Tai

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Stylized cat face with one green and one yellow eye on wooden surface

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Illustration of Amazonian woman with flower crown and tribal decorations

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Illustration of Indigenous woman with feather earrings and sinking ship

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Amazonian woman with floral headdress and colorful tribal attire

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Illustration of a woman surrounded by tropical plants and a blue bird

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From Belém: Tai Silva brings Amazonian culture to life with vibrant colors.

Tai Silva illustrates indigenous heritage through portraits, comics, and campaigns. Her work is structured, vibrant, and distinctive.

Tai’s work spans an impressive range of categories. Alongside commercial illustrations for brands, she creates comics, graphic novels and children’s book illustrations for publishing clients, as well as portraits and character designs that put indigenous people front and centre. Her clients appreciate her organised method, the way she presents her ideas and the fact that they get the superb artwork they expect with no drama. With a bachelor degree in Fashion Design from UNAMA in Pará, Tai then studied various illustration courses including three years at Sala Ilustrada in São Paulo, developing her skills with traditional and digital media. As well as her heritage, she’s inspired by the Art Nouveau movement, Mucha and Toulouse-Lautrec, and contemporary artists like Phil Noto, Beatriz Ramo and Ryan Andrews.

Approach

While her background is in watercolour, coloured pencil and marker, today Tai uses digital tools with real world textures to create her imagery. “Colour is very important to me as it's one of the main elements I use to express my identity as an indigenous Amazonian woman,” she says.

Styles

Highlighting fantasy, fashion and activist themes, Tai works in three styles – a realistic one for portraiture; a stylised, sketchy style with saturated colours for atmospheric pieces; and a cartoon style for her comics and character designs.

Languages

Portuguese and English

Impressions

Interview

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Interview

What led you to become an illustrator? I've always liked to draw. I grew up as an only child and throughout my childhood, drawing and watching animations were great companions for me. Creating universes, characters, stories and costumes always amused me. Because of this, I decided to study Fashion at university and continued to study and deepen my relationship with illustration and later comics. For me, being able to create images that connect with other people is a powerful tool for making us feel more a part of the world and for communicating important statements.Did you study illustration in college?No, I took a few art classes at school and college, but I really started studying illustration when I lived in São Paulo at Catarina Gushiken's studio, Quanta Academia and Plein Air Studio.Where did you grow up? I was born and raised in Belém, the capital of the state of Pará in northern Brazil. I grew up immersed in the culture of my region and despite the many difficulties we face because we are often neglected and excluded from our country, today I am very proud of my native Amazonian culture.Do you have a childhood memory relating to art that you hold dear? Yes! My friends and I at school used to like to create scenes and each one of us would make their own character in these scenes. Each day we would choose a theme and it was always fun to see how everyone would interact in the drawing. I still have some of them and they always bring back happy memories. Where do you live now and what drew you there? I lived in São Paulo for seven years to do a master's degree and study illustration, but now I live in Belém. There's no place like home. Describe your studio for us My studio is in my house. It has a bookcase with lots of books, mainly comics and art books. It also has a sofa and a TV because I like to draw while watching series and movies, especially investigative series'. On my desk there's my computer and my drawing table, but I always prefer to draw on my iPad. Finally, there's a cupboard and some furniture that I use to store materials and products that I sell at the events I attend. It's also where my cat's things are, as he always stays with me while I work. His name is Chuva, he's six years old. He's a great sleeper and a companion. Sometimes a bit fearful, but when he likes someone, he's very affectionate.If you could collaborate with another artist or creative of any genre, living or dead, who would it be?Neil Gaiman is an author I deeply admire. I'd love to do some work with him. What’s your favourite way to spend a day off? With my friends in a igarapé or on a beach. Or at home with my cat watching a series I like.What was your favourite assignment ever? The work I did for the Brazilian Ministry of Health for the Zé Gotinha exhibition, a super important character in Brazilian culture who represents the importance of vaccinations and free, accessible public health. In it I was able to tell a little of the story of my aunt who worked in various cities in the Amazon and was always a great defender of human rights. In this work I had total creative freedom and was able to show a little of the reality of my region and the struggle of health workers to provide quality care to all.What causes are you passionate about? I am an activist in the indigenous movement and in convergence with it I am also fighting for valorization and sustainable development in the Amazon, especially for women.How do you separate your work life from your home life? Currently I try to get all my work done by 6pm, which is when I usually go to the gym. When I get home, I try to take the evening off to do something for myself that rests me.Have you any hidden talents? I don't know if they'd be hidden, but I dance and have performed in a few productions and I'm very good at organizing things, from projects to trips, and I’m also a good make up artist. How would someone who knows you well describe you?She's got a brave face, but she's a sweetheart, sometimes.What is your go-to comfort food?Açaí ice cream, but the real kind, from my region.What movie can you watch over and over?Big Fish from Tim Burton.What is your favourite book? 'This Is Our Pact' from Ryan Andrews.What career advice would you give your younger self? Keep going, it will be worth it.Do you have any tips/advice for other illustrators? If that's what you want, choose the style that fascinates you and study everything you can about it. Get to know other artists, allow yourself to be inspired by them and by all the things around you that are meaningful to you. The more of yourself your art has, the more powerful it will be. And be responsible, know your limits and your abilities. It may be difficult at first, but all new learning is, so don't let the judgment of others get to you down.What do you listen to when you work? I love listening to music. I have all kinds of moods and listen to many different styles of music to match them, but this playlist is the one I listen to when I want to be chill.

Favourites

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