Who or what made you want to become an illustrator?

Being an illustrator has come as a natural step in my pursuit of a storytelling career.
I have always loved stories, whether they are told in picture books, novels or animations.

I started writing and illustrating my own little stories when I was about 7 or 8 years old, and I never stopped. It was later, during my university art studies, when one of my personal graphic novels about bullying had an unexpected impact on people around the world that I discovered just what a tremendous power stories can have, what a blessing and responsability it is to be a visual artist and storyteller.

Ever since then I've been inspired to try and bring into the world beauty and good, be it through telling other people's stories or through telling my own.
 

Did you attend art school or undertake any other formal artistic training?

Yes, I studied Graphic Design for two years, I have a BA in Illustration and Animation degree from Coventry University (UK) and an MA in Animated Film from the National University of Theater and Film in Bucharest, Romania. I learned many things throughout my studies but the knowledge I've gained via independent study and online courses has been equally formative.

Describe your working technique and how you came to perfect it.

My techniques vary a lot depending on the project I am working on (the time I have at my disposal, the feeling the story conveys to me, the inspiration I have at that particular moment etc.) but it usually alwasy starts with small thumbnail sketches. I brainstorm ideas for myself and for the client, then I either shoot my own reference or look for reference online, I proceed to make cleaner sketches and then, after choosing the winning sketch/idea, I start working on the full size illustration.

If I am working digitally, at this point I take my sketch into Photoshop and start playing around with colours to get the mood and harmony best suited for the piece. I also send my client the variations of colur ideas for them to choose and after that I go ahead with rendering the final image. I work intuitively and render the image until I get to the point where it feels as close as possible to what I had in my mind originally. The client can still point out little changes that they want here or there, as the digital medium is very forgiving, but the main image is settled at this point.

If I am working traditionally, the process is similar. I trace my sketch on a larger piece of paper and start painting with washes of watercolour and gouache, sometimes adding in coloured pencils or even Photoshop enhacements to make the image as impactful as needed. If I'm doing a black/white image I work with charcoals. When working traditionally any changes or corrections that the client wants have to be comunicated up until the point I start working on the final piece. After that it is very hard or impossible to make changes (small corrections on colours and details can still sometimes be made in Photoshop, but nothing major).

How long does it take on average for you to finish a spread, from initial sketch to final colour?

Depending on the technique I am using, it can take me from two days to a full working week.

What do you hope children take away from your drawings?

I want children to be inspired by my illustrations the same way I felt inspired as a child by the books that I read. I want them to aspire to do good things, to have values, courage, nobleness, to love harmony and beauty, to not be materialistic, but to believe in something higher than themselves. Ideally, I would want my work to point children towards God. I had the fortune of reading books in my childhood and early teens that have instilled in me a genuine search for God and an aspiration for everything that is good, beautiful and noble, the strength to not be like the world around me if that world was incompatible with what I believed in or what I wanted to be. This is ideally what I dream to achieve :)

Have you visited any schools to speak or hold workshops?

Yes, I have visited schools on quite a few occasions in order to speak to children about bullying, the theme of one of my personal graphic novels.

Are you an author/illustrator?

Yes, I am also an author. I have written and illustrated two graphic novels: "A Story of Hope for the Bullied" based on the theme of bullying and surviving trauma, and "Disposable People" that speaks about the experience of people with the Alzheimer's disease.

What makes a good children’s book?

Good characters, genuine emotion and visually pleasing imagery.

If you weren’t an illustrator, what would you be doing?

If I wasn't an artist I would probably be working with animals or I'd be a history teacher! I love history very much, maybe because I also see it as a fascinating story that we can all learn from :)

Animals feature heavily in children’s books – do you have a pet?

I do! I have two dogs that I love so dearly (they are mother and daughter) and a spoilt male cat. 

Which books from your own childhood really stand out?

I can't remember any specific one. I didn't actually have many picture books as a child, I think I was in primary school when my mother bought me my first picture book, yet I remember some of the books I borrowed from my neighbours and from the library.

 I was never fond of minimalist illustrations, instead I was absolutely fascinated and enamoured with detailed, beautifully rendered and naturalistic looking pictures, especially pictures of people. No wonder my favourite subject to draw and paint is human figures.