By Jenny Lu | 5 March 2021
Image Source: Bologna Children’s Book Fair 2021
Bologna Children’s Book Fair 2021 just released its 226 finalists and 77 winners from 3235 participants, including 68 countries and regions a couple of days ago. Today we are taking you to browse through five of the winning illustrators that you don’t want to miss from this year.
As an illustrator and an art lover, you do not want to miss the Bologna Children’s Book Fair. It is a fantastic annual event held in Bologna Fiere (Bologna’s trading center), a great place for illustrators to showcase their work. It’s also a good opportunity for illustrators to talk and meet publishers, agents, authors, and international artists in person.
If you want to get a better understanding of what’s going on in the current children’s books industry, this is definitely the place to learn more about what’s trending right now in children’s publishing. One of the best ways to get noticed by the publishing houses is to attend the annual competition held by Bologna Children’s Book Fair. The competition is open to both published and unpublished illustrators.
Make sure you mark your calendar for this wonderful event which usually takes place in May and the deadline for submitting your work is in October. One of the greatest things about this competition is that you’ll get a free entry ticket to the fair when you submit your work! If you get into the competition, your work will be exhibited at the fair. This is a great opportunity for future commissions from renowned publishers!
Image Source: Bologna Children’s Book Fair 2021
Pei-Hsin Cho is a Taiwanese illustrator and animator who graduated from the Visual Communications department of London’s Royal Academy of Arts. Short pencil strokes, solitary figures, and muted color schemes convey a sense of melancholy in her work.
Pei-Hsin describes herself as an introverted and shy person. She sees art as a vehicle to express and a tool to heal. She wants the viewers to receive a certain amount of emotionally beneficial effects from her artwork. Crown Shyness has been selected among 77 winners from Bologna Children’s Book Fair 2021. View more of Pei Hsin’s work on her website and Instagram.
Image Source: Bologna Children’s Book Fair 2021
Giovanni Colaneri is an Italy-based illustrator. He has a BA degree from Florence Academy of Fine Art and a MA illustration degree from ISIA of Urbino. He’s represented by Phileas Fogg Agency and has worked for private clients, publishing houses, and magazines. He often describes his illustration world as intense, vivid, elusive, and full.
If you are looking for inspiration for vibrant and quirky arrangements of characters and environments in the illustrations, he’s definitely the one that you should check out! View more of Giovanni’s work on hiswebsite and Instagram.
Image Source: Bologna Children’s Book Fair 2021
Katerina Gorelik is a Moscow-based children’s book illustrator and author. She has a law degree and used to work as a lawyer. Now she is a full-time illustrator represented by Verok Agency and has been working for several different publishing houses.
If you are looking for an artist with a quirky style and creating images that are so full of energy and creativity, Katerina is definitely the one! Vivid colors with fun and interesting characters seem to be her signature style that you don’t want to miss! View more of Katerina’s work on her website and Instagram.
Image Source: Bologna Children’s Book Fair 2021
Aina Bestard is a Barcelona-based illustrator who has worked for Camper, Women’s Secret, Chispum and Vialis.
She hopes she can help children to not become insensitive and ignorant adults with her picture books. Aina is also a professional licensing artist whose fantastic illustrations have been published on consumer products for different companies.
The soft and light colors she chose and the interesting shape designs are what make her work so healing and appealing! View more of Aina’s work on her website and Instagram.
Image Source: Bologna Children’s Book Fair 2021
Anna Desnitskaya is a Moscow-based illustrator who graduated from Moscow State University of Printing Arts. She’s a non-fiction children’s book illustrator represented by Debbiebo Agency. Anna always thinks that she’s been inspired by her complex and diverse daily life. She combines both traditional and digital techniques to finish her large detailed illustrations.
If you are struggling with drawing buildings and complicated scenes in perspective, Anna is totally the one to check out. You will find yourself feasting your eyes in a world filled with a bit of realism and a lot of magic! View more of her work on her website and Instagram.
Conclusion
This is our special selection from the latest illustration competition, Bologna Children’s Book Fair 2021, for you today! Who is your favorite winner from Bologna Children’s Book Fair 2021?
Hope you have found some inspiration from these five fantastic illustrators with very intriguing and different styles.
If you enjoy this article, let me know in a comment and subscribe to our blog. You can also check out the author’s illustration website to get more inspiration! Stay creative and happy painting!
