Today’s guest taking center stage is none other than talented illustrator, Tiffany Laurencio! Our e-book RIGHT THIS INSTANT was recently released at the MeeGenius Bookstore. When I learned I was being paired with Tiffany I was thrilled! She truly helps the words and characters come alive with her vibrant, whimsical illustrations. I was especially delighted at how Eli and Grandpa’s personalities are captured. I am honored to be sharing her interview with you today.
Hello Tiffany! Let’s start things off by having you share your favorite flower?
I have 2 favorite flowers! Is that okay? I love the combination of Hydrangeas and Sunflowers!
Tell us a little about yourself? How did you get your start as an illustrator?
I’ve always wanted to be an illustrator and I knew I wanted to go to college for it. At Montserrat College of Art I majored in illustration and had some amazing teachers who were children’s book illustrators and authors. Although I took the usual painting, drawing, and liberal arts courses; I was also offered a lot of classes on business and self promotion. That gave me the confidence to pursue freelance illustration while still in school.
Your style is so whimsical and beautiful. Can you tell us a little bit about what inspires your work?
Thank you! Inspiration for my work comes mostly from the New England area whare I live and grew up. When Iwas little my family lived in New Hampshire where there were a lot of woods and farms. It was very secluded. Our house was on a dirt road in the middle of the woods. We also spent a lot of time on or by the ocean in Gloucester, Massachusetts. I had the mysterious woods and the dramatic ocean to daydream about all through my childhood. My Mother’s family all come from Lowell, Massachusetts which is an ethnic melting pot. Diversity is celebrated there through lots of festivals and so I also love to make illustrations with cultural themes.What medium do use to create your illustrations? I use a few different mediums in my illustrations. It’s a technique that I learned and worked on with a few of my teachers at Montserrat (specifically Kelly Murphy and Lee Wolf). The paintings is mostly acrylic; but over and under the acrylic are washes of watercolor paint layered with gel medium. Sometimes I also use a layer of collaged paper, oil paint, or transfers.You seem to wear many hats as an illustrator and a designer. What is your favorite part of what you do?Creating characters is my favorite thing to do! Especially when they are in an environment.What are working on right now?Right now I’m halfway through my second book for MeeGenius. It’s called ‘The Queens Game’. I also do a lot of product designs for a pet product company and so I’ve been doing a lot of characters for toys in the last couple months. Product testing with the dogs is always a blast!What is your favorite animal?Unicorns are my favorite animal. They totally count, right?What piece of advice can you offer young artists and designers to help advance their careers?Draw, doodle and sketch as much as possible.Thanks for joining us today, Tiffany! You can view more of Tiffany’s work at her website and in the e-book RIGHT THIS INSTANT from MeeGenius. You can also check out the Activities page to download fabulous coloring sheets designed by Tiffany that pair with the book.