Gaia Bordicchia Illustrations

Buon Natale

2011-12-08T15:13:00.005+01:00

It's early, I know... I hope this blog will come back to life with the new year. Until then, Buon Natale! (Click to see a larger image.)

A bear and a new book.

2011-08-15T17:42:00.005+02:00

Last week I received a gentle nudge from two of my favourite illustrators and twitter friends, Eric Orchard and Charles Santoso "Update your blog!" What happened in the past five months?

I'm currently working on a book for EliReaders. It will be printed and available next Spring, this is a small preview of one of the spreads. I'm very pleased with how it's turning out and I can say it was quite a challenging project for me, since all the characters are adults. No kids, no cute animals, no pretty princess... I can't wait to show you more!

At the same time I rediscovered my love for pencils. If you follow me on Twitter you know I've been struggling with this for a while and now I'm finally pleased with the result. Here you can see the final illustration with digital colour. The base of the bear is done in graphite. I plan to do more in this style in the future. Some of my past attempts are on my Dribbble.

In September I will finally set up a new website, it will have a different domain name and new work. This blog will stay right where it is. I plan to update it more often, post work in progress and hopefully play with Illustration Friday sometimes. I missed it! If you're still reading my posts, drop me a comment and let me know what you would like to see and thank you for following!

Pollicino and Bologna

2011-03-20T15:41:00.004+01:00

I'm almost ready for the Book Fair in Bologna. I leave you with Pollicino (Little Thumb - Le Petit Poucet) and his bread crumbs!

Piccola Sirena - Little Mermaid

2011-02-17T09:55:00.006+01:00

I've been very lazy with blog updates. I'm planning to move everything to a different platform where I will have a portfolio and a blog. I think this is keeping me from posting new work.

Shades of Gray

2010-12-13T00:08:00.004+01:00

I'm currently working on some black and white images. This is what I can share so far! Hopefully more coming soon. Also, thanks to the super talented Lydia Nichols (visit her website here) I now have an account on Dribbble. Add me if you use it too or visit if you want to see some work-in-progress images! http://dribbble.com/GaiaBordicchia

Early Christmas

2010-11-15T12:56:00.002+01:00

I had no Christmas cards last year and everyone seemed a little upset. This year I decided to start early. I've sent an order for printed cards today and hopefully I'll put some in my Etsy shop very soon!

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-22T12:50:00.004+02:00

They Draw and Cook

2010-10-15T14:07:00.004+02:00

Last week I finally sent a submission to "They Draw and Cook", one of my favourite blogs. I've been following them for some time and Nate and Salli are doing such a nice job running this project. Go visit They Draw and Cook and try a new recipe this week! (link here )

A tiny maiden and some good news

2010-09-27T16:19:00.005+02:00

I've been very lazy with blog updates. I share a lot of what I'm currently working on via Twitter and often forget to come here. There are a few good news I'd like to share and a couple of new images I can show.

I finished my entries for Bologna Children's Book Fair Annual Exhibit.
I'm very happy with the outcome, but I don't have high hopes of being selected. There's a lot of competition, many talented artists submitting and maybe a preference for less conventionally "cute" subjects. I was selected a long time ago and would be nice to enter again, but it will be just as nice to have my free pass and visit every day next year. You can see all the illustrations in my Flickr album here.

Also, I signed with american artist representative Tugeau2 (link here) and my page is now up on their website. I'm very happy and it is a big step for a small italian illustrator like me. I received some very helpful advices and feedback on my work and all I can say is that they are incredibly helpful and nice. Great people to work with.

At the beginning of September I also received my free copies of "100 Histoires", the book I worked on for Edition Lito last spring. Their website is currently undergoing a makeover so it's not visible online yet. I will post pictures soon. It's a very nice book, illustrated by 8 different artists and divided into sections. Mine has 14 double spreads.

Last but not least, I decided to join the SketchbookProject 2011 (link here). You can see what it is all about by visiting the website and I will do my best to post a few updates. In the meantime I created an album on my Flickr account where I'll post pictures regularly (or so I hope!)

Pinocchio

2010-08-16T11:04:00.007+02:00

I'm very behind with updates. This my contribution to Picture Book Report, a blog dedicated to beautiful stories and illustrations. It's run by the very talented Meg Hunt and it is certainly worth a visit. http://www.picturebookreport.com

Lieutenant Hamelin & his singing mouse

2010-06-30T14:37:00.007+02:00

The Pied Piper of Hamelin was the first story I illustrated while I was in art school. The old version of the piper was a rather naive watercolour and will never appear on this blog, this is the new one I recently finished.
It's a contribution to a wonderful group project called Colonel Windpipe's Musical Brigade, run by the very nice and talented Lesley Barnes and Uberkraaft. (click on the names to visit their websites!) You can see some of the submissions to this project on the blog here and more recruits waiting for friday's inspection in the Flickr Group Pool here

It was a very fun illustration to work on and an extra push to step outside my comfort zone and create a "bad guy" for once. There are many textures and little details in this illustration, including a brand new set of brushes I made using some of my grandma's doilies (the veins around his eyes). Click on the full image to see a larger version.

Expressions

2010-06-16T17:31:00.005+02:00

In between things, I'm working on new portfolio pieces to show more variety in expressions, ethnicity and age groups. These will be small spot illustrations rather than complex situations, although I have a couple of new pieces inspired by books and movies that are in the works too. I'm struggling to find the time to finish everything and have a regular life besides work. I will post the final coloured illustration soon, it will show the same two characters with 4 different expressions. ** Updated with Colour Version on 30/06/2010**

Harriet

2010-04-29T23:12:00.004+02:00

A little preview of a picture book I just finished. It will be printed in September by french publisher Editions Lito and it's a rather large collection of stories (around 100 I think), done by 8 different illustrators. My main character was a little Princess named Harriet.
It was a very nice project, the graphic designer who followed my work was a pleasure to work with and it was nice to have permission to share a little sample on the blog. I really need to take another french class, though!

A Wish

2010-02-08T13:06:00.005+01:00

Luna Pernox is a regular presence in my sketchbook since my school days. She appears when I'm approaching the dreaded "low tide" of creativity we all experience every now and then. Therefore, she's never really welcome. Her name means "full moon" in latin and it's a nickname someone gave me a long time ago, due to my well-known moodiness. This is the first time I attempt to give her a little colour... She has a wish and I have one too.

On a more interesting note, this week I'm starting to work on a new editorial project. I'm very happy about this. I know it is something I'll greatly enjoy, it also has a nice layout. The graphic designer I'm working with is very helpful, friendly and willing to go over the many language barriers between us (huge plus!) I'll share more when I'll be allowed to.

Little red fox

2010-01-20T15:41:00.005+01:00

A quick illo for this week's theme on Illustration Friday: wilderness.
I grew up in Sicily, where my parents moved when I was very little. Bright sunlight, colorful flowers and olive trees everywhere. And the sea, of course... As soon as I turned 16 I had permission to spend the summer holidays by myself and where I wanted. Ironically, the only place I wanted to be was the mountains, the woods and quiet landscapes of the Dolomites.
This week's "lucky fluke" is this incredible 4-texture combo I found for the background. I know I'll use this again. Sleepy Hollow comes to my mind. Staying up late sometimes leads to positive results!

My Beloved Monster and Me

2010-01-15T11:02:00.006+01:00

Well, Happy New Year!! About time too. Sorry for the lack of updates, christmas cards and silly little christmas stories. I wasn't in a very cheerful mood this year. Thank you for all the beautiful cards, wishes and emails. I know I still have to answer to most of them, you know how bad I am with replies, I apologize... The new year will be quite busy. I'm working on a couple of projects I'm enjoying and hopefully share soon. I have the usual load of things I have to do and don't enjoy at all, but that's how it goes! I'm also working on three new Kokeshi Dolls, will share pictures very soon.

I might be in London again in early March. I'll keep an eye on the boards, meanwhile if there will be a Sketch Crawl London around that time, keep me informed. I should be able to join the fun!

I was talking with a friend about Shrek's soundtrack not too long ago. This is the result, I'm sure most of you will get the music reference (if not, here is one of my fav versions, the one on the soundtrack was a bit more rocky). I guess I'm ready for Valentine's Day (...humph...)
I'm very happy with Mr Monster, he looks great, my kind of monster in every way! I'm not too happy with Lady Monster, she looks a bit like those hyperactive girls that are a pain to deal with. I'm finishing off another illustration with a similar theme and if nothing gets in the way, I will do another update in a couple of days. Hopefully this will pay off for the lack of activity in the last few months. Until then, take care and draw! :)

Entangled

2009-12-03T13:45:00.004+01:00

I've been slacking on the blog more than ever before. I'm almost afraid of opening my Google Reader and find out I'll never be able to catch up with everyone... I'm working on some "wintery" illustrations, hopefully I'll finish before Christmas. Here is a quick thing for IF. Very autobiographical, as I'm trying to make myself a pair of "mermaid mittens" I found on Ravelry and I often feel more "entangled" than I should be!

Fall colors

2009-11-03T12:02:00.012+01:00

October came and went so fast, I'm still trying to get in full autumn mood!

This illo sat there for a while and like every other piece that I drag around for too long, I can't quite decide if I'm pleased with it or not. I'll know in a couple of weeks... If you have any suggestions, as usual I'd be happy to hear them. (Click to enlarge, I can't figure how to upload a wider preview...)
This morning I used some of the elements to create patterns. Not sure what for, but it was fun and relaxing. I'd like to upload the birdies to Spoonflow er and maybe use the fabric to cover journals, what do you say? Hope you're all having a great week!

Fairytales on the phone

2009-09-30T12:13:00.006+02:00

Among other things, this week I worked on a submission for a contest. There's still plenty of time to join in if you're interested, it's called the Grammar of Figures and it celebrates the work of a very popular italian author, Gianni Rodari. Details and rules of entry are here.
One of Rodari's books is titled "Fairytales on the phone". In the introduction he tells the story of Mr. Bianchi, a salesman often on the road and away from home, who calls his little daughter every night for a goodnight storytime. The flower pattern on the blanket is a rather lame excuse to play with Illustration Friday!

Where the Wild Things Are

2009-09-22T14:22:00.005+02:00

Here's my little contribution to Terrible Yellow Eyes (click it! Some amazing illustrations there!), a collection of works inspired by Maurice Sendak's classic and organized by the very talented Cory Godbey (check out his blog, Light Night Rains) Hope you're all having a great week start, mine seems hectic as usual!

Running with crayons!

2009-09-09T23:00:00.009+02:00

Every time I expect a quiet week, I find myself chasing deadlines. These past three days have been super busy. I recently discovered that one of my fav papers (Shoeller's Hammer) and brand of pencils (Karisma) are no longer made. I looked all over the internet and ebay, to save a little stash. It's not easy to win on those auctions, so far I've missed two, I guess Karisma crayons are still going strong (this week's theme for Illustration Friday, click on the image for a larger view) *** By the way, I'm sure "Running with Crayons" is somewhere with "Kicking Bird" and "Stands with a fist". There must be a Dances with Wolves director's cut...

Still Drifting in color

2009-06-22T16:00:00.007+02:00

Unexpectedly I had a couple of spare hours to colour the sketch I posted previously for Illustration Friday. It's still my little "Graduate" drifting here in the pool... The original sketch is here, as you can see I changed a few things around, the water is maybe a little dark... I'll play with it a bit more this evening. Have a wonderful summer!

Illustration Friday : Contagious

2009-05-19T14:07:00.006+02:00

Piggy Sue is a healthy, non-Contagious, super frilly little girl!

Let's see if I can get back to the good old habits like Illustration Friday... and if I don't post next week, you're allowed to leave the meanest comments :D

One more little mermaid

2009-05-15T11:15:00.006+02:00

I've been neglecting my blog and the beautiful blogs I follow, one more time! Argh!! I got lost preparing a couple of illustration contests here in Italy and managing my creative time is always hard for me. I'm also trying to gather all the infos for some international contests that are still running. I'll post the links soon, just in case others are interested. Until then, here's is one more little mermaid... apparently she's still haunting my sketchbook and sneaked in again.

Warm or Cold?

2008-11-01T13:11:00.010+01:00

Last week was "social-networking week"!
I signed up to both Facebook and Twitter. For someone who spent several years of her life "hiding" behind an answering machine to "filter" phone calls, socialnetworking sounds much like a contraddiction* (*typos: this is fun one, I leave it there!) . The truth is I'm enjoying it tremendously, especially Facebook. I found several people I haven't talked to in ages and it was so much fun. I even found my "very-best-highschool-buddy", Lara... actually she found me and it was the greatest surprise so far.

In her first message, she wrote "a big, big hug" and that's where this illo comes from. It started as a doodle of the girl and developed as a little "coupon". I'm trying hard to find a way to balance my simpler illos and the ones with a lot of color shadings, so that they belong to the same "hand". I want them to remain separate, but with similar characteristics. If you have been so brave to follow my blog for a while, you probably know how often I'm in "two-minds" about things. That's not good when you are trying to set up a new portfolio with digital illustrations... I think I'm slowly getting closer to what I want, but I always appreciate suggestions or comments. And if you don't have any (aaww, come on! I can take it! I have a double set of wide shoulders!LOL) you could simply tell me if you like the "warm" or "cold" version of this Big, Big Hug! :)