What led you to become an illustrator?Illustration has always been a part of my life. I have been drawing since I was a kid. Did you study illustration in college (if so where)? After college (I have a degree in Advertising) I integrated an art school in France: École Pivaut.Where did you grow up? In Brazil, between Rio de Janeiro and NatalDo you have a childhood memory relating to drawing/art that you hold dear? Every Christmas, especially when I was a kid, I made gifts for my family. The gifts could be any kind of creation like illustrations, cross stitch, clay sculptures, popsicle stick frames. Even after I grew up I kept giving illustrations for my family and friends for christmas. I also used to make illustrated gift tags and cards that everyone in my family attached to their own gifts. Christmans times always had my illustrations hanging around. Where do you live now and what drew you there? Today I live in Nantes - France. I came here in 2011 to study illustration at École Pivaut and I never left. I built my life and family here. I love this city.Describe your studio for us I don’t really have a studio.I work in a coworking space: Espace Esperluette. I’ve been here since 2014. What I love about our coworking is that we are an association and not a company. We share the space as if we were housemates. Everyone has a task to keep the place running and we share the expenses. I am the only illustrator that works here. Our team (13 people) has all kinds of jobs: developer, translator, motion designer, graphic designer, statician, digital marketing, etc. What allows us now and then to team up for some clients and share our expertise. We also organise some events in our space like breakfasts, parties, lunch at restaurants, etc. These things bring us together and make us more than colleagues. Being a freelancer can be a solitary job, that’s why I cherish this place so much. Do you have a studio pet?We have an aquarium with ugly transparent fishes, does that count? It’s not my favourite pet.Describe the view from your window I have an incredible view. We are based on the third floor of a building located at the Cathedral square. From my window I can see beautiful french old buildings with the Cathedral throning in the middle. The cherry on top is the morning hot sunlight coloring the buildings and the room I work at. Who or What is your biggest inspiration? My inspiration is hard to describe. It’s pretty much like a wild force that comes out when I see beautiful things or when I walk in nature or when I listen to my kids stories. How do you get your ideas? I try to find connections between elements and shapes that are not alike and almost every time creative and funny things come out of these connections. I try to think outside the box.Do you collect anything? Not reallyWhat are your interests outside of illustration? I like to dry flowers, make a herbarium, I started doing needle felting, and I do some krafting with my kids.What is the first record you bought? I don’t really remember but probably Christina Aguilera or Spice Girls. Or maybe some Brazilian singers like Djavan or the group Skank.What was your favourite assignment ever?I just finished working on an illustration for Adobe that is going to be published in January 2022. This was the best assignment I had.What would be your dream commission?To be honest, my dream commission changes every year. At this moment I would love to work with Les Galeries Lafayette for their Christmas Campaign. Every year the Gallery decorates it’s windows with beautiful, creative and fantastic illustrations. To support those illustrations they create puppets and dolls inspired by the illustrations and, with transparent tread and a mechanical machine, they make those dolls move. It’s a little like Disneyland's “It’s a Wonderful World”.What is the best use of illustration you have ever seen? This is a hard question for me because wherever I see an illustration I immediately think that it was necessary to put that illustration there. But lately I think the illustrations that were made to talk about social movements like Black Lives Matter were essential to bring people together and to make those subjects accessible to everyone. Illustration can take the taboo off difficult and important subjects and make them more clear and easy to understand.What makes a good client brief? A brief that describes at best what the client needs, that shows examples of my work that he likes and at the same time that gives me freedom to do something creative.How much of your work is hand drawn? None, I work 100% digitallyHow do you envisage illustration evolving? I hope illustration will be seen and respected as a mix of communication and self expression. Illustrators are able to show the client’s message through their personal style, with their own voice. I also hope clients will see the effort, mental and physical, we put behind each illustration and give the proper value to this profession. I’m not 100% sure that this will be the evolution of the illustration, but I’m pretty hopeful that it can be. Who is your art hero? Tom Schamp, Jarom Voegel, Andrew Nye, Lauren Hom, Jessica Hische, Riccardo Guasco, AivaxWho is your design hero? Hoodzpa Design, Blublu Animation Studio Who is your music hero? I have a type of music as a hero: SambaIf you were not an illustrator, what would you be? I don’t know but something probably related to design and creation.What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given? “Promise less deliver more”If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would you go? One of those unusual and fantastic hotels in beautiful places that have cabins on trees or bubble rooms inside the water. Or even those hotels where you wake up with the head of a giraffe looking through your window. Any magical place that helps me get out of reality.Have you any hidden talents? Not reallyHow would someone who knows you well describe you? “she is always creating something, and having new ideas, her mind never stops”If you could live anywhere, where would it be?Well, I left my hometown in Brazil to live in France, so I am already living where I wanted to be. If you could travel back in time, who would be the one person you would want to meet and why? I would love to have a chat with Charlie Chaplin. He had a great creative mind, he knew how to think outside the box, so I guess he would have many things to teach me.What themes or content in the world inspires you?Lifestyle magazines with personal development and creative content - like Flow Magazine.How do you keep on trend and up to date in our quickly changing industry?Lot’s of Pinterest Hours in my life.What is your go-to comfort food?That one is hard for me because my go-to confort food is a Crab dish (Crab with coconut milk) that we can only find in the North-east of Brazil. Since the Pandemic started I couldn’t fly to Brazil, so it’s been 3 years that I don’t eat my go-to confort food. What movie can you watch over and over?I don’t like watching the same movie over again, but I already watched 3 times all the 10 seasons of Friends.What do you listen to when you’re illustrating?“ podcasts ( Tree Points Perspective, The Pencil King), Ted Talks, conferences (Adobe Max), online classes (Skill Share and 21 Draw), pretty much any content related to illustration or the creative industry”What is the last show you binged?Chicago Med and Dynasty, both on Netflix.What was the last exhibition you saw and loved?An exhibition of old illustrated advertising posters and old packaging of the French Cookie Brand LU (Lefèvre Utile). This exhibition takes place in the LU Museum inside the Haute-Goulaine Castle situated in the west of France.What was the last concert you went to?It was the Brazilian singer and former minister of culture Gilberto Gil. He was touring in France and Nantes was part of his itinerary.What is your favourite book?I love all Agatha Christie's Books that have the detective Hercule Poirot.What do you do when you have creative block?I take a break from the project if I can, and if I can’t I browse through Pinterest to see if something inspires me.What is your favourite way to fill free time? Any hobbies?Half the time I illustrate personal projects with Netflix turned on, the other half I try to do something screenless and manual, like dried flower wreaths, needle felting and Krafting with the kids.What is your go-to karaoke song?Probably one of the songs from the Brazilian singers Ana Vitoria.Which languages can you speak?Portuguese, French and EnglishWhat is your favourite quote?“One should always be a little improbable”Is there any random thing you consider yourself an expert on?I’m pretty good in sleeping more than 10 hours if my kids let me haha
