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My pop-up Cinderella book is finally here, and the first edition is in Italian! It’s published by Fabbri Editori, and seeing my drawings transform into three-dimensional elements that almost leap off the page is truly special.
Cinderella is a classic we all know, and the biggest challenge was reinterpreting it with fresh eyes. And designing the pop-up mechanisms, but I was fortunate to work with the excellent pop-up engineer from the book’s English publisher, North Parade Publishing. Last spring, we went through several stages with plenty of discussions and feedback, carefully refining every detail — from developing original characters (the stepsisters are my favorite!) to choosing the color palette and designing the complex pop-up mechanics. This is how a new version of Cinderella’s family came to life, featuring a tiny fairy, a mouse-infested kitchen, a regal ballroom, an orange carriage, and a slightly clumsy prince.
The English edition hasn’t been released yet, but it should be coming soon. In the meantime, seeing my book on the shelves of local bookstores fills me with immense joy.

I have decided to try a new social media platform for my illustrations called Cara .
This platform is designed for artists, and I was immediately struck by their commitment to authenticity and respect for creative work. With the widespread use of generative AI, Cara aims to filter out these images, allowing those who seek authentic artwork to find it easily, protecting artists' rights in the meantime.

Meta's new policies, which include using users' images to develop new AI, pushed me to look for alternatives. Instagram has become a constant bombardment of ads, sponsored content, and other irrelevant material. Scrolling through Cara's feed without all this noise was a real relief.

The community is growing, and the platform, still in beta, is expanding. I hope Cara will become a safe and respectful home for my illustrations and those of many other creatives.

I am excited to announce that my new illustrated children's book project, "10 Dinosaurs," is now complete and seeking publishers. The project is in collaboration with Martina Navacchia (author) and Mariapaola Pesce of Majestic literary agency. The story follows a group of dinosaurs who are planning a beach vacation, but each one encounters funny mishaps just before leaving.
Here is a blurb for the back cover:

"10 dinosaurs were almost ready for a fantastic beach vacation, but mishaps were just around the corner. From the diplodocus's stiff neck to the triceratops's new love, each page of this illustrated book is a surprise. Follow the countdown of this hilarious adventure and find out who makes it to the beach in the end!"

The project includes the complete storyboard and three final colored illustrations.
Page three: the spinosaurus in his aquatic home in the swamp, who has lost the desire to stay in the water and prefers to go to the mountains instead of the beach.
Then, page 4: the triceratops who found love in Paris and bails on everyone via video call.
Finally, the last page: t-rex who, very angry, decides to leave alone without imagining that (spoiler) he will encounter a meteorite on his way to the beach.

Working on "10 Dinosaurs" has been an exciting journey. I thoroughly enjoyed the countdown concept that unfolds page by page until the final appearance of the meteorite. I decided to include the corresponding number in each illustration, enhancing the narrative graphically. The numbers are all red but vary in size and style on each page, from the tiny 2 on the house number of the archaeopteryx to the giant 10 screamed by the furious tyrannosaurus.
Additionally, I would love to work on the endpapers to further highlight the idea of a dinosaur collection. The front endpapers could depict a naturalistic catalog of dinosaurs in a 19th-century style, while the back endpapers could show a corresponding catalog of fossils, thus indirectly emphasizing the mass extinction caused by the meteorite. Well, this project is beautiful, fun, and, everybody knows, dinosaurs are a huge hit with kids. It's an adventure not to be missed!

The project is seeking publishers, so please don't hesitate to contact Mariapaola pesce at mariapaola.pesce@gmail.com for more information.

The illustrated children's book project "Two dragon eggs" is now complete and seeking publishers! Created in collaboration with writer Martina Navacchia and agent Mariapaola Pesce of Majestic literary agency , this book tells the story of two dragon twin brothers with the ability to exchange colors.
I'm not the author, but here is a blurb for the back cover:

"Two dragon brothers have the extraordinary ability to exchange colors. As children, this ability makes them inseparable and allows them to do many fun things. But as they grow older, their ability becomes a source of conflict, leading to years of arguments. Only two new lives can resolve their dispute."

The project includes the complete storyboard and three final colored illustrations.
The first illustration shows the two dragons as babies and children as they exchange their colour in the cradle, then eat and play.
The second shows the conflict between the two now grown-up brothers as they fiercely brawl in the school bathrom.
In the last illustration, the birth of two baby dragons reconciles the brothers, reuniting the family in a moment of joy.

The project is now looking for a publisher who can bring it to the public. For more information, drop a line to Mariapaola pesce at mariapaola.pesce@gmail.com.

Recently I've started working on an exciting new project: a pop-up illustrated book of Cinderella, to be published by an English publisher: North Parade Publishing.
This thrilling challenge requires all illustrations to be designed to become three-dimensional, and for this, I must thank the publisher's pop-up engineer I'm collaborating with, Laura Garner. Her expertise has been invaluable, and I'm learning so much from her.

Cinderella is an iconic childhood story for many, and I still remember the illustrations in my fairy tale book when I was a child. Tackling such a classic is an honor and a joy. I'm putting a lot of effort into the characters, aiming to make them original and completely different from the Disney cartoon, with a touch of irony and humor that characterizes my illustrations.

I don't yet know the release date of the book, but I can't wait to flip through it and see my figures pop out of the pages.

I’m about to embark on an exciting new project: a fully digitally illustrated book. To prepare, I’ve been working on a series of small digital illustrations, refining my style to capture the unique texture and touch of my gouache paintings in digital form. While I’ve often used digital techniques for games, this time I aim to bring the feel and quality of my hand-painted works to this new medium.
The project will be a pop-up book, a format I love for its ability to bring illustrations to life in a three-dimensional way. I’ll begin working on this new project at the end of February, and I can’t wait to share the journey with you. Stay tuned for more news and updates!

I am thrilled to announce a new illustrated children's book project: "Two dragon eggs". It is created once again in collaboration with writer Martina Navacchia and agent Mariapaola Pesce of Majestic literary agancy.

This text tells the story of two dragon twin brothers who have the extraordinary ability to exchange colors. This ability allows them to do a lot of fun things when they are young, but as they grow older, it becomes the source of a conflict that will take years and two new lives to resolve.
Drawing dragons has been a challenge for me, as I had never done it before. Creating the dragons' land, their homes, and everything in it has been fun and imaginative.

Currently, the project does not have a publisher, and I truly hope it finds a welcoming home that will appreciate it. Stay tuned for more updates on this magical adventure!

I'm excited to introduce my latest personal project: "Treebirynth," a captivating board game designed for young explorers and families. This game offers an exciting adventure set in the heart of a lush forest, where animals compete to conquer the tree and find hidden food among the branches.

"Treebirynth" is a game for 2-4 players, suitable for children aged 6 and up, featuring tile placement, path-building, and dice-rolling mechanics. Players take on the roles of various forest animals (ant, squirrel, green lizard, marten, mantis, dormouse), each with its dietary preferences and specific dangers to avoid. The objective is simple yet challenging: collect all the food items on the player's list before its opponents, using strategic skills and a bit of luck.
The game unfolds by building intricate paths on the tree branches, quickly moving the token, and collecting objectives. Each animal has a set of foods to gather, with designated spaces on their animal sheet for placing the objective tiles. This dynamic accurately reflects the biology of the featured species, based on scientific literature, offering an experience that combines fun and learning.

"Treebirynth" is designed to fosters cognitive and strategic skills in children, encouraging their curiosity about ecological dynamics. It's also ideal for educators and schools, as it represents an educational entertainment option that deepens knowledge about animal nutrition and the forest ecosystem.
The game's setting in the temperate boreal forest, a life-rich environment found in many parts of the world, makes it suitable for a wide international audience.

This project is an exciting combination of my passions and skills. I'm a passionate board game enthusiast and play regularly, frequently attending events like Lucca Comics & Games, where the Games pavilion is my favorite. I have extensive experience in board game illustration, but here I developed the game's mechanics and rules, along with illustrations for the tiles, boards, and characters. The game is currently seeking a publisher. For more information, please feel free to contact me.

I'm excited to announce the release of my latest illustration project for Ludattica: an exhilarating game called "Dragon". This game promises to be a thrilling and dynamic challenge where players must build the sinuous body of a red and green dragon. "Dragon" is a fun game of balance and strategy where two challengers must place all their cards onto the dragon's body while trying to steal their opponent's cards.
I haven't had the chance to play it yet, but I'm eager to try and explore the dynamics of "Dragon". I hope it provides everyone with a fun and engaging gaming experience.

I am thrilled to announce that I am working on a new illustrated children's book project: "10 dinosaurs"! This time, I'm collaborating with the talented writer Martina Navacchia and the fantastic agent Mariapaola Pesce of Majestic Literary Agency, who brought us together and is managing the entire project.

The book tells a very funny story about 10 dinosaurs who decide to go on a vacation to the beach, but a series of hilarious mishaps is just around the corner. The story unfolds as a countdown, and only at the end will we find out if they (perhaps) make it to the beach!
I am having a lot of fun working on this project. Drawing T-rexes, pterodactyls, triceratops, and spinosauruses has become my specialty, thanks to my recent works, Risky Memo - Beware of the T-Rex and il Woody Puzzle Dinosaurs. Additionally, I am creating all the illustrations by hand using gouache, which is my absolute favorite medium.

Currently, the project is looking for a publisher, and I truly hope it finds a welcoming home that will appreciate our work. Stay tuned for more updates on this exciting illustrated adventure!

I've just returned from Lucca Comics & Games, an event I've been attending for years because I love comics, board games, and spending the day with my usual group of friends. This year was even more special: in the Lucca Junior pavilion, one of my illustrations was on display. Seeing it exhibited to the public, amidst all those people, was incredibly exciting.

My illustration, along with the entire storyboard I developed for Lucca Junior - "Livio Sossi" editorial illustration award , features dinosaurs (once again!) and a looming meteorite above their heads, with them unaware of the impending consequences. The project is titled "Non mi Aspettavo" (i.e. I didn't exect), based on the original text by Angelo Mozzillo proposed for the competition.
The idea was inspired by Lars von Trier's film "Melancholia," a beautiful and shocking movie I watched while sketching the first ideas for this project. Perhaps not an usual theme for young children, but so fitting with the text that I was thrilled to develop it.
Even though my work wasn't chosen for the illustrated book for the winner, I'm really happy that it was selected by the jury for the exhibition. It was a great source of satisfaction.

This time, I didn't bring back home the usual board game, but instead, an illustrated book and a graphic novel that promise great satisfaction (I can't wait to start reading them!) and a lot of new ideas.

Recently, I worked on another wooden puzzle for Ludattica's Woody Puzzle series, this time with a space theme. The puzzle featured astronauts, aliens, robots, alien planets, rockets, spaceships, satellites, stars, and meteorites - essentially, everything related to space.
It was a wonderful project, and I really enjoyed working on it.

Unfortunately, Ludattica decided, for reasons unknown to me, not to publish it.
However, they chose to recycle some of the characters from the puzzle for another game called "My Planet Lab & Craft". This game is designed to help children to discover the Earth's rotation and the phases of the day, with a universe-box to decorate with markers and stickers, including some of my space rockets, characters, stars and other elements from my puzzle.
Although I didn't particularly appreciate this decision, I am still glad that my drawings find a place in this educational project created in collaboration with Explora - The Children's Museum OF Rome.

Even though the space puzzle will never see the light of day, my space characters will continue to live in the other game and children will enjoy playing with them.

Introducing my latest illustration project: a Ludattica's wooden puzzle from the Woody Puzzle series, featuring an intriguing dinosaur theme.

This Tyrannosaurus-shaped puzzle offers a vivid glimpse into a prehistoric era populated by a wide range of dinosaurs, including a pterodactyl, parasaurolophus, brachiosaurus, tyrannosaur, and dilophosaur. Being a huge Jurassic Park enthusiast, it was an absolute joy to work on!
The puzzle not only showcases a variety of dinosaurs but also features volcanoes, fossils, dinosaur eggs, and lush prehistoric vegetation, along with the famous meteorite. Every detail has been carefully crafted to create an engaging and educational gaming experience.

Ludattica has developed the game to stimulate logic, visuospatial skills, and fine motor skills. Among the puzzle pieces are 12 molded animals that can be placed upright thanks to the special bases.
This project provides a unique opportunity to explore the world of dinosaurs through art and play. I hope children find it as enjoyable and stimulating as I did creating it!

Happy news from Lucca Junior - "Livio Sossi" editorial illustration award: one of my illustrations was selected for the exhibition. I'm really proud!
The award is organised by Lucca Crea and Lucca Comics & Games in collaboration with Terre di mezzo Editore and Book on a Tree. It is dedicated in memory of Prof. Livio Sossi (Trieste, 1951-2019), who I had the lucky chance to meet a few years ago (that's been a turning point in my career as an illustrator indeed). The exhibition is being opened at Lucca Comics & Games festival between October 28th and November 1st 2022.
This contest is one of my favourites, especially because it always proposes amazing texts to illustrate. Developing a whole storyboard plus two illustrations is a long but worthwhile and challenging work. This year's text is authored by Angelo Mozzillo, "Non mi aspettavo" (i.e. I didn't exect). It's very lyrical indeed, but somehow I turned it to comical drawing about dinosaurs who don't expect that nice falling star to cause their own mass extinction.
See you at Lucca next Autumn!

My collection of origami games keeps growing. Three new titles are coming out: Easy Origami Unicorns, Dinosaurs and Jumping Origami. The games are published by Ludattica.
As the other products of the Easy Origami line, the games are designed to learn the origami art in a fun way. But Jumping Origami has a special feature: the folded paper animals can jump indeed!

Risky Memo - Beware of the Shark + Beware of the T-Rex are out! They're the newest children's games I've worked on and my personal collection counts more than 15 pieces, all designed by me (I'm relly proud!). The games are published by Ludattica.
Risky Memos are special matching games, designed to stimulate observation skills and improve memory. Unlike the classic game, some special cards can unexpectedly change play. They feature a shark and an octopus in one memo and a tyrannosaurus and a meteorite on the other one... So expect quite catastrophic effects! I enjoyed working on this project and trying to draw a different (existing) species of fish/dinosaur for each pair of cards. If you will ever play one of the games you can try to recognise them. A few clues: marlin, opah, turbot, scorpionfish + ankylosaurus, velociraptor, thalassodromeus, deinonychus. Have fun!

I'm really happy to share this new project I've been working on during the last few months. I've been collaborating with Icons8.com to develop a bundle of illustrations for their platform, Ouch!. Ouch is an illustration library that includes thousands of illustrations specifically designed for user experience, social media marketing and web apps. The new style that I created for Ouch is named "Jungle" and it features some rainforest animals: a tapir, a lemur, a crocodile and a snake, for now.

The pack of illustrations is out today! So if you're looking to spruce up your project (app screens and states, blog article, website page, social media content...) run here!
You can download the low resolution files for free for a link. Or pay to get high resolution SVG and PNG files with no linking required and the possibilitity to edit and personalise the images.

This has been one of those projects that make you grow as a professional. It pushed me out of my comfort zone and allowed me to work on the representation of complex concepts, really challenging!
Now, I'd love to get your feedback to enrich my collection and make it more and more helpful for creators. So I invite you to drop me a line to tell me what you think. Cheers!

Say hello to the newest piece of the Easy Origami series: Rockets! It adds to the other pieces that I illustrated for this collection by Ludattica: Pets, Monsters, Butterflies, Boats, Aeroplanes and Windmills. The games are designed to develop concentration, fine motor skills, logical thinking and imagination. You can find them all at the following link: Ludattica Easy Origami.
I particularly liked drawing some astronauts and cheerful characters on the rockets. There's an ark rocket with astro-animals boarded on it, a rainbow rocket with cloud pilots, an high-tech rocked controlled by robots, and, of course, a variety of rockets with human and alien passengers.

Two books annoucements in a week, isn't that crazy?! And here is not one, but FOUR books! The title of the series is "A spasso con..." (i.e. "Going for a walk with...") and the books tell the stories of grandchildren going on an adventure with their grandparents: Granpa Badger, Grandma Squirrel, Granpa Hedgehog, Grandma Cat. The characters will meet soft sheeps and hungry rabbits exploring a farm, clever dolphins and an hidden treasure in an underwater adventure, jumping frogs and yummy chestnuts hiking on the mountains, cycling badgers and merry-go-round walking through the city.
The books include a memory game with cards featuring elements from the story. A classic game designed to develop observation skills and help children to match the words to pictures.
The books are written by Tony Castello and published by Ludattica.

Today is a big big day: my debut picturebook is out! "Che fine ha fatto il mio ciuccio?" (something like "What became of my dummy?) is published by Edizioni Gribaudo - Feltrinelli Group and it is being released today in Italy. It's surreal (and exciting) to think that in the next days I might actually be able to walk into book stores and see it. The hilarious text is written by Anna Sarfatti and it tells the adventures little girl, Mia, her crooked teeth and her favourite pacifier. They will meet pirates, an angry mouse, baby birds and octopuses, a brave astronaut and a funny lifeguard... The book is part of the children's books series "Facile!", designed for kids who are just starting to read on their own. It is available at LaFeltrinelli and IBS online book shops. And in lots of bookstores around Italy, of course.

I'm absolutely thrilled to announce my new picture book "Che fine ha fatto il mio ciuccio?" (i. e. "What became of my dummy?) written by Anna Sarfatti and to be published by Gribaudo Edizioni - Feltrinelli Group. The book tells the adventures of a girl, Mia, and her favourite dummy. Mia's teeth are coming in crooked, but leaving her pacifier is not easy, even when she makes a present of it for a baby mouse... The book is coming out in Italy in Spring 2021.
So, at the moment I'm drawing FIVE books at the same time! It sounds crazy, but I could't be happier. All of them are coming out next Spring. I don't know the exact release dates yet, but one of them will be my debut picure book!

It's time to announce a thrilling piece of news: I'm illustrating a four-picturebook series launching in Spring 2021. It is being published by Educational group and I couldn't be happier! The books tell about the adventures of grandchildren with their resourceful grandparents. There will be also lots of words to find in the pictures and to boost children's vocabulary with fun. I've been working on the design of the characters (lots of cute animals) and at the moment I'm starting to develop the storyboards (a sneak peek of a super rough sketch is displayed above). I'm really excited about this project and I can't belive that my very first picture book is not going to be just one, but four books at a time!

Explore my origami thatre and puppets for Ludattica Welcome! It's showtime! Before we start the puppet show, let's go behind the scenes and explore the cardboard little theater and meet the fun origami characters. Origami Puppet Show is the last creative game that I illustrated for Ludattica, a children's game brand by Lisciani Group. The kit includes a portable cardboard theatre, glue, scissors and a set of illustrated papersheets, that can be folded into hilarious hand puppets. There's Mr. Froggy and his friend Doggo the dog, Lila the fussy giraffe and Loody the vegetarian crocodile, Doc the angry mad scientist and Grol the big clumsy prehistoric man... The box of the came is designed to turn into a cardboard portable teathre where the origami puppets can play their show. Are you ready for the opening night?

The illustrated children's book project "The Great Penguin War" is now complete and seeking publishers!
Created in collaboration with writer Matilde Tacchini and agent Davide Calì, the book tells the story of a unique war involving penguins in an unexpected way. Here is a blurb for the back cover (even though I'm not the writer of the story):

"Many years ago, penguins could be found in every corner of the world. They lived happily with humans, but one day a great war broke out, the greatest war ever seen. The humans ran out of wapons and started using penguins as arrows. The war ended with no winners because there were no more penguins. The king who started the war set out to find more penguins but ended up in Africa and discovered rhinoceroses instead..."

The storyboard and two final hand-painted gouache illustrations are ready. The first one depicts the outbreak of the war outbreak of the war with three armies in different uniforms displayed on a "world" map. The second illustration shows the soldiers running out of weapons and fighting with improvised arms, bites, and scratches, but someone spots a penguin...
This project is unique and very entertaining, a story that children will love. The project is seeking publishers, so please don't hesitate to contact me for more information.

It's tough times. Here in Italy we are in lockdown due to the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic since a while. The situation is bad. As for me, I am at home and I am fine.
In these days I was supposed to go to Bologna Children's Book Fair for my first time and to attend the presentation of Annual 2020, which includes one of my illustrations. Obviously none of those will take place. Hopefully BCBF and Associazione Autori di Immagine teams are working to turn both events to digital, so I'm really looking forward to join their virtual version. As for Annual 2020 I think I'll also receive a physical copy one day
For now I'm trying my best to stay focused despite what is happening. I enjoy making puzzles, taking care of my flowers, cooking cakes (with the availble ingredients) and playing retro videogames. Stay safe!

Recently I've been working on a new project for Ludattica, a children's game brand by Lisciani Group with whom I collaborate since a couple of years. The new series of games is called Creative Stickers and it combines playing with colorful stickers with creating a collection of unique greeting cards.
I designed three differently themed products: Happy Animals, Happy Unicorns and Happy Cakes. The creative sets include twelve illustrated greeting cards that can be decorated with over two hundred stickers. They display funny party supplies like hats, banners, balloons and rainbows (animals and unicorns edition), or delightful adornments like meringues, strawberries, fondant flowers and chocolate chips (cake edition).

You can find them all at the following link:
Ludattica Creative stickers.

After pets, monsters, butterflies and boats, the Easy Origami collection by Ludattica enriches with two new origami folding games: aeroplanes and windmills.
Like the other products of this series, they include illustrated paper sheets, that can be folded into colourful paper sculptures and garnished with several paper elements. The planes can board illustrated passengers, pilots, skydivers and any kind of cargo. The origami windmills can be set on a cardboard stick, being actually able to spin. The games are designd to develop concentration, fine motor skills, logical thinking and imagination too.

You can find them all at the following link:
Ludattica Easy Origami.

Kaspar stikes again! After being awarded at Lucca Junior, my illustration "Fino in fondo" was selected for the publication in Annual 2020". It collects 290 works choosen from more than 900 partecipants in nine categories: animation, editorial, children's books, didactic and scientific, comics, magazine, advertisement and design, personal projects. The contest and publication are organised by Associazione Autori di Immagine. You will be able to discover Annual 2020 and the awarded illustrators at Bologna Children's Book Fair on the next 31st of March. I'm looking forward to browse it! So see you in Bologna, it will be my very fist time there and I'm really thrilled about it.

An exciting illustrated children's book project, "The Great Penguin War," has just begun, in collaboration with writer Matilde Tacchini and agent Davide Calì of Book on a Tree literay agency.

The book starts like this: "Many years ago, penguins could be found in every corner of the world. Even in the mountains, or by the lake, or even in the city."
Drawing penguins with the funniest possible expressions is a delightful challenge.

I am looking forward to further developing this unique and engaging story. The project does not yet have a publisher, so I hope it finds a home soon.

Today it's been a big day. After spending the morning wandering between cosplayers, illustrated books, Pokemons and comics, I got to the Lucca Junior pavilion. The exhibition of Lucca Junior 2019 - "Livio Sossi" editorial illustration award was there, including my illustration. Finding it at the amazing Lucca Comics & Games festival, with so many visitors around, has been spectacular!
I enjoied seeing the other beautiful pieces at the exhinition (so many different ways to depict the same story!) and I was super thrilled to meet the outstanding judges of the competition: Paolo D'Altan, Davide Calì, Valentina Mai and Arianna Papini. I'd like to thank them again for their kind words and precious advices.
The award ceremony was something huge, on the stage of the (sold out) Giglio Theatre. Really unforgettable.

Illustrating children's games is inventive and challenging. My last work for Lisciani Group involved the design of mosaics, planning the position of each tile on the illustrated surface. Wonderful Mosaic Art is indeed a creative game containing illustrated boards which the children can decorate using the mosaic technique with real enamelled tiles. For this game I focused on mermaid characters and designed playful undersea sceneries with tropical fishes, shells, coral, crabs... The tiles attach easily to the surface and they constitute precious borders and mosaic decorations on the tail of mermaids and the sea waves. My favourite are the star-shaped tiles. They can stick to the rocks just like starfishes!

The game is included in the Craft Set series of Ludattica brand.

I've always been a big fan of Lucca Comics & Games, so I'm super happy that one of my illustrations is being awarded there. It will receive a special prize for "best use of the traditional technique" at Lucca Junior 2019 - "Livio Sossi" editorial illustration award . Yeeee!
The contest was organised by Lucca Comics & Games in collaboration with KITE edizioni, Book on a Tree and Associazione Autori di Immagine. The challenge involved drawing two illustrations and a storyboard based on the text "Fino in fondo" written by Davide Calì. It has been an over summer work and I'm really looking forward to seeing the exhibition and attending the award ceremony. It will happen next 31st of October.

More illustrated games are coming to life: my work in publishing is full of satisfaction. The collaboration with Lisciani Group goes on and I've illustrated a series of new creative games for their brand Ludattica: Easy Origami.
I designed four products based on different origami folds: boats, monsters, butterflies and pets.
They are composed of illustrated square sheets that, once folded, transform into colourful paper sculptures. The resulting pieces can also be garnished with illustrated extra details, like paws and ears (for monsters and pets), wing parts (butterflies) and fishermans and sails (boats).

You can find them all at the following link:
Ludattica Easy Origami.

As anticipated some months ago, I've started working on the illustration of children's games with Lisciani Group. It's been a really challenging and satisfactory work. Finally, the resulting products will be available in shops: memory games of the series Sweet Memo and Play Memo. Waiting for their coming distribution, you can already find them on the website of Ludattica brand.
I illustrated four different subjects for the four games: candies, lollipops and cupcakes for the Sweet Memo series; houses for the Play memo series.
They are matching games designed to develop observation skills and memory. The fun-shaped cards feature a hilarious collection of the subjects: parisian and gipsy houses, tutti-frutti and rainbow swirly rainbows, liquorice and mint candies, maracuja and cherry cupcakes.

You can find them all at the following links:
Sweet Memo and Play Memo.

I've been working on this picturebook during the last summer and I finally can show it! The title is "Un paio a ciscuno" (i. e. A pair of shoes to each one) and the text was written by the class IV of "Italia K2" primary school from Fiesso d'Artico (Venice - Italy).
The story tells about the adventures of a bear cub who is helped by a group of superheroes after losing his mother. You can browse the gallery to give a look to my favourite illustrations or read the whole text on Scarpetta d'Oro's website Scarpetta d'Oro's website of and you'll find bad hunters and great superpowers, secret bases and erupting volcanoes. And a new character that is going to unveil the mistery of the missing shoes on my awarded illustration that inspired the picture book.
Yesterday the class of kids who wrote the story was awarded at Palarcobaleno, Fossò (Venice - Italy) and the picturebook was finally shown.

This one is going to be a very special Autumn: I'm working with Lisciani Group to illustrate my very first games for children!
I'm very happy about this collaboration. This field is a kind of new for me, so I'm learning a lot and the work is pretty challenging. I can't show you my illustrations yet, but you can try to guess what games I'm working on from the cupcake draft that you see here. Any idea? I'm sorry, but you have to wait till next winter for such brand new games to come out. Stai tuned!

The inauguration of the exhibition of Notte di Fiaba Illustration Competition is happening today at MAG - Museo Alto Garda, but, unfortunately, I'll not be able to attend it. I'm very sorry about it because I love observing how the same theme has been developed by different artists. And I love meeting the organisers of the event, other illustrators and, maybe, the jury's members too, that are: Livio Sossi, Fausta Orecchio e Simone Tanucci, Alessandro Sanna, Maurizio Quarello, Franco Pivetti.
The exhibition is being on show during the Notte di Fiaba Festival, that will take place in Riva del Garda from the 23rd to the 26th of August 2018, and it will close on September 2nd. Who knows, maybethat I'll end up near Trentino during the summer and I'll be able to give a look to it!

I'm so happy, today I've attended the inauguration of That's a Mole! Exhibition and it's been gorgeous!
The location is, of course, amazing: the illustrations are on show along Via Montebello, which is just beneath the Mole Antonealliana (it looks HUGE in person). However the whole event has been even more surprising. The organisers have been helpful (I was even offered an hotel room for the night!) and creative, a group of great people. They arranged music and dancing entertainment to start the event, then a super funny presenter disclosed every single piece and he told something about it and/or interviewed the illustrator. And... yes, I was interviewed! I got embarrassed as I usually do when I speak with a microphone, but it was beautiful telling about being awarded for an illustration about astronomy while being a scientist myself.
It's been an honour to me receiving the "Fermi Tutti" Special Prize from Luca Latronico, who is the responsible of the Fermi Project of INFN, and it's been interesting talking with him about his research project too. I was given also a large print of my illustration that will travel by bicycle with me through France before coming home ...I hope it is bikeproof!.
The exhibition will is being on show until September, so if you plan to visit Turin and the wonderful Museum of Cinema during the summer you'll be able to give it a look. Otherwise you can browse the newspapers and websites that speak about it: Il corriere della sera - La Stampa - TorinOggi - Turin Town Council - Museum of Cinema

I'm absolutely happy to announce that my illustration is awarded at the 5th edition of That's a Mole! contest with the Special Prize "Fermi tutti"! The special award was assigned by the National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN) to celebrate the tenth anniversary of Fermi satellite.
I'm particularly happy to receive this award because not very long time ago I used to work as a researcher with a physics background (nanothecnology and plasmonics, in particular). Actually my illustration was inspired by my previous experience as a scientist and it is dedicated to all the women in science who devote their lives to uncover the mysteries of the universe. It is an upside down silhouette of the Mole Antonelliana which is turned into a telescope pointed at the canopy of heaven. Here a curious astronomer observes the dancing constellations, comets, mysterious planets and a tiny satellite...
The illustration will be printed at huge size and on show in Montebello street in Turin (Italy), just at the foot of the Mole Antonelliana, from the 23th of June to the 10th of September. I'm really looking forward to seeing it!

Genoa lays a stone's throw from home so I couldn't miss the opportunity to attend the inauguration of the exhibition of Sergio Fedriani Award 2018. Especially because my illustration was there! It is entitled "The dive" and it is exhibited together with many awesome artworks in the beautiful spaces of the Doge's Palace, in the hearth of Genova.
The exhibition is opened till the 6th of May. It is an holiday period here in Italy, so I'm dreaming of a plethora of visitors. The inauguration has been the perfect occasion to meet some old acquaintances and make some new ones. And, of course it's been really exciting and motivating to follow my illustrator's path. After all, as Ferruccio Giromini writes in the exhibition's catalogue: "[...] It is well known that Sergio Fedriani Award calls for young artists who are often starting to face the uncertainty of profession. During the years, many of them took wing into an illustrator career [...]." Hope it will be a good omen!

Save the date: 20th April at 18.00, the "Fedriani Award" exhibition is being opened at Doge's Palace in Genoa and my illustrations will be there!
I'm particularly happy about this result because this event is taking place near home, so I'll be able to share it with my family, friends and fellow artists living around here. It is the twelfth edition of the award, that is dedicated to the Genoese artist Sergio Fedriani. This year's theme was "In a book", can you guess what I drew? See you at the exhibition and you will discover it!

I'm really happy to announce that my illustration is selected at the Fifth International Illustration Competition "Notte di Fiaba"!
I've just spent the morning packing my original drawing (with a lot of cardboard layers!) and posting it. However we have to wait several months for the exhibition that will be inaugurated next June 2nd. It is being organized "MAG - Museo Alto Garda" at MAG - Museo Alto Garda , tha Museum of Riva del Garda (Trento, Italy). The contest is based on the fairy tale "The Little Mermaid" by Hans Christian Andersen and in my illustration I drew Ariel with the Sea Witch. Are you curious to see it? I give you this little preview for now.

Ok, I've known it since a few weeks, but I've been waiting till the special day to reveal the happy piece of news: I wan the International Children Illustration Award Scarpetta d'Oro 2017! Here you can find the awarded illustration!. And the incredibly unexpected fact lays in that I'm the winner of this contest for the second time (once upon the time in 2013 ...)!
Today I attended the award ceremony in Fossò, a village near Venice. It's been really moving to me for many reasons: the awesome organization of the whole event, the numerous audience including a lot of participating children, meeting and sharing the experience with passionate colleagues, the great illustration exhibition and, above all, my illustration at the exhibition and so many people enjoying it.
I've already told you almost everything about this contest here and here, but you can find more info on this 22nd edition of the contest on the website of the organisers, ACRIB, and on the following articles (in Italian) by La voce di Venezia, Il Gazzettino, La Conceria.
The competition theme was "to each his own shoes" and my illustration is entitled "Supervoglia di indossarle " (i. e. "Super will to wear them"), the comment by the jury's president, Guido Clericetti, describes it in the best possible way:
"[...] It shows a four colourful superheroes (including the bear) a mysterious missing character that left its footprints. The illustration recalls the superhero fiction genre that dominates the mainstream TV market, foe an audience of children too. Who knows which adventures might this happy illustration suggest? Undoubtedly we will be told a surprising story by the kids that will run for the tale contest; the literary jury will choose the most original story, that will be illustrated by Giulia and published as a new picturebook of the "scarpetta d'oro" series. [...]"
Now I'm really looking forward to illustrating the picturebook! Stay tuned!

I'm glad to announce that my illustration "A considerate guardian" is back on show! You will find it till next January in a prestigious location: the Genoa Museum at Porto Antico, right in the heart of Genova!
The exibition is held in the freshly inaugurated "Genoa Gallery", a space of the Museum dedicated to artworks on the story and symbols of Genoa township and Genoa Cricket and Fotball Club. It is promoted by Fondazione Genoa 1893 in collaboration with Genoa Cfc and SMACK!&Play and it displays the 15 illustrations selected for "Disegno Genova 3" competition. The illustrations depict the griffin, a mytological figure that stand as a emblem of both the city and the football club of Genoa.
The exhition was inaugurated today and I had the honour to attend the press conference with Giorgio Guerrello, councelor of Fondazione Genoa 1893, Enrico Testino, organiser of Smack! & Play!, and Ferruccio Giromini, President of the Jury of Disegno 3. It's been really exciting speaking of my work and answering to the journalists questions, even though being in the limelight is not really for me.

The even's press review includes: Rai 3
Il Secolo XIX
Primocanale
Liguria Notizie
Telenord
Genoa News
Pianetagenoa1983

(among them there're also a couple of video displaying little ability with interviews...).

Finally the day to go and give a look to my illustration exhibited in Celle Ligure has arrived and today we spent the whole day at Graffi - Libri al Sole Festival! It's been very exciting fiding my illustration at the exhibition and printed on the calendar published by the event organisation. The award cerimony took place today and I could shake the jury members' and organisers' hand (and I was unexpectedly awarded with a basel plant too!). Now you can find the selected illustration in the gallery, its title is "Colazione Lampedusana" (i. e. "Breackfast of Lampedusa"). As previously mentioned, the competition theme was "Dailiness" and my illustration is dedicated to the island of Lampedusa and its generous people that rescue and welcome migrants daily.

Save the date June 2nd, 3rd and 4th. Get ready to catch a train to Celle Ligure (SV) where my illustration will be exhibited @ Graffi - Libri al Sole Festival. This event is involves an independent publishing fair and a lot of exhibits on comics and illustration. Among them, you'll find the exhibition of the 11th edition of Disegni al Sole illustration competition. I'm very attached to this contest, since it's been my very first exhibition (6 years ago!). Its theme is "Dailiness" and I anticipate that my drawing's title is "Colazione Lampedusana" (i. e. "Breackfast of Lampedusa"). Can you guess what does it portray? You have to wait till June to check it ...and run to Celle to give it a look in person!

Hooray! I don't know if I can make myself clear but I'm so happy: my illustration is the winner!!! The contest, Disegno Genova 3, was organised by UNO with EurHope, it involved an exceptional jury and its theme was "the griffin". The award cerimony has taken place today in Genoa at SMACK! – Comics Exhibition and I've had the satisfaction of finding my griffin at the exhibition place of honour. An amazing lecture made my special day even more special. It's been held by Paolo D'Altan, Ferruccio Giromini and Ivo Milazzo and I really have to thank them and the organiser, Enrico Testino, for their helpfullness and precious advices! I bring home a plethora of ideas and a fluffy Umbreon (not mine, of course, just a present!).

At the very last second (as usual), I managed to pack up and send my illustrations to the contest “Illustrazioni in Movimento” organized by Emmi's Care and EDUFROG APS. Thanks to this contest, I approached a world completely new to me and I learned a lot about psychomotricity and more specifically about the Hungarian pediatrician, Emma Pikler’s work on children in motion. It has been quite hard for me to re-elaborate the illustrations from this experience (you can find it here ), but the result was surprising. At this moment, I cannot show the illustrations because the organizer requested to remain anonymous but I hope to be able to publish them soon…maybe on the awards page. Stay tuned!

The fanzine Lök Zine proposed an open call which tastes like spring meadows, roots and scattered pollens. The theme is "Plants" and I find it very evocative, even though it strictly requires black&white illustrations. My imagination instead tend to work in technicolor, so this is a very good challenge to improve myself and test the power of pure black indian ink on white paper. Actually the black&white filter awoke my scientific gaze, that turned a dahlia into the porphyrin heterocycle of chlorophyll and a whole field into an oxygen and carbohydrates factory crowded with tubes, coils and gears. The title of my two illustration is Photosynthesis.

I love reading and science fiction is one of my favourite genre, so it's been funny finding a cover to re-create for the Concorso EX cover 2016 . The contest is organised by Spazio MIL-Sesto San Giovanni and Archivio Giovanni Sacchi (you can find the call here) and it suggested to select a book about robots. I chose "Supertoys last all summer long" by Brian W. Aldiss, which is neither incredibly famous nor my favourite one, but by chance I recently watched the movie based on it (A.I. - Artificial Intelligence) and I got an idea for my cover at once. Be ready to run to Sesto San Giovanni, where my illustrationwill be exhibited at Archivio Giovanni Sacchi - Spazio MIL during Bookcity from 17th to 20th november.

I'm sure that there will be a lot of competition, but I throw myself into the contest Illustratore dell'Anno - Calendario Città del Sole. Partecipating implies designing a children calendar, proposing a finished illustration and a few sketches. I proposed a project about a monster calendar, where twelve monsters accompany a curious girl through the changing seasons. Nicolò gave rise to this idea while hiking on the sunny heights near home and the werewolf too reminds me a hike near Portofino, that drove us through an flowering steep wood

Time to get on the track of a new illustration contest: this one! The That's a Mole contest suggests to re-elaborate the silhouette of the Mole Antonellina, the major landmark building in Turin. My idea rise from Piazza San Carlo, an important square of Turin, and I imagined that its horse statue got fed up with staying on the pedestal.

It's been running a rather hard year, however I finally managed to grab my brushes and draw an illustration for a contest, "Nicuzza, la magia dell'amore". My work didn't start the best way indeed, somehow I was sold paper that resulted completely unsuitable for gouache, despite the shop keeper's recommendations. Obviously I realised the problem when I had already finished the pencil drawing and there was no time enough to do it again on better paper. However the illustrations look nice and a digital touch will help to solve the matter. The contest is organised by the Children Illustration Festival Illustramente and its subject is a serenade written by Franco Finistrella. I was inspired by these words: "Sutta la to finestra ci siminasti sciuri; e doppu cincu misi garofani sbucciaru. Sù tutti bianchi e russi comu la to facciuzza. Bedda tu si "Nicuzza" comu li ciuri tò." (translation: "You grow the flowers by your window and carnations blossomed after five moths. They are white and red like your face. Nicuzza, you are beautiful like your your flowers".).

I' really moved I finally can leaf through my first picturebook! This lovely booklet publication comes from the 18° Internation Children Illustration Award Scarpetta d'Oro, that I wan. It called for a following pupils challenge to invent a story based on my illustration. The kids of the "G. Marconi" Elementary School (Tombelle di Vigonovo, PD, Italy) wrote the awarded tale . They gave it the title "Gita al Museo" (i. e. "Museum Trip") and this tale tells about an impertinent boy called Giulio (might it be dedicated to me?) and an exhibition of extraordinary shoes.

Ready to gather the children votes! Two my illustrations were selected at the Ronzinante contest and a new exhibition is being organised in Sassuolo, at the Chidren Library Leontine from 7th to 15th November. You can find more info here. Here is the call of the Ronzinante Award , that is organised by Associazione C.R.E.A..

Time to go to Modena: two illustrations of mine were selected among the finalists of Associazione C.R.E.A.. They are being exhibited from 27th April to 11th May at the Sala Paradisino. As the first edition theme, the contest suggests to investigate disability through a disabled Don Quixote. Re-creating the Cervantes' character as a wheel-chaired knight has been pretty challenging. I liked designing the charging Ronzinante as a Paralympic hand bike and imaging book stories as wings that let fly away from the chair (wheeled, or not) towards heroic adventures.

Hooray! My illustration wan the first prize! Its title is "E se le scambiassi? (i. e. What if I exchange mine for these ones?) and it is being exhibited at Castello dei da Peraga – Villa Bettarini a Peraga di Vigonza (PD, Italy) from 19th October to 10th November as the winner of the as the winner of the International Children Illustration Award Scarpetta d'Oro I can say that good ideas can arrive even running to the bus stop. After overthinking the subject "Scarpe su misura" (i. e. "Shoes made to measure") many days long, I suddenly got the proper idea dashing down a steep street in Genoa, Via Papigliano. Apparently the idea was a good one! The contest calls for following steps: elementary schools will be challenged to invent a story based on my illustration and then I'll illustrate the winning tale. So I'll design my first picture book!

I'm really happy I could illustrate a song by Fabrizio De André and, even better, I'm super happy that my illustration featuring "La guerra di Piero" (i. e. Piero's war) was selected and will be exhibited at Albissola comics on 10th and 11th April. Here you find the call of the contest Un Mare di Matite, whose subject are Fabrizio De André's songs, my very favourite songwriter. Among the plethora of amazing songs, I let Piero's thousand poppies inspire me. They remind me very old memories about the stylus creaking on the LP. «E se gli sparo in fronte o nel cuore Soltanto il tempo avrà per morire, ma il tempo a me resterà per vedere, vedere gli occhi di un uomo che muore», translated "And if I aim at his front or at his heart I’ll leave him only the time to die, but I shall have plenty of time to look in the eyes of a dying man".

I got a train ticket bound to Pisa C.le and I'm leaving to go to the exhibition at Pisa Book Festival where my little Marianne is shown. Talent Next 2011 Award proposed the theme "Vive la France (i. e. Long live France) as a tribute to the festival guest country. And so long live my revolutionary Petite Marianne, my little revolutionary Marianne, who crumbles a past made of stained-glass windows, maybe shouting Liberté Egalité Fraternité. Whoever is curious to live watch my illustration can go to Leopolda Station in Pisa, where exhibition is held at Pisa Book Festival.

My illustration is selected and will be exhibited: hooray! I hesitated a lot to try my first children illustration contest and this amazing result is really unexpected. The exhibition is even close to home, in Celle Ligure (SV, Italy), and so I'll be able to live watch it. My drawing is being shown among the other selected works at the independent book fair Libri al Sole from 1st to 3rd July. The contest subject was "Viaggi: di paese in paese, di città in città" (i. e. "Journeys: from country to country, from town to town") and the title of my illustration is "Viaggi Intrecciati" (i. e. "Intertwined journeys").