About Advocate Art
Kate Johnson
Julija Lalina
Hannah Abbo
Natasha Harding
Ghislaine Gayyo
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 /
Anna Wilson
Amanda Hendon
Claire Gaukrodger
Lisa Musing
MIDDLE GRADE
01
ADAM HORSEPOOL
I am a self taught illustrator and concept designer that loves Animation and Visual Development. My work is influenced by my illustration heroes Dice Tsutsumi, Robert Kondo and Jeff Turley. When it comes to film, I definitely look to Wes Anderson who really pushes artistic boundaries in all of his films. I have tonnes of “The Art of….” books that are just so inspiring and motivate me to develop my work. I am committed to bring quality illustration and concept art to a wide range of audiences through a variety of different ways and styles. I concentrate on light and colour and make that the driving force of my artwork. Creating images with a lot of texture that enhances the look and feel of my work. I really enjoy the outdoors, walking with my pooch and a sketchbook in hand, can be some of the most enjoyable days. I am an simple guy who loves the simple life!
02
ADRIAN BIJLOO
I’m Adrian Bijloo and graduated in Illustration & Graphics at the Royal Art Academy in The Hague, Holland. Since more than twenty-five years I’m working as an illustrator and comic artist. My work can best be described as “comic-like illustrations” (I find it a great compliment!) and that is not surprising when you know that I am strongly influenced by French comics in general and the comic artists Franquin (Spirou) and Hergé (Tintin) in particular. I work at my studio which is in a little village, a twenty minutes walk from home. Most of the time I work digital but every now and then I grab paper and pencils to start sketching. Old School! In my spare time I like to ... draw! At the moment I’m working on my first graphic novel together with science writer Govert Schilling (BBC Sky at Night).
03
ADRIANA SANTOS
I was born in Seville, a beautiful city in the south of Spain, and I currently live in a small town nearby. I studied Fine Arts at Seville University and after working as a graphic designer for almost twelve years I decided to pursue my interest in illustration, which I had since I was a child and spent most of my time between books and crayons. It was a great decisiรณn! I love saturating my work with good mood, playful banter, hidden details, vibrant colours and a little bit of tenderness. I usually like to mix the warm feeling of the pencils and pen with the bright and intense colours of digital in my work and to add warm textures. In my free time, I read books and hang out with my children: two big sources of inspiration for my work. I simply adore what I do and I always say that there is never a dull moment.
04
ALAN BROWN
Alan is a freelance artist who started out as a storyboard artist for a London agency, Before back to his roots in the North East to pursue a career in graphic design. As much as he loved working in design for large blue chip clients, Alans love has always been illustration, so 13 years on, via a stint as a tattoo artist he arrived at Advocates door. Since Joining Advocate Art Alan has be fortunate to work on a variety of jobs including graphic novels for Viz Media, as well as childrens book illustrations for the likes of Harper Collins and Watts. He can turn his hand to many styles to suit the client, but with a keen interest in the comic book world. Alan Also works as a lecturer at Teeside University, teaching Comic Books and Sequential Art. Most days He can be found working in his attic studio along with his trusty side kick, Ollie the miniature schnauzer and facing harsh critiques from his sons Wilf and Ted.
05
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, and she has since then 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 artshows accross Italy, Europe and the United States. Currently, she lives and works in Bologna, with her two loved ones: her boyfriend and her chubby red cat, Rino. 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. She loves fairy tales, tea, music, swing dancing, and cats, of course.
I was born in February 1980 in a beautiful place called Castiglione della Pescaia; the front of the sea was where I took my first steps into life and art... I studied in Florence and obtained my bachelors degree at the “Accademia delle Belle Arti” as a set designer.
06
ALESSANDRO VALDRIGHI
When I was child, I started to draw by copying comics and illustrations from books and now I’m able to draw in different styles and I love illustrations of every type. For a time, I worked as cartoonist, illustrator and concept artist (my favourite), with traditional and digital media. I also won a prize with a comic called “Lagrimas en la lluvia”, featured with the romance writer Rosa Montero as the best comic book publication published in Spain in 2011. Now I live and work in Siena with my wife, my beautiful baby and a crazy cat.
07 ALEX ORBE
Alex Orbe was born in Bilbao in 1973. He works in various capacities within the creative industry, creating books for children, animating, illustrating comics, creating story boards for agencies and many other things. He’s worked on the following; TV series: Famtomcat, Qué bello es sobrevivir, Médico de familia, Pumby, Shooty, Captain Pugwash. Films: Marco Antonio rescate en Hong Kong, La leyenda del unicornio, Goomer, The land before time 5 & 6, Memorias de un hombre en pijama (prox) Cómic: La Nouvelle Guerre des Boutons (Jungle, Belgium), Les aventures du Bourlingueur (la ressainance , Belgium), Yes, We Camp (Dibbuks), Historias del Olvido (Dolmen), and a lot of short stories in Xabiroi, El Balanzín, El País newspaper, etc.
08
ALEXANDRE XOUL
I was born in Barcelona and now live in Sant Cugat. I started off at a self taught artist (I studied Computer Software Engineering) but ended up taking a few courses in illustration at the Escola Joso and two workshops with Kvêta Packovská and Rébecca Dautremer to hone my skills. I would describe my own work as fantastical and colourful; I like to use traditional techniques mixed with digital ones. It allows me to work faster and more efficiently. I’ve participated in a variety of bookstore and art university exhibitions in Spain, as well as talked to students currently studying the arts. When I’m not making art, I enjoy reading (Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman and Isaac Asimov), video games, and playing with my beagle Lilo. If I hadn’t pursued this career path I think I would’ve enjoyed teaching or writing, I also recently discovered I have a secret passion for architecture while working on my first book.
09
ALFREDO BELLI
Alfredo Belli lives and works in Rome. He illustrates children’s books and school books on behalf of various publishers, spanning age ranges from preschool trough teen. He also contributes to advertising, graphic and web design agencies. He uses a wide-range of styles and techniques as digital or traditional as pencils, inks, watercolours, acrylics and mixed media.
10
AMERIGO PINELLI
I live in the heart of the city of Naples, Italy, among narrow streets and old churches. A long time ago, when I was a child, I met a pencil, and from that moment on I started to play, joke, fight, and make peace with it. Making a living from doing the thing I enjoy the most, is a great gift, and I consider myself very lucky. I enjoy digital painting, although I always do a pencil drawing first‌ Sometimes I miss the feeling of getting my hands dirty with watercolors, tempera, acrylic or inks, so I prefer to use all the tools depending on the job, and mixing techniques is always fun! My two daughters Chiara and Teresa keep myself and my wife Giulia on our toes and fill our lives with colour and joy!
11
ANDREA ROSSETTO
I was born, I live and work in Vicenza. I teach drawing and digital coloring at the International School of Comics, based in Padua. I participated in various group exhibitions with the group of artists called “SchioComics”, and the exhibitions “Vinc” and “Interferenze” (2015) in Vicenza. I am a member of the Association “Autori di Immagini” (AI). My interest in the arts began with cartoons and comics; these influences led me to a three-dimensional style, in some cases realistic, in other more cartoon.I love my job because it is very varied and it gives me the chance to experiment with a lot of graphics solutions, but mainly because it allows me to communicate in an essential way through color and line. I love my family, walks in the mountain forests, clouds that pass you by, Enya’s music (which I listen to while I work), and a good beer.
12
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. Andy has worked for many different publishing houses such as Usborne, Oxford University Press, Parragon, QED, Franklin Watts and others.
13
BEGONA CORBALAN
My name is Begona Fernandez Corbalan. I was born and raised in Calasparra, a small town in Murcia, Spain. When I was child I loved listening to the stories of my older sisters, and I think they were the reason I finished studying Fine Arts at the University of Murcia. I have been a professional illustrator for about 4 years, during which I have worked on children’s books and advertising. Currently I work in a digital style, although I have also worked with colored pencils and gouache. What stands out in my artwork is a very definite and quite realistic style, but never losing fantasy. I guess that’s why my job is almost always directed at children and youth.
14
CAROLINE ROMANET
After graduating Emile Cohl Arts School in Lyon a long time ago, I became a 3D artist for a French Videogame Company. Although the job was interesting, I didn’t enjoy myself that much and felt like a bird in a cage ! I then thought I’d be happier trying to become a childrens book illustrator. Most fortunately, it worked! A couple of years later, I had the craziest desire to become an « international » illustrator, especially, to get published in the United Kingdom as I’m in love with that country. I started to look for an illustrator agency and had the pleasure to be accepted by Advocate-art. Since then, I’ve been working a lot everywhere around the world. I’m now thinking of writing my own stories. Who knows; that could work too ! I also teach digital illustration and charcoal drawings at Emile Cohl’s School of Arts.
15
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 fulfilled 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.
16
CESAR SAMANIEGO
I was born in Barcelona on 1975. I grew up smelling my father’s oil paints, reading his comic books and trying to paint over his illustrations (he was so happy to see the way I could improve his work). But until I meet my wife I didn’t realize that I wanted to be an illustrator. So I went to Llotja Arts and crafts school and graduated with honors in 2010. Since then, I have published many books and app-books, worked in textbooks for schools and as a layout artist for animation. Also, my wife and I have our own children’s clothes trademark. Now I live in Canet de Mar, a small town on the coast of Barcelona with my wife, my daughter, five cats and a crazy dog.
17
CHELLIE CARROLL
Ever since being able to hold chunky crayons and deface her bedroom walls with them, Chellie has loved to draw. After studying Applied Arts at the University of Derby and a brief spell working as a designer within the retail industry, Chellie turned to Illustration and hasn’t looked back. Chellie enjoys experimenting with mixed media and is increasingly rediscovering pens, pencils and paint and incorporating these with her detailed computer-based vector line work. She enjoys creating intricate patterns and striking compositions with elegant, flowing lines. Chellie now lives in the Peak District with her partner and two children, working from her home studio, where she is surrounded by the beautiful, inspirational countryside and a plentiful supply of tea and biscuits.
Christian Cornia is a Character Designer, Illustrator and Comic Artist from Modena (Italy). When he was 4 years old, reading a comic book, he decided that he would be a comic artist and not an astronaut like other children. He currently teaches character design at the Scuola Internazionale di Comics of Reggio Emilia. In addition, he is part of the Italian community of Urban Sketchers.
18
CHRISTIAN CORNIA
He works digitally but remains a secret lover of the pencil and he doesn’t go anywhere without a sketchbook in his bag. He has created artwork and characters for publishers, advertising, video games and role-playing games, working as a colorist for the French market and as an inker for Marvel USA. He is currently one of the artists for Scooby Doo in Italy for Piemme Edizioni and he works for the United States on several books with Warner Bros Characters, including Scooby Doo.
19
CHRISTOS SKALTAS
Christos Skaltsas was born and raised in Athens Greece and received his BFA in Animation from School of Visual Arts. He worked in Animation films for several years, as Lay-out artist and Animator freelancer in association with Sony pictures, Paramount pictures and many more, for TV series and Future films. In the past 15 years, he is working as a freelancer Illustrator for children’s books publishers, specialized in Education school books and Activity preschool books. Because of his experience in Animation, he can produce a wide range of styles, using dynamic poses, with a taste of film directing and mixing techniques His inspiration includes Alain Gree, Shag and the biggest story teller in Animation Films, Hayao Miyazaki. In his free time, he loves playing with his son, collecting Vinyl Records and travels around the world.
20
DIANA ORDOYO
My name is Diana and I was born in Logroño, a little city in the north of Spain. I spent most of my childhood there, surrounded by corn fields and an ostrich farm. I’ve always loved animation movies, and I’ve been drawing since I was a child. I’m mostly self-taught, but last year I did a masters in Character Design, where I discovered I wanted to make a living from drawing. I’d love to work as a designer for an animation studio, or even create my own comic. I began working digitally in 2015, and I’ve been doing it ever since. I also enjoy drawing traditionally and I love to explore techniques, and I can adapt to a lot of styles. When I work I really enjoy listening to soundtracks, mostly from videogames and movies.
21
DIANE LE FEYER
I was born and raised in France, and I started drawing at a very young age. It’s always been clear to me that I would make a living drawing, and so I oriented my studies after High School toward Art. I studied in the Emile Cohl school in Lyon and graduated with honours in 2002. I got into the videogames industry right after school was over; Lyon has a lot of successful videogames companies, and I landed a job there as a character designer and 3D modeller. I soon after moved to Ireland, where I worked for some time with the award nominated Cartoon Saloon studio on various projects: ads, illustration work and some early design on “The Secret of Kells”. I moved then to Canada, worked there for a while for France and Ireland and then came back to France. I have two kids, and my daughter who’s 5 and a half is already showing amazing drawing skills. I’m so proud! Maybe she’ll be an illustrator too, who knows?
22
DIEGO VAISBERG
Hi, my name is Diego Vaisberg and I work as a graphic designer and an illustrator. I’m currently an Art Director at DGPH studio, a product developer at INK-Co accessories brand and I’m also a professor at Palermo University. Working with Martin Lowenstein at DGPH over the past ten years has helped me to develop a very particular style and a unique way of understanding the visual arts. My work has been exhibited in art galleries all around the world: in Tokyo, Taipei, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Paris, Sao Paulo, among other cities. At the moment, I’m working on products for kids, character design, animation pitches, editorial and advertising projects and apparel branding.
23
EMILIANO MIGLIARDO
Emilano Migliardo has always wanted to be a cartoonist, ever since watching them as a child. His favourite shows were The Pink Panther, The Three Stooges and The Simpsons, among others. Along with cartoons he was and still is inspired by the drawings of Robert Crumb, Matt Groening, Shultz and Don Martin. Emiliano feels that his style generally reflects his personality in some ways; his work tends to be neat, well defined, fun and colorful. He lives in Buenos Aires, but he will move next year to Spain along with his family.
24
EVA MORALES
My name is Eva Morales and I am a professional 2D artist, Illustrator, Concept & Character Designer, working and living near Barcelona (Spain). In children’s publishing, TV and film production industry since 2007, I’ve worked on Feature Films, TV series, short films, advertising… including 6 years as a concept artist and illustrator. My skills are 2D digital art, Concept Art, Characters, Creatures, Fantasy, Illustrations, Environments, Horror, Sci-fi, Mascots, background art… I always mix and use very different techniques and styles (traditional ones and also digital), and this fact makes me a very versatile artist. I consider myself to be a very creative and imaginative person, professional and fast, with great ability to solve problems and make decisions.
25
FABIO SANTOMAURO
My name is Fabio Santomauro. I live in Rome and I work as an illustrator for both younger and older children. I have published several picture books in Italy and abroad, particularly in the UK and United States. Some of my most important works are the illustrations for the Pediatrics department at Gemelli Hospital in Rome. “The Whispering Town”, translated in Italian as “La città che sussurrò” by Giuntina Publishing, has received rave reviews, including a review on the “New York Times”. This book has won the prestigious Andersen prize as “best book 6/9 years “ of 2015 in Italy and the “Honor Jane Addams Children’s Book Award” in the US.
26
FABRIZIO DI BALDO
Fabrizio 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.
27
FEDERICO BONAFICINI
I’m a Freelance Illustrator & Game Artist from Buenos Aires, Argentina. I’ve previously worked at film production companies and did freelance contract work for many clients around the world. In my spare time, I enjoy working on personal projects and also writing stories. In 2015 I founded OKU, a personal brand with Children’s illustrations. OKU represents my child’s view of the world but also my latent desire to continue telling stories through Illustration.
28
GARY CHERRINGTON
Gary was born and raised in a little village in Surrey. Spending most of his youth playing with action figures or burying them in the garden (because y’know, they died. After acting and singing his way through school, he went on to study animation. After graduating he set off to London where he worked briefly as a model maker. After a hiatus touring with a puppet theatre, Gary now lives in sunny Brighton working as an Art director as well as an illustrator. He lives with his wife, 2 naughty cats and a cheeky little monkey called Arthur (that’s his son).
29
GIULIA RIVOLTA
I was born in the countryside of North Italy in the mid 80’s, I was raised with good food, nature and cartoons. And Yet, a little more then 30 years later, these are still my favourite things! Now my home is called London, and this is where I have been working as a game artist and illustrator for the past 7 years, during which I have had the chance to work on a wide variety of projects, from games, to movie trailers to children books. This experience has introduced me to big name clients such as Virgin, Sky Sport, the Oxford University Press, Playboy, The Sun… I would describe my work as funny and bright, naive but cheeky, and definitely Disney’s inspired. I am passionate about character and background design, storyboarding and animation, but I am looking forward to any artistic challenge!
30
JACQUI DAVIS
I’m Jacqui (or the Logic Fairy if you’ve ever tried to watch TV with me). I was born in Johannesburg, South Africa and moved to the UK as a kid. I currently live and work in Lytham-St-Annes, which is great for walks through the woods, or ambles along the estuary. I’ve been producing art for children’s books and board games since 2012, after studying Animation at Staffordshire University. I enjoy painting everything from adorable animals to villainous wizards, bringing life to characters is something I’ve always been passionate about in my work. As long as there’s a good audiobook or movie on in the background I’m happy, and when I’m not painting I enjoy keeping the creative mojo going by doing a spot of writing.
31
JAMES LENT
My name is James, I was born in 1986 and I live in East Yorkshire. I live there with my wife and my two children who all engage with my madness (or just put up with it) but they are truly an inspiration to my life and my art. I am a self-taught artist who transformed a childhood hobby into a love and passion after growing up with many magical tales by the likes of Roald Dahl and Quentin Blake, and in my later years, the fantastical worlds of Middle Earth and Hogwarts. I am very versatile and my style of work appeals to a wide range of ages from children’s picture books, to young fiction. My illustrations are unique, quirky and full of life, and I use my imagination and creativity to bring a picture to life and target the intended audience.
32
JOHN PAUL DE QUAY
I trained as a biologist and environmental scientist at the University of Sussex and with the Tropical Biology Association in Uganda. I have a keen interest in engaging people in science and natural history through exciting and humorous Illustration. I believe illustration is an excellent way of getting people excited and involved with important topics. I prefer to work traditionally using ink and watercolours, but sometimes also work digitally. I live in the United Kingdom and devote my spare time in summer months to growing chilli peppers. I am currently perfecting my plan for a sustainable future. I care for a small plastic dinosaur.
33 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 p 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.His first self-penned Picture book, “Small Blue and the Deep Dark Night” came out recently and he is currently working on some further concepts for picture books.
34
JOSE RAMOS
I am a graphics designer with bachelor’s degree in arts and over 5+ years of professional experience designing illustrations, backgrounds, videogame assets, logos, corporate identity, catalogs, newsletters, presentations, sales collaterals, and advertisements. Additionally, I have on hand experience with several designing software like Coral Draw, Photoshop, Toon Boom animation, Illustrator.
35 JUAN CALLE
A former biologist turned science illustrator, trained at the Science Illustration program at UC Monterrey Bay. He worked early on his illustration career for field guides of plants and animals of his country of origin, Colombia, and now owns and works in his art Studio, LIBERUM DONUM, doing concept art, storyboarding and his passion: comic books.
36
KI-HUN YU
I am a Korean artist, living and working in Seoul. I majored in engraving at university, and I have been working as an illustrator for 17 years. My work is lyrical, and I enjoy working on projects with a focus on the natural world. I paint with watercolours, and then combine this with graphic work digitally. I have had over 100 book published in Korea, and I am now developing overseas working relationships through Advocate.
My name is Laura Sua and I was born in Spain in 1978. I have a Bachelors degree in Fine Art from the University of Salamanca (Spain) and I’ve worked as illustrator more than ten years, sometimes combining that with Graphic Design.
37
LAURA SUA
I work in various styles, from children to real styles, in magazines, character design, caricature, concept art and so on. I really like to draw picture books for children; I love creating strange people and strange worlds. I have won several poster and comic competitions, among which I would highlight the Pancho Cossio National Award in the category of illustration, Spain 2010. I have also participated in some exhibitions such as “Otra manera de contar� in 2012, with relevant Spanish illustrators.
38
LAURA TOLTON
Laura has always enjoyed drawing and has always felt her life would involve the arts, be it drawing, painting, acting or costume design. The English countryside, where she lives, provides inspiration and solace for her to work. Laura graduated from the University of East London in 2009 with a degree in Graphic Arts and Illustration. Her work includes books such as Robin Hood, Alice in Wonderland, American GirlÂŽ and Boudicca.
39
LAUREN MENDEZ
Lauren Mendez is a petite and bubbly illustrator, currently living among the trees just outside of Portland, Oregon. Originally from California, she attended UCLA and graduated with a degree in Studio Arts. Lauren’s colorful illustrations are digitally painted but always start as colored pencil drawings (the Prismacolor Verithin pencils are her jam!). Her favorite part of an illustration is concepting the characters. A lot of research, scribbles and coffee are necessary in order to get the character’s personality just right. And playing with facial features, clothing details, and body poses is tons of fun! After a day of drawing and painting indoors, Lauren enjoys running through the trees, chasing the chipmunks and admiring the designs of the wild mushrooms. Don’t ask her to eat them though; mushrooms taste yucky!
40
LOIC BILLIAU
Born near Paris around three decades ago, Loic works mainly for the board game industry and youth publishing. He always tries to create bridges between fun, whimsicality and poetry. He also works for advertising as a storyboard artist and an illustrator. His influences range from Uderzo to Jamie Helwett through to Miyazaki, as he’s also a true Japan lover and knows the culture very well. He also operates as a live artist in “New”, an improvised musical played in Paris, where he brings his spontaneity to the table.
41
MARC-ETIENNE PEINTRE
My name is Marc-Etienne. I was born in Troyes, France, I studied Illustration at Emile Cohl school in Lyon and I now live in Paris where I work as a freelance illustratorI Sitting too close to the TV watching Cartoon network when I was a boy is what got me into drawing. But it’s my teenage skaboarding years that really drew me into illustration, enjoying the work of people such as Jeremy Fish and Evan Hecox. I like to draw colorful and humourous scenes with playful characters. I worked for several advertisement campaigns but I really like magazines’ related work as well as children’s books illustrations because it allows me to have a more offbeat approach and funnier results. In the world we live in working with computer graphics is a must, but I also enjoy a more hands on approach for my personal work. I really like watercolour but I also use linocut for its raw and simplistic result.
42
MAURIZIO CAMPIDELLI
I was born in 1962, June 6th in Riccione, a little tourist town on the Italian east coast. I lived in Ravenna where I studied ( Art School and Graphic Design and Illustration School ) and where I had my first Studio. Then I lived 10 years in Milan, and now in Rimini where I work, near the sea. When I was three years old my left leg was broken and my mother bought me 2 comics, “Mickey Mouse” and “Tex”. These were the cause of my future carrer. I started to draw very soon and when I was 10 I knew that I would become an illustrator. The most important influences came from the artists of Marvel Comics Group of the 70’s, especially Jim Steranko and Barry-Windsor Smith. Usually, when I begin a new work I need silence and quiet, to study and to sketch, but then I need music!
43
MIGUEL DIAZ RIVAS
I was born in a small town in the south of Spain, called Cabra and at the age of 18 I moved to Seville to study Media and Communications. I learnt how to use the audoviusal language to tell stories and how the media industry works. When I finished college I moved to the UK, living in London for almost two years whilst studing Illustration at the Central Saint Martin’s School of Art. After that I moved to Madrid, where I live now, and studied Illustration and Animation at E.S.D.I.P. Nowadays, I work as a freelancer for educational book publishing as well as for advertising agencies creating illustrations and animations. I mainly do cartoon illustrations but I like to try different things. I also make basic animations with after effects and draw comics. I love trying new things and challenging myself.
44
MIKE REDMAN
I was born in Bath, 1991. We lived there for three years on a narrow boat that was docked near my father’s work with occasional trips further afield. We even went to Bristol on this awkward little craft, where I live today. In a house. Some of my earliest memories that influence me today come from watching Disney films with my family. I often wore costume, for example, my father made me an elephant trunk out of toilet rolls and erected cardboard trees that I could march through while watching Jungle Book. I was captivated by dinosaurs and was introduced to “The Land Before Time” that lead to another childhood obsession. Even though the costumes are no more, films were a big influence in my childhood and remain so to this day. I think they taught me to analyse and really look carefully at the world and draw inspiration from the seemingly mundane.
45
MONA MESLIER MENUAU
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.
46
MONICA ARMINO
Monica Armiño is a Spanish freelance illustrator. She graduated in Fine Arts and is based in Madrid, with an extensive knowledge of both digital and traditional techniques. She is able to draw in many different styles and she loves to experiment with light, color and textures. She has been always interested in focusing her career on children illustration and cartoons, and she has published several books with various publishers and agencies in Europe and USA. She also works for the animation industry as a character designer, background artist and color and texture artist, for feature films and pre-school TV series, like the winning-award “Puffin Rock” (Cartoon Saloon/ Dog Ears/ Penguin books) and the popular Spanish cartoon “Pocoyo” (Zinkia Entertainment).
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NICKOLAI VORONTCOV
I was born in Petropavlovsk, North-Kazakhstan region I have illsustrated over a hundred books since I started working in 1989, publisheed in Russia, Korea and Europe. When not working on a new whimsical and incredibly detailed illustration, I enjoy basketball, cycling and travelling or just spending time with my son and wife.
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OSCAR PRICE
My name is Oscar Price and I’m an illustrator currently based in London. I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember, and I’m still very proud of the five-legged cow I painted when I was three (which now hangs on my mum’s wall in a gold frame). I enjoy making pictures with a strong sense of atmosphere, and love coming up with characters and critters and strange places for them to explore. I’m inspired by nature, by space and stars, by cosying up in front of the fire with a mug of hot chocolate, by wizards and magic, by other humans, and by anything else that gets my imagination going. I work traditionally, most of the time, with a dip pen and watercolour and coloured pencils, and I’m always scribbling ideas in the various sketchbooks that are stuffed into my backpack.
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PACO SORDO
I’m an illustrator from Spain with ten years experience. I’m specialised in children’s animation and illustration. I have worked with many large international production companies, and with Spanish-language comic books and satirical magazines. I am currently based in Madrid, but over the years I have lived in the UK, Ireland, France and Argentina. Thanks to the internet, it has been possible to live and work anywhere – I love you, internet! As well as illustration, I love reading and pizza. Every time I visit a new city, my goal is the find the best pizza in town.
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PAPPY ONWUAGBY
Hi, my name is Pappy Onwuagbu and I live in a small town by the sea in the Western Cape of South Africa. I have a need to make and create things and the best way I know how is through art. My influences range from experiences as small as watching a child smile, to funny stories, puns, seeing other art influences like cartoons, other artist’s work…the list is really endless. My work is very diverse, the reason being that the clients I’ve worked with request various art styles per project, so it’s up to me to deliver their vision. I’ve been lucky enough to have been published in books, top ranking games and movies When I’m not busy doing anything visual art related, I play the guitar or play around with making music digitally.
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ROGER SIMĂ“
Roger SimĂł is an illustrator based in a town near Barcelona, where he lives with his wife, son, and daughter. He has become the person that he would have envied when he was a child: someone who makes a living by drawing and explaining fantastic stories. Among his many projects, he is most proud of the first book he wrote and illustrated about his first child.
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RYAN PENTNEY
Ryan Pentney is an Illustrator working out of Norwich. Never forgetting the cartoons and comics that shaped his childhood, Ryan has taken that love forward into his work. So, if it’s designing crazy scientists, giant robots, gallant knights or just some high school kids who are friends with a ghost, rest assured it will be right up his street.
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SOPHIE ESCABASSE
I was born near Paris but grew up between Pyrenees and Atlantic Ocean in South West of France. I later studied graphic design at l’E.N.S.A.D. I graduated in 2005 and quickly started working in advertising, which brought me to New York, where I still live with my family. I like to start my work using traditional techniques. Sketching usually happens on paper for me but I love to mix and play with digital to finalize images.
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SOPHIE FOSTER
Since graduating from Falmouth College of Art in 2008 with a degree in illustration, Sophie has worked with a variety of museums and heritage sites ona a range of projects, such as guide books, educational learning resources, website design and interactive online games. Sophie is currently developing her own picture book ideas, as well as creating work for the licensing and gift market. When she isn’t working Sophie enjoys exploring new creative outlets such as ceramics and printmaking. She finds endless influence in her love of history, nature and of course, books!! Sophie is a UK based illustrator living in Bristol.
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STEFANO TAMBELLINI
“Stefano Tambellini was born in 1983 in a small town of Tuscany (Italy). He graduated in Traditional Hand-drawn Animation at the National film school in Torino. Then he moved to London, where he lived for 5 years, starting to work as an illustrator. Bloomsbury, Barrington Stoke, Harper Collins, Workman Publishing, Rizzoli and many others have published his drawings. He loves to illustrate monsters, creepy ghost stories, old classics, mystery tales and atmospheric fairytales. His main influences in drawing are Edward Gorey, Mervyn Peake, Shigeru Mizuki, Charles Addams and Joann Sfar. He lives with a grey cat called Mandragola and he’s also a stop-motion puppet maker and animator.”
My name is Tatio Viana, and I have drawn since I can remember; I’ve been told that I left the womb full of drawings and have not stopped drawing up until... a minute ago.
56 TATIO VIANA
I was born and I am still living in Madrid. In order to do something “serious” while drawing, I worked as an advertising Art Director for many years, until in one merger I became unemployed. So I dared to try what I love: illustrating. I am a self-taught illustrator; I learned filling a lot of bins and enjoying the work of the thousands of illustrators whose work I love. Until now I’ve worked mainly illustrating the texts of others. But I dream of dusting off my old watercolors, chalks and crayons, putting some nice jazz record on and illustrating my own stories. It would be great to see my little son, Elías, reading them someday.
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UTAMA PRASTHA
Utama Prastha, a self proclaimed hardcore geek and self-taught illustrator. Utama has made his marks on various advertising agencies throughout Asia since his early 20’s. He always considered illustration and drawing as his first love within graphic and creative media. As an advertising agency personnel, he climbed his way from junior graphic designer to creative director, and later found his new love in digital advertising and social media creative strategy. Recently, he decided to leave his comfort zone within the advertising industry in pursuit of his own creative ideals. He aims to spread his art to the wider market and industry, particularly in the realms of concept art, character design, for movies, games, books and graphic novels. When he’s not doodling on his table, you can find him in the kitchen!
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WARREN PLEECE
Warren Pleece is an illustrator and creator of comics and graphic novels, known mostly for his artwork for "2000 AD "and the numerous titles he has drawn for DC Vertigo, including "Hellblazer", "True Faith", "The Invisibles and Deadenders". Over his career he has worked with some of comics most recognised writers including Garth Ennis, Neil Gaiman and Grant Morrison. In 2008 he illustrated the graphic novels "Life Sucks", written by Jessica Abel and Gabe Soria (First Second/ Macmillan) and "Incognegro", written by Mat Johnson (DC Vertigo). His most recent work includes the graphic novels, "The Great Unwashed" (Escape Books) and "Montague Terrace" (Jonathan Cape), both co-written with his brother and long time collaborator, Gary, as well as the book "Alby Figgs", a collection of strips from his regular web comic.
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WIL OVERTON
Hi there! My name is Wil Overton and I was born in England, sometime in the 1960s in, what was then called a ‘New Town’, in Harlow, Essex. I grew up there in the heady ‘70s dreaming of drawing superheroes for Marvel but eventually got sidetracked into graphic design at college and ended up in advertising. I would probably still be there were it not for the rise of the video game and Japanese-style animation. From designing and illustrating for the UK’s first newsstand anime magazine I moved onto video games mags in the ‘90s and eventually into games development. It’s been quite the journey. My style (which I like to describe as ‘silly pictures’) hasn’t changed, so much as evolved over the years as I’ve, hopefully, gotten a bit better and absorbed more and more influences. I love the flexibility technology has given me and I’ve now transitioned from traditional media to an all-digital workflow. Now, I’m supposedly all grown up and I live in leafy Warwickshire with my wife, son, five (yes, five) rescue pussy cats and far too many toys and comics (which are, obviously, for research purposes only). I’d still quite like to draw Spider-Man at some point.
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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.
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YISHAN LI
Yishan Li is a professional British comic/manga artist currently living in Shanghai. You can see a list of her projects at www.liyishan.com. Yishan Li has been drawing since 1998 and has been published internationally including USA, France, Germany, Italy and the UK. She has worked for a lot of big name publishers including DC and Darkhorse and is currently the artist for the Buffy the vampire slayer graphic novels.
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