A warm welcome to Ilaria Perversi
Ilaria Perversi is an Italian illustrator based in Milan, Italy. She grew up surrounded by picture books and animated movies, so it was not a surprise when she decided to study Digital Animation at school and then to specialise in illustration. Ilaria likes to change and grow through new and exciting projects. She loves to vary and to draw for stationery articles, animated short movies, board games, toys, pattern design, picture books and so on. She has a weakness for funny, chubby and silly billy characters and when possible she tries to stick them in every project, even if only in the background. When Ilaria goes to the market, she always comes back with a new plant. She dreams of a life in a house on an Italian hill, looking at the sea, surrounded by big dogs and happy chickens, her favourite animals.
Below is a Q&A with Ilaria so you can get to know her more
When did you start illustrating?
I think I always drew since I was a kid. In school, I loved the artistic subjects, and during other classes, like terrible math, I used to draw on my notes. But I really started considering illustration as a real job only during my three years at the School of Cinema, in Milan.
Who has been the most supportive in your illustration career, perhaps your teacher, family, friends?
I think everyone always knew I was born for something artistic, but I will be forever glad to my parents for their great trust in me. They always let me choose what I wanted to do, even if they barely know the world of illustration.
Did you always think art was something that was going to be a major part of your life?
When I was sixteen I loved Tim Burton so much that I decided I was going to be a film director. I graduated in Digital Animation, I studied singing, acting, I danced for many years… So yes, I always thought that my life would be full of art, in some way.
What is your favourite subject matter to illustrate?
I love to draw animals. I usually choose the most strange or underestimated ones. I adore drawing chubby characters, like platypus, walrus, manatees… But my favourite subject matter to illustrate is definitely chickens!
How would you describe your style?
Colourful, roundish, ironic, sweet, funny.
What is your favourite collaboration to date?
I’m a proud mama of all of my works, so I can’t really choose only one of them! But I will always be affectionate to my first picture book, “Abita qui Mimì?”, published in 2018 by Verbavolant Edizioni.
What interested you about being represented by Illo Agency?
After these dark times, I wanted to refresh and restart my career going beyond my comfort zone. I wanted to explore new horizons and the doors of my creativity to the entire world. I really hope to start a lot of new colourful, international and fresh projects, I can’t wait!
Do you have a favourite author, film director, or designer?
The works of Beatrice Alemagna and Rebecca Dautremer are amazing and iconic. I had the chance to meet Antonio Lupatelli aka Tony Wolf when he was still alive. It was touching because I grew up with his giant picture books. He will always be an important part of my artistic growth.
Are you working on any personal projects you can share with us?
I would like to improve my artistic skills with some traditional methods like pastels. We’ll see!
Do you listen to podcasts? If so, do you have a favourite?
Yes, I listen to a lot of podcasts when I work! The last one, “Proprio a me”, was about emotional dependency. I also listen to audiobooks and the last one was “Storia della mia ansia” by Daria Bignardi, I liked it a lot.
If you have any questions or a specific project in mind, please do get in touch: [email protected]
at illo agency, we pride ourselves in representing a collation of global illustrators, distinctly diverse in creativity and uniquely celebrated by like-minded clients across a range of commercial markets.