazon rainforest, African savannah, Borneo,Galapagos, the remote Pacific coral reef or Artic and Antarctica are a constant source of inspiration.
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ELA JARZABEK
Ela Jarzabek (ElĹźbieta JarzÄ…bek) lives in Katowice, Poland. Graduated from Cracow Academy of Fine Arts and since then she has been working as a freelance illustrator. She loves working on watercolor paper with gouache and color pencils and creates illustrations bright and colorful with funny characters.
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ELENA NAPOLI
Elena is an Italian Illustrator and Character designer, who studied Entertainment Design at the “NEMO Academy of Digital Arts” in Florence. Growing up in the Italian art scene, she has drawn for as long as she can remember and she has always known that this would be her future. Starting with digital and traditional techniques, like watercolour and ecoline, she initially focused on animated films and then moved to illustrations. Afterwards, came the Florentine academic experience, which expanded her horizons towards everything related to Entertainment (from concept art for animation studios and videogames to illustration for publishing and graphic design) along with several workshops with professional artists from the world’s biggest animation studios. Her greatest passion, however, has always been children’s illustration. Her business background is currently composed of experiences in Character Design, Storyboarding and Illustration, but her versatile style and curiosity allows her to adapt and work in many areas of the artistic field. Among her interests are music, young adult fiction, children’s books, indie video games, films and TV series, as well as her dream of travelling doing what she loves and finding her own place in the world.
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ELISSAMBURA
Elissambura was born in Mar del Plata, Argentina, where she carried out her studies as a professional Illustrator. A few years ago, she moved to Rosario City, where she live with her little son, husband, animals and cactus collection. Since she was a child, she’s been captivated by images, stories, colours, animals, books, materials, the scent of ink and paper, and above all: her own imagination. Her work is based on telling stories, creating characters, developing illustrated contents, solving communication issues and providing images wherever they are necessary. She has been dedicating herself to the field of children’s and editorial illustration for over 15 years, using traditional techniques, digital and mix media. For Elissambura the best part of this profession is being able to draw animals, play with colours and take advantage of the magic of illustrations, accessing the places that can’t be reached through words alone.
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EMANUELA MANELLO
Emanuela was born in 1986 in Rome, where she grew up, and now lives in Anguillara Sabazia, a little village on the coast of lake Bracciano. She graduated from the “International School of Comics”, where she studied artistic drawing, graphic design and illustration. She’s grateful that her family has always supported her. During the years after her studies, she has worked with a number of publishers and has participated in various competitions. This year, the Sharjah Book Authority will exhibit her illustrations of “Beauty and the Beast”. When she works on her illustrations, she lives in a magical world; music, Disney, the Victorian age and her favourite books are her inspiration! The usual method that she employs in her work is digital art with photoshop and watercolors; she likes to refine her drawings with details. In her free time, Emanuela reads books, watches movies and TV series and hangs out with her best friends… they are part of her family! She is a Harry Potter fan girl and loves the geek world!
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ERICA SALCEDO
Erica Salcedo is a freelance illustrator. She lives in the peaceful town of Cuenca (Spain), where she was born in 1983. Completed a fine arts degree at the UCLM (University of Castilla la Mancha) and then I decided to continue her education, going on to do a Master’s degree in Graphic Design and Illustration at the UPV (Polytechnic University of Valencia). Since she graduated, she‘s been working as an illustrator, and participated in a bunch of cool projects with different Publisher’s houses in different countries.
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EVGENY ANTONENKOV
Evgeny was born in 1956, and studied at the Moscow Polygraphic Institute. As an illustrator he has enjoyed a great deal of success, taking part in a number of highprofile exhibitions all around the world, from Italy to Japan. His work has also made him the recipient of many awards, including the BolognaRagazzi Award (2004), and he has been nominated twice for the Astrid Lingren award (2009 and 2010). Evgeny’s approach to illustration is flexible, and he enjoys creating unique imagery in a range of media for each new story that he works on. He currently lives and works in Moscow, Russia.
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FABIANA ATTANASIO
Fabiana Attanasio was born in March 1985 in Rome. She has loved to draw since she was a child and started her career graduating from the “International School of Comics” with a degree in Illustration. Since then, she has worked as illustrator for children’s books. She likes to use traditional media, loves the feeling of using brushes and pencils, but she works also with digital media. Now she lives in Anguillara, a small lake town close to Roma, with her three men: her husband, her dog and her bunny! She loves everything handmade, animals, flowers, videogames, Japan and, of course, her job!
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FABRIZIO DI BALDO
Fabrizio Di Baldo lives in Rome, Italy. He graduated in 2001 with a degree in fine art and semiotics, before earning a PhD in illustration at the Comics International School and a second PhD in graphic design at the European Design Institute. Fabrizio works as an Art Director and illustrator in Rome. He has published a number of comic stories in Italy, and for 2016 he has published Color Your Own Alice in Wonderland and Hamlet with Harper Collins and Turtle is a Hero with Cambridge University Press. He’s currently working on the book Dinosaurs with Salariya Publishing.
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GABRIELA CASTRO
Gabriela Castro is a graphic designer and illustrator living in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with her boyfriend and her dog Mr. James. For 10 years, she has provided services of illustration and graphic design, creating nice characters that can be applied to designs for products. She graduated from the Faculty of Architecture Design and Urbanism. She has done numerous courses in illustration and participated in numerous exhibitions in universities and art galleries in Argentina, China and Mexico. The work method used for her illustrations ranges from vector drawings to photoshop and she loves to draw with watercolors (a technique she is currently perfecting). Her hobbies include cooking rich and sweet things, being in touch with nature and animals, embroiding, weaving, making stamps and products and everything related to creativity and crafts. And she has a great admiration for Japanese culture and vintage retro art.
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GABRIELLE ESPOSITO
Gabrielle Esposito is an illustrator whose work is characterized by lively kids, animal characters, and scenes rich with detail. She strives to capture the feelings that make everyday moments special and memorable. Her art portrays characters and scenes with a depth of emotion, whether fun and whimsical or more dramatic. Gabrielle resides in the city of Chicago and graduated with a BFA in Illustration from the American Academy of Art. She got her first illustration job her senior year of high school, creating artwork for the children’s book “The Story of Snowy Bear and the Lost Scarf,” and has wanted to work in illustration ever since. When not drawing and painting, she can be found spending time outdoors, kayaking and hiking, gardening, and visiting zoos and museums. Her constant source of inspiration is her orange and white cat who also serves as her muse.
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GIOVANA MEDEIROS
Giovana was born in the late 1980s in Criciuma, a city in the south of Brazil. She graduated in Fashion Design in her hometown, but later on pursued her dream and studied Illustration at BCFE in Dublin, where she lived for three years. She worked for several years creating print designs for apparel, but since 2011 has been dedicating herself to becoming a full time illustrator. Although her work is mostly focused on the children’s universe, it has also been applied to a series of different mediums such as books, magazines, textiles, games, apps etc. Aside from her work as an illustrator, she dedicates her free time towards creating autobiographical comics, discovering new recipes, drinking coffee and travelling
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GIULIANA GREGORI
Giuliana grew up in North-East Italy, where, as far as she can remember, has always enjoyed drawing and where she gained her first class degree in Illustration. Her desire to try a new adventure brought her to London, where she has been living now for a number years and where she gained her Masters in Illustration and Animation at Kingston University. Since graduating, Giuliana has been working as a freelance Illustrator and has published her work in the UK, Italy, France and Korea. Drawing for her is a way to free her imagination and to keep the little girl who still lives within alive. In my work, she loves exploring texture, colour and mixed media and enjoys working on books as well as greetings cards and textiles.
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IRENE MONTANO
When Irene was a child, she was used to say that she wouldn’t ever become an artist because she was pretty sure it was boring as hell. Nowadays she draws everyday and can’t be happier to have been wrong! Nothing and everything can inspire her. Ever since she can remember, the warmth of daily life has always been her Muse: breakfasts, the smell of coffee in the morning, children, the rain or sushi... A personal project of Irene’s has been exposed during the show “40 Days around the World”. She loves bodybuilding and sports nutrition. If she hadn’t been an illustrator, Irene would have been a personal trainer for sure! She has a soft spot for organized places, post-its, and empty spaces in the calendar to fill in. Her boyfriend calls her “The Cadet”!
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IVANA KUMAN
Ivana graduated from the Arts Academy in Zagreb. She works as an illustrator, film writer, animator, comic author and writer. She illustrates picture books, regular books and educational books. She also works as an illustrator for children’s magazines. She is the author of two comic strips published in children’s magazines. She is the illustrator, visual designer and animator of several TV series on Croatian Television and the author of 30 short animated films for children and one for young adults. She has written and illustrated six picture books and three novels for young adults. She has received many awards for her work as illustrator, and also as writer and film author. She lives in Zagreb with her husband, baby girl and a diabetic cat.
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JACQUELINE EAST
Jacqueline has been illustrating children’s books for many years. She has worked above a chocolate factory, from a caravan by the sea and now works from home near a city farm, with her faithful dog curled up near her feet! She has illustrated books that have been published across the globe and when asked what is her inspiration she says, “everything!”
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JAMES NEWMAN-GRAY
Born and raised in Sheffield, James studied illustration at Wolverhampton University after a childhood spent sketching and painting. He went on to have a long career as an in-house illustrator for several greeting card publishers, including Hallmark cards, working on branded characters and also on original illustration. Over the years, this taught him to develop many different styles and to work in many different media. Although a large part of James‘ illustrations are done digitally now, he still likes to do line-art in his sketchpad and get the paints out and make marks.
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JEAN CLAUDE
Jean Claude is a self-taught illustrator living and working in Manchester, UK. While he’s most at home with his drawing tablet and a cup of strong coffee, Jean also enjoys long walks with his dog Ted, preparing elaborate meals and visiting the zoo for artistic inspiration!
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JENNY WREN
Jenny wren has created illustrations for various book publishers including Usborne publishing, Paragon, Caterpillar books, Igloo books and Lake press. She loves to illustrate maps, busy scenes, and animals of all shapes and sizes. As well as producing artwork for book projects, Jenny also loves to design greetings cards, featuring fun characters, decorative florals or trend led icons.
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JOAQUIN CAMP
Joaquín Camp, (Buenos Aires, 1987) is an Illustrator and Graphic Designer Graduated from the University of Buenos Aires. His illustrations have featured in a number of forms, ranging from printed-paper and magazines to animations. Some of his clients were La Nación newspaper, La Marca Editora, Latinlab and Little Bee Books, among others. He was a professor at the University of Buenos Aires for some years in the field Illustration of the Roldán Chair at FADU. Currently he teaches workshops on children’s illustration in Moebius space. He is also co-founder of Coquín, a venture dedicated to the creation of self-irrigation pots and aims to bring the green space to small places.
39 JON DAVIS
Pirates, Old Elephants, Witches in Bloomers, Bear’s on Bikes, Ugly Cats, Sweet Kids, whatever you want... Jon Davis always loved drawing as a child, thinking up characters and stories - paints, pencils, felt tips, crayons, anything would do. So he decided to study Illustration at Glyndwr University, Wrexham. Now, he has illustrated more than 50 books for publishers across the globe. He works digitally, in Photoshop with a tablet and pen, and currently has picture books out with Sterling, Harcourt and Hallmark, and a series of young readers out with Hardie Grant Egmont and Scholastic. He has worked with many other publishers. including Faber & Faber, OUP, Miles Kelly, Tiger Tales, Thomas Nelson and Pearson. His first self-penned Picture book, “Small Blue and the Deep Dark Night” came out recently with Harcourt and he is currently working on some further concepts for picture books.
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KASIA DUDZIUK
Kasia has always had a passion for Illustration. Since graduating with an Illustration degree from Falmouth University, she has been working within children’s publishing. Much of her inspiration comes from fairy tales and mid-20th century illustrators like Miroslav Sasek and Mary Blair. Her latest beautiful picture book, ‘The Nutcracker’, has just been published with Egmont.
41 KATIE ABEY
Katie Abey is an illustrator human who lives in a teeny hobbit-like house in Derbyshire with a cat, a hedgehog and a husband. Her work provides illustrative doses of happiness and motivation along with a little dash of sarcasm. She is a big lover of animals and her work often features creatures looking slightly nonchalant, perturbed or even a bit deranged. She likes using a lot of colour in her work and this love of colour is reflected in her brightly coloured studio space and her hair, which frequently changes colour to match its surroundings. When Katie is not drawing awkward cats and llamas she enjoys yoga, reading and referring to herself in the third person.
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KATIE SAUNDERS
The best part of Katie’s job is creating new characters from the top of her head. That’s where the magic starts when writing and illustrating, she thinks, and of lots of silly humour, making children laugh. She loves to work with bold on trend colours, patterns and textures. She works digitally which she self-taught after leaving university in 2001. She likes to think even though she work digitally its as close to hand drawn as possible using different bush tools just like pen and paper. She likes things to look cute, but really quirky. She lives in Kent with her two children and partner Graham and our three crazy cats. Her family is a great influence in her work, and her children are the stars of her last two children’s books. Drawing and writing what is close to home is what she does best. In her spare time she loves to go running, drinking lots of tea and far too much coffee, and having a good old gossip with her crazy Mum friends.
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KAY WIDDOWSON
Kay lives and works in a small Victorian terraced house with her two cats on the edge of Chorlton nature reserve, on the outskirts of Manchester. She has made a living from illustration for the past 28 years, working mainly in children’s books and now developing ideas for licensing. She works supervised by her 2 cats. While working she listens to Radio 2 or Radio 4 and she loves music - a jazzy tune to tickle our ears or something from Otis Redding, Areatha Franklin... 60’s stuff! When she’s not in her studio she likes to spend a day in bookshops or go to an exhibition. Most days she walks through the nature reserve and she feels the heron’s know her now! She is also a member of Prospect Print studios and Hotbed Press studios and she sell her etchings, lino-prints and collographs at craft fairs. She also enjoy gardening and recently gardening and flowers are creeping into her work a lot more. She loves houses too and she’s hooked on the Rightmove website and has a weakness for style magazines! She loves to go in her studio everyday, radio on, furry supervisors at her side, coffee and biscuits at the ready and create pictures all day!
44 LIRIOS BOU
Lirios Bou was born in 1988 in a small city between mountains called Alcoi (Alicante, Spain). She isn’t one of those people who always knew they wanted to be an illustrator, actually she wanted to be many things: teacher, journalist, photographer, writer... but finally, drawing was the most fun option! She studied Illustration, Fine Arts and also a Master Degree in Arts Education. She started drawing professionally in 2014 and since then, her drawings have been used mainly in educational books, magazines, and children’s books. Her style is clean and simple, always using plain colours and rounded shapes, and she works mostly with digital tools. Nowadays, she lives in Valencia, and shares her studio with Blai, her adorable/crazy dog. Sometimes she manages to have some free time; when that happens, she starts inventing stories and writing tales that turn into picture books for all kinds of readers.
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LIZZIE WALKLEY
I graduated with a degree in illustration in 2004 and have been lucky enough to have had a career as an illustrator ever since. Working in-house for greeting card companies for 10 years has taught me to be adaptable in style as well as the importance of sticking to briefs and working to tight deadlines. Since going freelance and joining Advocate in 2014, I have enjoyed working on a wide variety of projects, from children’s book and greetings card illustration to toy designing. I am hard working, reliable and endeavour to communicate at all stages of the brief. I work from my home studio in Gloucestershire and have a nice man and a little girl.
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LOUISE FORSHAW
Louise was born in 1987 - most likely with a pencil in her hand! Her passion for drawing started at around 4 years old. Nothing was safe from her coloured pencils! She spent most of her childhood watching cartoons and drawing comics to give to her favourite teachers. She went on to graduate from Newcastle College in 2008 with a BA Hons in Illustration and Animation, in which she achieved a 2:1. After leaving College, she volunteered at a local gallery where she was able to showcase her work and work alongside other artists such as Simon Donald, co-founder of the British comic magazine, Viz. Louise currently lives with her fiancĂŠ in a small town in the North East just outside Newcastle upon Tyne. She works from home in a small studio (and sometimes from the sofa) being supervised by three noisy and very naughty Jack Russell Terriers.
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LOUISE PIGOTT
Louise works from her home studio in the Cambridgeshire countryside, having graduated with a First Class degree in Graphic Design and Illustration from De Montfort University in 2009. As an illustrator Louise mostly works digitally, although there is a strong hand-drawn feel to her pieces created by her use of textures and custom brushes to give each illustration a uniquely crafted look. Louise has found this method gives her all the joy of using traditional materials, but with the freedom to edit images until they are just right. She particularly likes illustrating scenes from nature, creating atmospheric and detailed pieces with a strong colour palette.
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LUCY BARNARD
I am from Cheltenham but now live in Manchester with my husband and two children. After completing my art foundation course in Cheltenham and my Illustration degree in Exeter, I worked at various publishing companies in London before joining Advocate and becoming a freelance illustrator. My portfolio originally consisted of greeting card and print designs but I subsequently moved into children’s book illustration. I work predominantly in acrylic paint and pencil crayon but I also love to use collage to add texture. As well as illustrating for others, I also write and illustrate my own stories, quite often inspired by my children!
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LYNN HORRABIN
Lynn Horrabin, a Yorkshire lass, was born in Bradford, west Yorkshire into an art-loving family. Painting and drawing was all she was really interested in as a child. After studying art then graphic design at Bradford Art College she joined a greeting card company where she worked her way up to the position of senior designer. She decided to go freelance in 2006 and has fortunately been kept pretty busy ever since. She‘s worked for a variety of different clients in the UK and abroad, from small independents to big high street brands and supermarkets. Her artwork has been used on greeting cards, ceramics and art prints, recently she has very much enjoyed illustrating children’s books. Lynn loves nature and being in her garden and often these themes carry over into her work. She tries to always develop her art styles to keep her work looking new and exciting
50
MACKENZIE HALEY
MacKenzie Haley is an illustrator, runner and cat whisperer who currently resides in Louisville, KY. She’s completed two full marathons (slowly), fostered about twelve cats (not at the same time), and has her BFA in illustration from University of Dayton. She has been drawing her whole life, and flunked a math test in the third grade because she turned the page over and used the entire time to draw characters and faces out of numbers. She eventually learned long division and her passion for art never faded. She loves anything slightly strange or creepy and cute, and uses bold colours, patterns and textures. She has currently reached the maximum amount of cat shirts a grown a woman is allowed to have and is banned from buying any more (but can accept them as gifts).
51 MALU LENZI
Born in the countryside of Brazil in 1982, Malu used to spend every vacation in Rio de Janeiro, visiting more museums and paper shops than beaches. Which probably explains her love for travelling and Art. After some travels, she‘s currently living in Berlin. “Although I could move right now to the seaside.” She has worked on many different creative jobs, but on her 30s she decided to be THE creative and become a self-taught Illustrator. If she didn‘t, she‘d be a bunny and have a paper shop. (no idea how...) Malu is sort of Cute Maker. She wants to make people feel happy, playful and loved in a cute world. She thinks her inspiration comes from her inner child, the 50’s and Scandinavian Design. Alice in Wonderland is her curious way of thinking. Her artwork is a mix of hand drawing lines, cute characters and digital colours – “3 happy acorns” is her favourite joyful combination. When she‘s not cuddling her old cat or drawing while listening jazz, Malu likes to walk around watching people.
52
MARCELA CALDERON
I am a childrens book illustrator and I’ve been freelance for many years. I grew up in San Nicolás, Argentina, surrounded by streams, trees, nature and pets that were my inspiration. I‘ve always drawn. For years, I was devoted to music, playing the flute and studying it until my passion for illustration grew. Today, music is part of each drawing, accompanying me in the creative process. I like the smell of graphite, the scent of wood pencils, the sound of chalk soaring through the paper, the texture of the acrylic, the feel of the eraser, the mixture of colors being born in the palette and the brightness of a new white leaf, although I use my graphic tablet too much to paint. Basically, I love to draw.When I’m not drawing, I enjoy going out on my mountain bike through the fields nearby, where I feel free and happy.
53
MARTINA PELUSO
Martina Peluso was born in Naples (Italy). She grew up in between Tuscany and Naples, where she studied the art of Printing at the Institute of Art, and she frequented courses in illustration at Sarmede and Pavia. Later, she moved to Edinburgh, where she now lives. She has worked in all areas of illustration including advertising, packaging, editorial and design. Her artwork has been exhibited throughout the world and she has illustrated several children’s books.
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MELANIE MITCHELL
I’ve always loved drawing - ever since I can remember! So studying art was a obvious choice for me. After college, I studied illustration at the North Wales school of Art and Design, where I gained a degree. I’ve been working as an illustrator for 15 years now and I’ve been lucky enough to work on a variety of illustration projects, from packaging and greeting cards to children’s books (which I enjoy illustrating the most). I live in Mid Wales with my two children, who are always a source of inspiration, and my partner Paul Nicholls, who is also an Advocate artist.
55
MIKE BYRNE
Mike Byrne grew up on the Wirral near Liverpool before moving to Wales to study Illustration at Glyndŵr University. He began his career as a designer for a greetings card company and then became a studio manager for a licensed stationery designer before leaving to fulfil his dream of illustrating children’s books. Mike now lives in the countryside with his wife, cat and his two baby sons where he spends his days doodling and illustrating children’s books fuelled only by tea and biscuits.
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MIKKI BUTTERLEY
After studying Graphic Design at Blackpool College of Art and Design, I applied for a junior artist position at a local greeting cards company. After learning the skills of emboss, die-cut and foil drawings (no computers in those days!) I was allowed to progress on to colour work, and was soon painting pictures for a living - brilliant! Two years passed and I decided to become a freelance artist. A great and busy career followed, my biggest client being Hallmark Cards. After a few years I accepted a role as senior artist at their in-house studio and spent 10 happy years there. In 2013 I decided to make a lifestyle change - less time travelling and more time with family, so it was back to freelance again, concentrating on greetings cards and book illustration. I have a lovely studio at home now - my first book commission was the Bible for toddlers which was a challenge but a fantastic job to work on. I have recently finished working on 4 books for an Australian publisher about the adventures of a little girl and her best friend Pickle...a grizzly bear, and am currently illustrating 5 Winnie the Pooh books which is a lovely job.
57
MONA MESLIER
I am a French, full-time freelance artist, illustrator and designer living in Nantes, France, with my man and our cat, Michelle. I was born and raised in an artistic environment, with a painter and a musician for parents, and it must have given me a hint as to my career path! However, the real trigger for me was animation, which has amazed me since I was a kid. It is now a real passion and a main inspiration for my work. Entirely self-taught, I refine my skills through a lot of practice and observation. I also find inspiration in many of my favorite artists such as Tove Jansson, Glen and Claire Keane, Hayao Miyazaki, Paul Grimault, Claude Ponti and Mary Blair. I enjoy poetic, dreamlike scenarios and creating vivid characters. My ultimate goal is to give life to stories through my art.
58
MORENA FORZA
Morena Forza was born in 1984. She lives in Milan with her two cats and a hound dog but she secretly dreams about moving to the countryside. She really loves colours but all of her pets are in greyscale. She works as an illustrator specializing in the children’s market, with her work appearing in trade, picture books and educational books, magazines, greeting cards, apps and digital media. Morena worked as a pixel artist between 2003 and 2008, so she learned to love the tiniestdetails in her drawings. She left in 2009 to pursueillustrating full time and she hasn’t stopped drawing since!
59
NATALIA MOORE
In a quiet wood in Devon, England, lives Natalia Moore. She is passionate about her work, and is inspired by family and animals. Natalia loves to draw and illustrating is her perfect job. When not doodling, Natalia can be found going on her very own adventures, and exploring the world, but not without her sketchbook.
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NATALIE HINRICHSEN
I was born in 1974 in Cape Town, South Africa. I studied Graphic Design and Illustration at the Cape Town University of Technology and graduated in 1995. I work with my twin sister, Tamsin, in our loft studio in Cape Town. I have illustrated several books and greetings cards for publishers in the U.S., U.K. and South Africa. To get inspired, I look at other children’s books particularly “Lavender’s Blue” illustrated by Harold Jones which I’ve had since I was about ten. I enjoy illustrating folk tales and fairy tales. I work in gouache, watercolours, pencil crayon and Photoshop. In 2005 I won the Vivian Wilkes award for a book about taking care of the environment called “Tell the Moon”. When I’m not working I enjoy browsing second hand shops, reading and playing the violin.
61
NICOLA ANDERSON
Nicola is an illustrator, designer and doodler and has been since she could hold a crayon in her hand, but professionally since 2001. After many years working in the digital industry designing websites, animations, print resources and basically mastering the tools of the trade, she now crafts imaginary worlds from her home studio in Manchester UK whilst her two dogs fight for her lap.
62
NIGEL CHILVERS
I was born and raised in Aintree, which is just outside Liverpool. After completing my Art Foundation at Hugh Baird College, I went on to study Illustration at Wolverhampton University. I originally trained as a paper based artist until switching over to digital work in 1997. Since then, I have worked for many years freelancing in licensing before arriving at Advocate. Whist working in licensing, I got to work on many character based books for Thomas the Tank Engine, Bob the builder, Noddy and much more. I worked for many different publishers in that time and now, under Advocate’s guidance, have branched out into many new and different styles.
63
NIKKI DYSON
Nikki grew up in a small village called Shrivenham in Oxfordshire. She studied for her Illustration degree in Swindon and after graduating in 2006 has illustrated books for children since. Nikki spent a lot of her childhood drawing, reading and making lots of mud pies in the garden. To this day she still does the same but gets paid for it too which is lovely and you’ll be pleased to hear the mud pie business is still going strong! Nikki loves creating characters for stories and is hugely inspired by animation and concept artists. Work to date includes: 1000 Things series for Usborne, Two Little Golden Books, Zippo the Super Hippo from Macmillan, Dinosaurs Don’t Have Bedtimes for Walker Books and a series of Nature Sticker books from Nosy Crow in partnership with The National Trust.
64 PABLO ZWEIG
Pablo grew up in Buenos Aires, where he still lives. When he was 7 years old, Pablo’s uncle gave him his first Tintin album as a present, still his greatest influence! He is a self-taught illustrator - although he started studying Architecture, he quit when he realized that his buildings would crack down and that what he really wanted to do was to draw. Besides Hergé Pablo’s influences are all graphics, comics, posters and designs from the 30’s to the 50’s decades - that’s why he would describe his work as vintage or retro style. Pablo usually draws his illustrations with pencil and paper and colours them digitally afterwards. His illustrations for books and magazines have been published in Japan, Korea, Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Argentina. Besides drawing, Pablo’s hobbies include rowing in the delta near Buenos Aires and listening to old LPs on his record player.
65
PATRICIA YUSTE
My name is Patricia. I am originally from Málaga in Spain, but nowadays I live and work in Berlin. It is a wonderfully creative environment. My passion is drawing. I’m happy when I hold a pencil or brush in my hand; in fact, I’ve drawn since I can remember - that was the reason I studied fine art. At the start of my career, I worked in fashion and, after several years as a graphic and fashion designer, I decided to work in what I love: illustration!! I love watercolors and ink but most of my work is digital; I recognize that this is faster and cleaner. I consider myself a versatile illustrator, though I feel special interest in children’s illustrations since I became a mummy. I place high demands on myself at work, I am flexible and I know how to adapt to the requirements of each project.
66
PATRICK S. BROOKS
My name is Patrick S. Brooks and I am an illustrator and writer based in Yorkshire, UK. I graduated in Fine Art and primarily work digitally using Photoshop. I try to create an ethereal and dreamlike feel to many of my scenes and use different techniques. I use scanned image textures of paint, pastel, canvas and other media, and build up illustrations with layers. By assigning textures to custom brushes, I try to achieve a traditional pastel feel to my work. Through using layer blending modes such as screen, overlay and multiply, I alter transparency to experiment with different texture and digital effects. As a writer, I also enjoy including narratives into my scenes and creating new characters. Currently I am in the process of developing two original picture book concepts. To date I have worked with publishers in South Korea, America, Australia and UK.
67
PAUL NICHOLLS
Paul is a freelance artist producing illustrations for a wide variety of commissions. He graduated with a BA Hons Degree from the North Wales School of art and design in 2000. Paul is represented by the Advocate-art agency who he joined in 2001. Since then he has worked for a wide variety of clients producing illustrations for the Advertising, Editorial, Fine art, Greetings and Publishing sectors. Paul Lives on the coast of mid wales where he shares a studio with his partner and fellow illustrator Melanie Mitchell, they have two children. In his spare time he enjoys Mountain Biking, a bit of Golf and chasing the Kids around the beach. Paul currently works digitally through a wacom tablet and the latest adobe cc software. Clients include; BBC, Usborne Publishing, Lion Hudson, Ladybird, Oxford Uni Press, Pearson, Hallmark.
68
PAULA DOHERTY
Paula Doherty was born and grew up in London and now live in Reigate, Surrey, with a son, a dog and a cog (cat that thinks it’s a dog) She began drawing from a very early age inspired by childhood holidays to Devon, Cornwall and The Isle of Wight with their rich history of myths and legends and bloodthirsty tales of smuggling and piracy on the high seas. Paula studied Illustration and Graphic Design at Chelsea School of Art and is a freelance Illustrator, Paper Cutter and fledgling Paper Engineer. She started illustrating Children’s books when her son was very small, often making up and illustrating stories for him about Jack after he’d killed the giant and chopped down the beanstalk. She works in a variety of mediums depending on the work at hand. Book illustration usually starts with a sketch which is scanned and finished in Photoshop. Paper Cutting requires just her and her trusty scalpel, and Paper Engineering can involve a combination of the two. She has designed award-winning Greeting card ranges both in the UK and the US and also dabbled in soft toy design which is something she would like to continue in the future. She has also illustrated a number of pop-up books and her dream would be to write, design and illustrate a pop-up book of her own. She likes travel, walking the dog and wine, not necessarily in that order.
69
PETROS BOULOUBASIS
Graduated the “Graphic Design Institute of Athens”. Works as a freelance illustrator. His work is published and exhibited in Greece, Spain, Japan, Australia, France, Korea, Belgium, Iran, Turkey. Awarded with several merits and the ‘State Illustration Award 2007’.”
70
POLONA LOVSIN
Polona was born in Ljubljana, Slovenia. As a child, she spent most of the time in a small village with her grandmother and grandfather. She spent most of her time at a desk drawing. She studied at the Academy of fine arts in Ljubljana to become a painter. But her first daughter was born soon after finishing studies – so she started illustrating. Her main influence is her first daughter — Polona started to draw for her and then for some children magazines. When she works with books, she always remembers that it is a flow of events and expressions. The method she employs to convey this is dynamic movie-like framing and varied spread composition. Every book is a new challenge for her. Every new character brings new joy. Since she has done so many with bears she’s acquired a nick name: Mother Bear. When people ask about her career, Polona tells them that she will never grow up. “I’m just a little girl doing what makes me happy and fulfils my curiosity.” She exhibits all around the world, from Bologna (Bologna book fair-docet illustrator fall monde) and Bratislava in Europe to Japan, Iran, Argentina, and others. She also made gift cards for UNICEF. In 2015 her book Familly changes was an award winning finalist in a USA Best Book awards.
71
ROBERT DUNN
Robert Dunn is a Scottish illustrator specialising in editorial, children’s and picture book illustration. He works mixing traditional media with digital elements in his cluttered but cosy home studio in the wilds of South Lanarkshire. The lovely people at Advocate Art keep him busy illustrating lots of books and magazines. Some of these books were published by: Parragon, Pearson, Sourcebooks, Hometown World, QED, TTA Press, Scholastic, Boyds Mills Press, Albert Whitman, Miles Kelly and Thomas Nelson. His first picture book, ‘Spacewalkies’, was published by QED in 2015. ‘There’s only one- ‘Scruffle’ - which followed in 2016.
72
SAHAR HAGHGOO
Sahar Haghgoo was born in Rasht in the north of Iran in 1981. She has loved painting and drawing since was a child, working directly from her imagination and dreams. In 2009, she graduated from the University of Tehran with an MA in Illustration, and now she lives and works in London with her partner and her young daughter, who is a constant source of inspiration. Sahar’s approach to illustration is experimental, and she loves working across different media and trying new techniques. She is a particular fan of calligraphy and designing her own typography. Her ambition as an artist is to be continually changing the way she looks at the world. When Sahar isn’t illustrating she enjoys cooking, reading, mountain climbing and travelling. In the future, if she’s not too busy with her illustration work, she would love to own a restaurant and serve imaginative dishes from a variety of cuisines.
73
SALLY GARLAND
I was brought up in a small town in the Highlands of Scotland called Alness and studied Illustration at Edinburgh College Of Art, before moving to Glasgow where I now currently live and work with my partner and young son. Since I was young I have always loved drawing and had a passion for children’s literature and illustration. My current influences include vintage picture book illustration from the 50s and 60s. I have had many years experience working as a children’s Illustrator and happily work both digitally and traditionally. Recently I have been enjoying experimenting with simple block printing techniques and watercolour and writing my own stories.
74
SARA UGOLOTTI
I was born in 1988 near Reggio Emilia, Italy and since I was a child I have always loved drawing. In 2012 I obtained a bachelor degree in Architecture at the University of Parma. In 2015 I took a degree in Illustration at the International School of Comics in Reggio Emilia with excellent results. From the end of the school I have been working on myself trying to find out my personal illustration style and working and learning in digital painting as autodidact. I made some illustrations for magazines and children’s book and i currently work as an illustrator in a collective of artists named “Le Sirene Research”. I won many international illustrations competions and my illustrations have been selected for exhibitions in Italy, Holland, Germany, Belgium, UK and China. I currently live and work in Parma with my boyfriend and our french bulldog Murphy.
75
SONJA WIMMER
Painting and storytelling are two big passions of mine. After studying and working for some years as a graphic designer in my hometown of Munich and in Brussels, I decided to pack my bag and move to Barcelona in Spain to study Illustration at the “Llotja” Arts and Crafts School. Since then I haven’t stopped painting. Over the last years several of my books have won awards in the United States. Actually I live with my family and all kinds of wonderful tales near the German Alps between two rivers and loads of brushes, working as a freelance illustrator for publishing houses and other clients around the world. I love drawing at the seaside, in the mountains or in a Café, catching ideas in the song of the water, the glance of a passerby or at the bottom of a cup of coffee. Illustrating means for me the opportunity to bring a little light to people, to move them, and to make them laugh, reflect and dream.
76
SOPHIA TOULIATOU
Greek-born and Athens based artist, Sophia Touliatou, has studied Graphic Design,but works as an illustrator doing mostly children books -many of which have gained merits and awards. You can find her work in Greece, Uk, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Belgium, United States, Australia, Japan and South Korea. She’s always happier when a dog or cat is around and strongly believes that life begins after coffee :)
77
STEPHEN STONE
Originally from the North East of England, Stevee now lives in Derbyshire UK with his wife Claire and Vincent van Mog. After completing his education, he began his career working within the fashion industry as a clothing/ print designer after which he spent 12 years as a university lecturer in Fashion Design & Visual Communication. He now devotes his time as a freelance artist, specialising in narrative illustration for commercial and contemporary markets. With over 25 books published and a growing client list, his journey has been a very exciting and rewarding one. ‘’As a child I remember pouring over my brothers Asterix books and be lost in their magic. That first passion for storytelling and illustration has since flowered into my own work which celebrates personality, humour and characterisation. These are the key elements to my style along with dynamic mix of traditional and digital techniques’’
78
STEVE JAMES
Steve is originally from a small village in North Yorkshire, but he now lives on the outskirts of the vibrant city of Leeds with his partner and their daughter. There are lots of arty folk in Steve’s family, so it was only natural that he should have a love for drawing from a young age, taking his early influence from the Beano and Dandy comics to Warner Brothers and Disney cartoons. Altogether, Steve has over ten years of experience working in the creative industry, and has strong Photoshop and Illustrator skills. Recently he has had the opportunity to work on some dream projects, including providing illustration for a fun chapter series of children’s books and illustrating a range of Star Wars greeting cards. His ultimate ambition as an artist is to work on a cartoon series, and perhaps design a range of action figures. Steve likes to keep up to date with the latest cartoons and children’s books, and he adapts his style by introducing elements from new sources of inspiration. When Steven isn’t illustrating, he likes to see live music, watch films, play video games, take walks in the countryside and play guitar.
79
SUE DOWNING
I live and work in a little eco house in Newcastle upon Tyne with my husband and two children. I love to draw, design and make things. Since leaving Edinburgh College of art in the late 1990’s, I’ve worked in house, on a freelance basis, as an illustrator, product/ licensed character developer, a designer/maker for jewellery, greetings cards and wrapping paper......never a dull moment! My inspirations are many - from knitted toys, Japanese design, and Scandinavian Chic to Modernism, Dick Bruna and Info graphics. I’m drawn to anything that is quirky, humorous and minimal in design, and I hope that is reflected in my illustration. Working with Advocate, and the exciting projects they find for me, means that I am constantly developing and evolving my work, which makes me vey happy, especially when I’m telling stories though illustration.
80
SUE EASTLAND
I am a British designer, illustrator and author and I currently live and work in the North of England. Early in my career I studied Graphic Design and later a Masters degree in Spatial Design. I enjoy the challenge of combining graphic design and typography with illustration. During my career I have had many art works published from greetings cards and stationery to children’s books. My inspiration comes from real life observation and from a wide and diverse subject matter. I like to create artwork that tells a story and that appeals both aesthetically and intellectually. I tend to approach a piece of work from thinking about the end client i.e. the person purchasing the picture book for a child, or someone buying a greetings card or item of stationery. I like to create art that is fit for purpose but still retains magic and humour.
81
SUZANNE KHUSHI
Suzanne is a professional British designer and illustrator, living in the North of England. She graduated from the University of Huddersfield with a Masters in Spatial Design, studying interiors and textiles. She has since worked for many publishing houses creating designs for greetings cards, prints, stationery, ceramics, textiles and book illustrations. Suzanne works both digitally and traditionally with pencil and inks on paper. She enjoys surface pattern design and her hobbies include sewing and machine embroidery, and hand printing on fabrics.
82
TAMSIN HINRICHSEN
I was born in Cape Town, South Africa in 1974, and still live and work there, in my loft studio which I share with my twin sister, Natalie. I majored in Graphic Design and illustration at the Cape Town University of Technology and graduated in 1995. I always liked drawing and got into trouble at school for doodling on my homework. After doing the posters for our annual school plays and music concerts every year, I decided that I wanted to become an illustrator. I have illustrated several children’s books for publishers in the U.K. and South Africa. I use very textured dry brush acrylics with lots of layers and have recently started illustrating in Photoshop. My favourite stories to illustrate are classic folk-tales about animals. In my spare time I surf the internet, play board games, read books and graphic novels and go for walks.
83
TERESA BELLON
Teresa Bellon born in Albacete, Spain in1987 . She was a few years wandering around life, she was studying different things and doing drawings just for Mom and Dad; until she finally accepted his fate and did a Illustration Course in Madrid. As a result, she began working for national and international clients and she has made several exhibitions. Their references are mainly Portuguese and Nordic illustrators of children’s books. His drawings have a touch naive, reduced ranges of colours and simple compositions. Finally, Teresa doesn’t stay at home waiting for inspiration, she sets out to find it. So she travels, buys illustrated books and walk a lot for Madrid.
84
VERONICA MONTOYA
Verónica was born in Alicante, a little city in the south east of Spain. This is also where she currently lives and works as freelance illustrator. She has loved drawing and painting for as long as she can remember. Her first painting was made together with her father — he is an amateur painter and taught her the first steps into drawing when she was a child. Verónica thinks her main influences come from childhood inspirations. She grew up watching every kind of cartoon and reading illustrated children‘s books, particularly fairytale ones, which inspired her to draw. She studied Fine Arts in Valencia and then two masters on Digital Creation and 2d Traditional Animation. Since then she has been developing her art practice. Verónica has experimented with various types of art such as painting, design, illustration and animation. Her range of projects include children‘s book illustration, Illustration character design and background and props design for video games. She usually starts to draw by pencil and adds colour digitally. She loves to try out new brushes and textures in every illustration. One of her favourite projects has been producing illustrations for a Children‘s book, whose benefit were to built a school in a small village in Madagascar. If she‘s not illustrating, you can find her walking by the sea with her little dog
85
VIOLETTA BORIGARD
Violetta is a Kyiv-based illustrator and author of children’s and young adult literature. Her favourite techniques are watercolour, ink, pencils and digital pastel. She graduated from the Ukrainian Academy of Printing with a degree in Book Graphic Design. Though her official artist name is Violetta, her friends and family prefer to call her by her birth name, Natalia!
86
XIMENA JERIA
Being very shy as a child, illustration was always been my translator, allowing me to express my emotions through graphic form. In my designs, I use both manual and digital techniques and constantly do research on the use of different media and materials to achieve new forms of expression. Currently, I am venturing into collage and charcoal pencil work. I studied and graduated in Graphic Design at the University of Valparaiso, Chile. I have worked for publishers and design agencies both in Chile and abroad. I live in the city of Vina del Mar, Chile, with my beautiful children and husband.
87
YULIYA PIELETSKAYA
Yuliya Pieletskaya was born in Odessa, Ukraine but spent the later half of her childhood in upstate New York. She graduated in 2012 from the Fashion Institute of Technology with a double major in design and business. She realized she wanted to get into illustration after interning at Marvel Entertainment. Though she had a business internship there, she would spend her extra time pestering the illustrators with questions and watching them render digital illustrations. Luckily they were nice enough to teach her a few things and she now uses a combination of traditional mediums and digital rendering in her work. Since graduating, alongside working on commissions and freelance illustration, Yuliya has been creating and selling her own collection of greeting cards and coffee mugs. Like many artists she finds, nature and animals a cherished source of inspiration. She currently lives in Chicago, Illinois with her two bunnies, Marnie and Ham. When she is not working you can find her in a city park checking up on the ever expanding wild bunny population of Chicago. If she wasn’t an illustrator she would be working in wild animal rescue and rehab. Yuliya is a member of SCBWI.
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