New Book! Abecedario Maluco

Last week, I have received this colorful book in my mailbox - Abecedario Maluco, written by Luisa Ducla Soares, illustrated by me in cooperation with the wonderful Illustopia agency. I am really happy about it, took a few pictures with my phone this morning, hope you like them! The book was published by Porto Editora in Portugal this year.


Bologna Book Fair 2015

It has almost become a tradition - and I have realized I actually quite enjoy this - that every time I come back from a book fair or an event I attend, I write a blog about it. It's always nice to sum things up, to know that it might help someone in the future, and to come back to these lines later and read them over. So here is a post about my trip to Bologna Children's Book Fair 2015.

Attending Bologna Fair is now one of the highlights of my year (at least in the working life, hehe). I can't imagine not going there. This year, it was my third time at the book fair. I can now compare it with other book fairs, such as Frankfurt, Montreuil, Prague or Bratislava. Let's say that Bologna is the best place an illustrator can go, if they'd like to get inspired, get in touch with people from the market, present their work and get to know other illustrators. It's not as huge as Frankfurt - but I found Frankfurt a bit off topic when it comes to dealing with creatives, and not too small, like Montreuil.
What are the reasons to attend Bologna Book Fair if you are still in doubt?

Firstly, it's the best place to go opportunity-wise (for illustrators, of course)
If you are just starting out, or if you are looking for ways to get your work abroad, this might be the right place to begin with. Most of the people from the children's publishing market are here, and most importantly - a lot of the publisher bring their art directors or editors along to (among other things) interview the illustrators. There is always someone to talk with you about your work.

Bologna is a good place to meet fellow illustrators
An illustrator's job may sometimes get lonely. Let's face it, sitting at your desk all day is not the funniest thing to do all year round. I share a studio with other creative people now (illustrators, graphic designers), but I also like to meet new people and keep in touch with other illustrators, that I don't meet daily. Spread your net wide and speak to them! Let people know you're going - share it in the social media world. If you don't find out who from the illustration world is going beforehand, no reason to worry, you'll probably meet new faces queuing for the meetings.

Keep your eyes open for inspiration, Bologna is a great for this!
There is so many beautiful books! Plenty of wonderful illustration work! Get inspired, keep your eyes open, visit the illustrator's exhibition in the entrance hall. Pay attention to what is going on outside the Fair (there are lots of things going on in the evening in the city - exhibition openings etc.)
 

I would also like to share some advice. After three years of attending, I have a better insight of things I did wrong and things I would like to do better (or same! haha) nex time:

Get confident about yourself and about the work that you do!
Trust me, I know how hard it is to get courage and speak to people. I used to give my little sister my pocket money to call other people on the phone back in the old days. That's not the "me"you want to bring to a book fair. It's not easy, but once you start asking around, speaking to people, and you'll see them respond positively to your work, it will get better.

Don't get upset if the publisher won't speak with you. Ask for the art director's business card or contact details. This might be even more important than speaking to the person. Always ask for the email address. This way, you can follow up after the book fair with a link to your website or samples of your work.

Get to know the publisher. Take a look at their book showcase. 
Before approaching someone at the stand, take a look at the books displayed. Does your style fit? This year, I saved myself a lot of time actually "not"speaking to publishers who rejected me before, or whose stand looked nothing like my portfolio.

 Meet new folks and old friends!
Every year, I arrange a meeting my agent, Ines, who is the nicest lady in the world. We meet in the entrance hall and speak about work and life. I also like to go to dinner with other illustrators or publishers I already worked with. It's never as serious as speaking at the book fair and it can actually be very useful and refreshing! (and I also like to shake hands with publishers I worked with at the fair - never miss a familiar face! :-)

Visit the city of Bologna!
During my previous visits, I always tried to book a place to stay as close to the Fair as possible. This year, my friend Daniela and I booked an apartment via Airbnb (oh, how I love this service!) directly in the center of Bologna. Could not make a better decision! Having dinner in the city (the food at the Fair is not that good, really, you have something to look forward to once you get into the town) seems to be the best possible reward after a hard day at the Fair.

Bring someone with you, if you can. Have a backpack and comfy shoes. Bring plenty of promotional materials. Don't wear yourself out.
At last (but not least), all of the above is the best you can do. But I blogged about these earlier here and here and here. I also find Laura Wood's blogs a great source of inspiration and a soooo useful! You can read her last Bologna post here.

So! Not sure if anyone is still here, hahaha :-) Still, I hope someone finds this blog useful and I really do hope this might help other illustrators have a successful Fair and enjoy their visit in Bologna! See you next year!


The Meadow Board Book

For the past few weeks, I have been working on this extremely illustrated board book project - The Meadow. It's another great cooperation with the wonderful folks at B4U Publishing - check out their website here, they have so many fab projects! 

Anyways, the book is full of bugs, bees, flowers and other plants, it's also very interactive - lots of peek-a-boo holes, flaps to flip through, look and finds etc. It's really fun!

Will definitely let you know when the book is available for purchasing! Happy Thursday!

If you'd like to see more illustrations, please check out my Behance: https://www.behance.net/gallery/24582371/The-Meadow


My work finally on Behance!

I was so much behind on this - I just couldn't get myself to finally create web galleries of my illustrations and book projects. But now I made it! Hundred years after all my creative friends went online, I finally joined the Behance world and am so excited to get feedback from fellow creatives and browse all the wonderful projects out there. See you there!
https://www.behance.net/marianeradova


Axioma's Big Book of Jobs is Out!

Yesterday I got an email from publisher Ivana Kocmanova of Axioma Praha. that our Big Book of Jobs is out. I can't wait to get the samples! This book was so much fun! If you'd like to order a copy of your own, please visit Axioma's website, where you can easily get as many books as you like. They also have other titles, which are great too! http://www.axioma.cz/knihy/encyklopedie/nina-chce-byt-rockovou-zpevackou-mala-encyklopedie-povolani.htm

Easter Illustrations for Slunicko Magazine

From time to time, I just really love it when a short-term job comes in. I can fully focus on just the illustration part for a day or two and enjoy working, because there is usually less administration and emailing involved :-) Such case is always a very lovely cooperation with the Czech magazine Slunicko. This time they asked for a cover with Easter theme (already!). Loved it!

 

Space Illustration

For the past couple of days I have been working on a space illustration for Focus Pico magazine, in cooperation with my wonderful agent Ines from Illustopia agency. I just loved the theme! Tried to pick colors that would support the whole colorfullnes (is that even a word? haha) of the galaxies and planets and spaceships. Here is a little sneak peek - made a few shots of the whole illustration. Moving on to the next project!
 



Winter!







 



 

Back to work after the Montreuil book fair! I am very happy that most of my jobs are winter and Chrismas themed now, it makes much more sense than working on something like this in the end of the Summer (that happenes too!) So this one was just pure joy and will be on the cover of a kindergarten workbook. I keep myself busy with the Calendar and Chrimstas sales, too. Will be also doing a workshop with kids this weekend for a design shop called Kapsula https://www.facebook.com/Kapsula.popupstudio
Stop by if you're around!

Montreuil Book Fair 2014


I know, I know! It's starting to feel like I am doing a Tour de European book fairs this year (I actually might be doing it as I think about it, haha!). Anyways, I've been really busy last few weeks and then right after I met all the deadlines I had to, I jumped on the plane and together with my wonderful illustrator friend Daniela Olejnikova (check out her work at www.daniole.com) we took on to Paris (ah oui...). Daniela was actually invited by the Literary Centre to take part in some workshops with children and to present her work in front of quite a few publishers who seemed interested in what she does. I decided to go ahead and join her, because I always feel I learn a lot when I travel, meet new people and try to do the illustration business outside my own country.


As for the Montreuil book fair (http://www.salon-livre-presse-jeunesse.net/), I have to say I really liked it and enjoyed it. For an illustrator, it just feels more welcoming than Frankfurt Buchmesse, although I still think Bologna Book Fair offers the most opportunities of all the European fairs I've been to. Montreuil is aiming purely on the children's and young adult market. And it does so with the help of illustration, so it seems like the right place to be for an illustrator. However, the approach is a bit different from the others. You register on the website to get a professional admit and then somehow, you're supposed to sign up for the meetings with the publishers (note: there are only French publisher available for appointments, but they do speak English, so don't be shy, heh), which are scheduled really tight. Now, I might sound a bit dumb, but I really was not able to figure this out. I could not even find an English version of the site, aaaaaah. Well, I do realize that sometimes it is not that easy to get around France (and French) without any knowledge of their language. I do have some knowledge, but it seems like it still wasn't enough. Anyways, now I know what Mice is, be sure you look for that when you enter the website and don't speak French. Watch out for the registration date for the publisher appointments (I've spoke to some illustrators while waiting in line and was told the site fell down immediately after the reg started) and hope for the best. Have some knowledge on what you're aiming for. Know the publishers. Don't be depressed if you did not get a spot with Thierry Magnier, when your place might rather be with Milan. Montreuil book fair will still be a great experience, even though you might feel that the market competition is just overwhelming (the place for publisher appointments really looked like a speed-dating spot). Just have the courage, grab your books and portfolio and go. It's fun! And it's in Paris! Ha!

Before I finish this little blog, I would really like to thank the wonderful people at the Ecoles de Conde in Paris. I was able to be a part of the conference they held for Daniela and another great young illustrator from Lithuania, Karolis Strautniekas (http://strautniekas.com/) and it just felt so welcoming. I would like to thank especially to the professors, Francois and Isabelle (sorry if I misspelled the names, aaah) who invited us for dinner in their own home. Thank you!






 



Here is a blog they keep at the school: http://condeciap.blogspot.sk/2014/11/daniela-olejnikova-karolis-strautniekas.html

Oh and one more thing - or rather a tip - if you ever find yourself going to Paris and are on a budget - be sure to check out a charming little hotel called Hotel Stella - http://hotel-stella.voila.net/, it is in the heart of Paris with lots of restaurants and cafes around and you won't spend a fortune staying here. It really is a great little place!

Zona Bez Penazi Promo Banner




A friend of mine asked me to do a promotional banner for a nice event they do every year here in Slovakia - they call it "Zona bez penazi". People can just come and exchange things they don't need anymore, that someone else might find use for. There is more info on their website in case you'd like to check that out: http://www.projekt-zivot.sk/zona/

The assignment said it needs to show things people usually bring - like books, clothes, toys etc. And I was allowed to make it look childish :-) So here I come! I thought you might like to see some sketches as well, so I am showing those this time, too. Let me know what you think! Speak soon!

Kindergarten Book Project in Progress





Hello there! I have no time to slack on this week! :-) Seems like there will be a lot to do in the upcoming weeks. Recently, I've been working on a project for kindergartens, lots of animals, children, nature stuff and so on. It's been quite a lot of fun actually! I'll be doing more posts on this. Hopefully I'll be able to get the MATS school post ready too for you guys to read! Speak soon!

New Work - Fairy Tale Illustration






 

 

Long time no see! Finally I got a minute to blog a bit about what I've been up to recently. And guess what! I've been actually drawing some cute human characters, not animals this time! And it actually was not a painful thing to do! :-) And a sneak peek for the next post - I am taking the Make Art that Sells class now, organized by Lilla Rogers Studio, so I'll tell you more about that soon! (so far a great experience!)