®
About Advocate Art
Kate Johnson
Lisa Musing
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 /
Amanda Hendon
Maria Creech
Eunsun Lim
Olga Kazakova
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MIDDLE GRADE
01
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.
02
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.
03
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.
04
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.
05 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 hte 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.
06
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.
07
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!
08
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.
09
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.
10
ANNA GRIMAL
Anna Grimal was born in a town between the sea and the mountains. She fell in love with illustration and decided to go study at Escola Massana for five years. She also went to Belgium to enjoy an erasmus full of things to learn. Today in Baix EmpordĂ , on the same town where she was born, she is surviving between his work and his drawings. She is developing an inspiring work . She try more and more to do manual pieces with touches of digital art for diverse publications or collaborate with the textile sector, to see her art on t-shirts and beautiful decorative objects.
11
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.
12
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 children’s 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.
13
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.
14 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.
15
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.
16
CHRISTIAN CORNIA
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 is 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. He works digitally but remains a secret lover of the pencil and he doesn’t move 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.
17
DAMIAN ZAIN
Damian was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and still lives there these days. From a very young age, he wanted to be a artist. His uncle, who had a successful creative career himself, was Damian’s role model and taught him a lot. Then, at age 14, Damian took comic classes with Oswal at Carlos Garaycochea’s drawing school. He works for a children’s audience and loves adding a pinch of humor to illustration. Although, the colour is applied digitally, Damian still prefers to start with a traditional pencil sketch. His dog Dorothy loves to be a part of his process, so sometimes Damian has to listen to music and sing along loudly to drive her away.
18
DARREN GATE
Darren Gate is an illustrator and graphic designer based in Glasgow, Scotland. Darren studied Graphic Design at university, and his approach to illustration is influenced by this experience – affecting his choice of hand drawn typographies and layouts. Darren works in lots of different ways, but his preference is for drawing in pencil and then enhancing the images digitally. His characters are boisterous and imaginative, carrying about them a certain boyish charm. When Darren isn’t illustrating, he’s probably tending to his two parrots. If Darren weren’t an illustrator, he would be a teacher, and if not that, then definitely a parrot whisperer.
19
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?
20
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 ecocline, 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 video games 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 in her 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.
21
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.
22
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.
23
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.
24
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.
25
GIOVANNI COSTA
Giovanni Costa, born in Piacenza on 24th October 1985, as far back as he can remember has always drawn, trying to copy comics and cartoons. In High School, he attended an art school, Liceo Artistico “B. Cassinari” in Piacenza, then a comic book and illustration school, Scuola del Fumetto in Milan. His biggest influences are early 2000’s Cartoon Network animations, 60’s cartoons and illustrators (like Mary Blair) and all the modern new retro artists. For his work, he uses a Wacom Cintiq, Photoshop and a little bit of Illustrator. Giovanni is always looking for the latest and newest form of the art he loves, such as comic books, illustration and animations, mainstream and underground, to catch a glimpse of inspiration. He‘s also a movie and TV series lover. He likes listening to music while working — any kind of metal and punk to classical music and movie soundtracks. He loves Star Wars. A lot.
26
IEUAN PROTHEROE
301 x 303mm - this MUST include a 3mm bleed
Ieuan Protheroe is an illustrator and designer currently living and working in London. Ieuan grew up in Wales, and studied 2D animation and design at Cardiff Glamorgan University. His career thus far has led him to many varied opportunities, including a number of years working as a designer in the animation industry for distinguished studios. Drawing is at the heart of all Ieuan’s work, and creating new worlds and characters to inhabit them is his specialty. In his spare time he loves playing ukulele and reading, and is a keen country romper and amateur wildlife photographer.
27
ISMAEL PINTENO
Ismael Pinteno was born in Algeciras, a port city on the southern coast of Spain. When Ismael was a child, his dad spent a lot of time drawing and painting and made the effort to take the young Ismael to many museums, which would eventually influence Ismael’s decision to study Fine Art in Seville. Since then, Ismael’s work has enjoyed significant recognition and success. His best artistic experience to date is the opportunity he had to work on a documentary about the Spanish Civil War, which is closely followed by the news he received that Danny Boyle would be featuring one of his painting in “Trainspotting 2”. When Ismael isn’t working on his illustration and other artistic projects, he enjoys music – playing guitar and ukulele – and indulging his passion for astronomy. If he weren’t an illustrator, Ismael would want to be a ninja
28
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.
29
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.
30
JENNIFER SKEMP
A love of art came at an early age for me. There was no eureka moment that sparked my artistic interest; I’ve just always enjoyed the feeling of creating something, putting something from your head on paper - and the journey you make while doing it. Growing up in Surrey and now living in Chichester, I find inspiration in books, the outdoors, films, games, and TV shows, but it is the pure pleasure of creating that is the true driving force behind my artwork. At Aberystwyth University, I earned myself a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art and now my work revolves around traditional drawing, illustration, life drawing and digital media. My artistic interest has always been creating engaging compositions through proper use of marks, light and drama.
31 JHONNY NUNEZ
Jhonny Nunez is a graphic designer and illustrator, born in southwestern Colombia and now based in Russia. He has gathered experience all around the world, studying at the Institute of Fine Arts of Cali, the Academy of Professional Drawing, the design school Joso Tarragona and Scola. He is the captain of a ship called Jhonny Núùez - STUDIO, a modest space that provides graphic design and illustration services to international agencies like BBDO Sancho, Charlot Enterprise, Amazon and many others. He has had the opportunity to work for prestigious brands like Microsoft, Unilever, Postobon, Norma, Victorinox, WeTransfer and others. Amongst his professional awards are five Behance Appreciation YDB Award and a prize.
32
JOSE RUBERT
301 x 303mm - this MUST include a 3mm bleed
Jose Rubert, aka YAYU, is a children’s illustrator from Barcelona, Spain. He grew up with a pencil forever in his hand, and later studied at Escola Joso, a comic art and illustration school in Barcelona. Comics and manga are chief among Jose’s influences, and humour is at the heart of his work (he often catches himself laughing while he’s drawing!). When Jose isn’t drawing, he likes to travel and take long forest walks with his dog. He is also a big fan of film and enjoys many quiet evenings in watching a classic with one of his cats on his lap.
33 JUAN CALLE
A former biologist turned science illustrator, trained at the Science Illustration program at UC Monterrey Bay. He worked early on his illustrator 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.
34
JULIEN CANAVEZES
Julien lives and works in Bordeaux. From a young age, he knew he wanted to draw pictures for a living, and started his career by drawing all over the walls of his house (his mother was not very happy about it). Julien studied at L’Institut des Arts Appliqué and the Intuit/Lab, both in Paris, and went on to build a successful freelance career, working in advertising and publishing. His work has won awards and been published widely. Julien’s work is mostly generated digitally. He especially enjoys drawing monsters, creating new textures, and using as much colour as possible. While he’s working, he is often kept company by his cat, Nuage, but only if Nuage isn’t busy eating or sleeping.
35
KATIE SAUNDERS
The best part of my job is creating new characters from the top of my head, for me that’s where the magic starts when writing and illustrating, and of lots of silly humour, making children laugh is important. I love to work with bold on trend colours ,patterns and textures ,I work digitly which I self taught after leaving university in 2001. I like to think even though I work digitly its as close to hand drawn as possible using different bush tools just like pen and paper,I like things to look cute but really quirky. I live in kent with my two children and partner Graham and our three crazy cats,my family are a great influence in my work, and my children are the stars of my last two children’s books. Drawing and writing what is close to home is what I do best. In my spare time I love to go running , drinking lots of tea and far too much coffee- and having a good old gossip with my crazy Mum friends.
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.
37
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.
38 LENA NEMIK
301 x 303mm - this MUST include a 3mm bleed
Lena Nemik is a children’s book illustrator and writer. She creates many of her own stories filled with characters of all kinds, from freaky to adorable, all conjured in her characteristic playful style. She takes her inspiration from artists and imaginary worlds she admires, including Tove Jansson, the Harry Potter world, and Studio Ghibli films. When Lena is not working, she loves cycling, walking in the forest, and cooking (and eating!) Vegan food.
39
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.
40
MARC PATTENDEN
Marc is a self-taught illustrator from Lewes, East Sussex. As a child he drew endlessly, but it wasn’t until his son was born that he rediscovered his love of doodling – both as a way to entertain his son, and as a source of entertainment for himself! Marc has since graduated from doodling and now works full time as an illustrator (although he would argue that there is very little difference between his doodling days and his present practice). He spends much of his time (fueled on strong tea) drawing silly pictures containing forlorn looking yetis, giant purple robots and the like. Marc works digitally with the aim of creating colourful engaging work, full of texture and atmosphere. He finds inspiration in gallery shows, museums, books, and funny things his 3 year old says (he was talking about flying jellyfish recently, which Marc feels he should definitely draw).
41
MAURIZIO CAMPIDELLI
I was born in 1962, June 6th in Riccione, a little touristic 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!
42
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.
43
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.
44
MIKE REDMAN
I was born in Bath, 1991. We lived there for three years on their 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 A 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.
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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.
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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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PACO SORDO
I’m an illustrator from Spain with ten years experience.I have 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 ONWUAGBU
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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PEDRO A. ALBERTO
Pedro hadn’t planned to become an illustrator. He loved to draw as a child, but initially chose engineering as a profession. He worked as an engineer for a full decade before realising that all that maths really wasn’t for him and much prefer to make pictures for a living. Pedro now resides in a small town in the north of Spain and works as an illustrator. He usually begins his image-making process by sketching in pencil and then reworking the sketches digitally. However, he does enjoy experimenting (perhaps it’s the engineer in him…) and often tries new techniques and approaches to see what results.
51
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.
52
SARAH HOYLE
Sarah is an illustrator living and working in between the dreamy spires of Oxford, UK. She has always loved drawing, especially creating characters and scenes because she thinks people are endlessly fascinating and entertaining! Her illustrations usually start as handdrawn line art in pen or pencil before working them up in Photoshop or Illustrator. When she’s not in the studio, she likes being out in the Oxfordshire countryside with her friends, making screen prints and attempting some experimental vegan cooking, nearly always sound tracked to 6Music.
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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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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.”
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TONY WESTWOOD
You may be wondering who I am? That is a very good question my friends; a very good question indeed! I was born and raised in a small town in West Yorkshire, where I was brought up by the most amazingest parents. When I turned 25, I shipped myself off to Hamburg, Germany, where I currently live and absolutely love it here. Many of my influences, I think, come from things that I did with my friends when I was growing up, from playing video games to watching cartoons, or just trying to build fortresses out of sticks. When I’m not sketching, doodling or digitalling, I tend to get out and about on my bike and think about food (a lot). I have a passion for finding good places to eat. Especially burger places! So...I hope that answers the question!
56
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!
57
WARREN PLEECE
Warren Pleece is an illustrator and creator of comics and graphic novels, known mostly for his artwork for 2000AD 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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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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