@gpencilbox

Instagram: @gpencilbox Facebook: www.facebook.com/giadagattiillustrator Tumblr: gpencilblog.tumblr.com Behance: www.behance.net/GiadaGatti Redbubble: www.redbubble.com/people/gpencilbox Inprnt: www.inprnt.com/profile/gpencilbox  

1. What's your story? Where are you from?

My name is Giada (pronounced Jee-ada), and I’m a 25 YO Illustrator from Italy. The city where I live is famous because of the italian composer Giuseppe Verdi, which was born here almost 250 years ago. Despite having such a great and famous background, I always considered my town (Busseto it’s its name) pretty boring, close-minded and very little artistic involved. In spite of my town being pretty ordinary, I always felt different from the people who lived here. I was a lonely and strange child, which developed an early interest in creative topics. I’ve always been drawn to art since I was a toddler, and I think that there wasn’t a time of my life when I wasn’t doing something creative. Even if I was a very active child, being so different made me turn into a pretty shy teenager, and because of that I used to spend a lot of time alone on the internet (when the internet wasn’t really a thing). This made me develope a pretty wide range of art-related interests (so to speak): I discovered new genres of music, and become obsessed with books. At the time I started to attend high school with the purpose of becoming a comic artist (LOL), but I quickly changed my mind. I’ve always had very low patience for learning, even if I love studying. I attended a graphic/web & communication university, and my last year of uni I chose to become an illustrator, which it’s pretty much the union of the things I love the most: writing stories, drawing and creating something simple yet meaningful.

2. Tell us about your aesthetic.

I don’t feel like I have an aesthetic (?), or one per se. I like details and simple shapes, which seems a little bit paradoxical. I admire artists who can use peculiar kind of color combinations. I love those style that can put together meaningful stories and “simple” artistic styles. I have a graphic design background, and that still influences me a lot when I sketch a composition or I choose color palettes. I’m also very concerned about what my illustrations tell to the people. I feel like a good draw should tell something more than just being pretty or well made.

3. What is your favourite medium and why?

My favourite medium it’s the digital one (I work with Photoshop) because I feel more comfortable using it. I’ve started using Photoshop 7 (the great-great-great-great-great… grandfather of today’s PS) when I was in middle school, and at my second year of High School I’ve got my first drawing tablet. I basically learned to draw with my computer, ad that’s why I find it a lot more comfortable. Even if I attended an art high school (which is a thing here in Italy) I’ve never properly learned how to draw, and that’s basically why I abandoned my dream of becoming a comic artist. I approached the digital medium with a “graphic design eye”, and that’s still my main approach when I draw something. As a graphic designer I was taught to start analyzing a problem then try to solve it through graphic, which not always requires pencils and papers, and that’s why I still find the traditional mediums pretty scary.

4. What is your artistic process like?

My “artistic” process it’s pretty simple. I usually sketch a rough draft of the composition I have in mind on a scrap paper, then I copy it on a real size document on Photothop. Before creating the definitive draft I usually make a grid (usually it’s a 3:2 grid) to be sure to create something more harmonic and easier to read. Once I’ve finished to draw the lineart I choose the color palette. Then I start the color process: first the flat colors and then shadows and lights. And that’s it! Easy Peasy! Pretty simple!

5. Who and/or what inspires your work?

I have a lot of inspirations! I mainly look up to illustrators I admire (I love Amélie Flénchais, Julia Sarda, Marco Guadalupi and I could go on). I have tons of illustration books and I’ve recently started to collect artbooks from the movies which styles I find inspiring (Disney’s ‘The Brave’, ‘How to train your dragon’ are my favorite ones). My main source of inspiration, though, are the videogame “Child of Light” and the movie “Song of the Sea”.

6. What role does art play in your life? How does it change the way you view the world?

I can’t really answer this question, since I’ve been doing this for just a few months now. I feel like it changed a lot my job prospective, since I found myself without any knowledge about how becoming an illustrator. I had to make new plans for the future. Despite of that it’s not like anything changed too much: like I said I always been involved with art! “Art” and “creativity” are a main part of my life. I think that I’ve also become more diligent in my painting process, which somehow is reflected in my life (I’ve started to have OCDs, LOL).

7. Where did you study?

I’ve attended the “Accademia di Belle Arti SantaGiulia” in Brescia (Italy). I have a master degree in Graphic Design and Communication, and a bachelor degree in Web and Communication.

8. Where do you see yourself in five years?

I don’t really know! Hopefully I’ll be an illustrator and I’ll be working on something really cool!

9. What about in ten?

To be honest I don’t even know what I’ll do next year. I’d like to work on exciting projects not necessarily related to traditional medium (I’d like to work with video games). Hopefully I’ll reach that goal :)

10. What do you hope to achieve with your art?

My first achievement would be finding a job as illustrator. I started to draw children illustrations because I was inspired by the artworks of “Child of Light” and the wonderful style of Cartoon Saloon; I didn’t know that illustrations could become something so beautiful before. It would be great to work on projects like those. I feel like my style and my “career” are still pretty green, so I keep my goals low.

11. Now, tell us a little more about you as a person: what is your favourite food?

I don’t have a favourite food! It really depends on my mood at the moment. I like to bake, even if I don’t really like to eat. I’m weak to japanese cuisine, though. Also: Pizza.

12. Favourite book?

I’m a bookworm, and I have tons of favourite books. I love ‘Harry Potter’ even if I approached it very late (I read the series for the first time on my first year of University). I like classics, and ‘Pride and Prejudice’, ‘Jane Eyre’, ‘Pamela’ and ‘Gone with the Wind’ are some of my favourite stories. I also like teen related books, especially when they mix romance, a good plot and a battle royale (*cough cough* Hunger Games). Sometimes I read poems, and one of my favourite poets are Leopardi and Foscolo.

13. Favourite genre of music?

Lately I’ve been a lot into indie music. I also like musicals a lot. I appreciate Jazz, Swing and Pop Music. And Classical music and BGM are a must when I have to think or paint!

14. What are your hobbies?

I have pretty domestic hobbies, you know. I love to binge watch movies, series and animes. Sometime I’m a little obsessive with those. Oh, and I love music. I always have headphones on!

15. If you weren't an artist, what would you be?

I don’t really know! I’ve always been involved with art since I was very young, and it’s difficult for me to figure my life without it. I love to cook, so maybe I could have been a chef? A baker? Something like that. But I still would be doing something creative!