Q1. Your works have a strong personal style. How did this style come into being? Is there a certain stage or event that has had a decisive influence on your style?
Alessandro: Only after working so much and even imitating the style of others so much, did I understand at a certain point that I had to remove all superfluous references to abandon myself to what truly interested me. I don't remember the precise moment, but recently looking at my drawings from when I was twelve/fourteen years old, I recognized that, despite the naivety, I had a dynamic and strongly energetic mark.
Q2: When creating a series of illustration works, from which aspects do you usually start (content themes, techniques, media used) to maintain the unity and diversity of your series of works?
Alessandro: Usually, I concentrate on one panel until a 'miracle' happens. For me, the miracle is a color, a mark, a cut of the image that I didn't foresee but manifests itself in a natural and spontaneous way. Obviously, all my work is based on courage and the possibility of being amazed, and if this doesn't happen, I wait until I have the right energy to tackle the work.
Q3. Many novice illustrators feel disheartened after collaborating with commercial clients, believing that the content requested by the clients often goes against the original intention of their personal creation. Have you ever encountered such a predicament? Have you ever adjusted your core creative concept due to client needs?
Alessandro: I think that the work of an illustrator is a constantly different adventure depending on the point of view we give it. Being an illustrator can mean accommodating the needs and requests of a client who, however, expects a special vision of things where the character of the illustrator emerges and proposes solutions that the client themselves had not foreseen. In my work, I have always tried to find a balance between the client's needs and my own. When I felt my professional work was particularly guided from the outside, my survival instinct led me to think about and design books completely my own and free from any external interference, so as to abandon myself to my inner world. Surely, my authorial journey has led me to strengthen my identity and therefore to be more confident and determined when dealing with clients of all kinds.
Q4: Novice artists often have a unique obsession with painting materials, believing that excellent illustrators can create unique works only by using certain specific materials. May I ask if you have any particularly preferred tools or materials personally (such as paints of a specific brand or software tools)? How do they help you achieve unique visual effects in your paintings?
Alessandro: I love simple things: paper, brushes, colors, and water. That's it. Digitally, I use the iPad with an application called Procreate with brushes that imitate and reproduce the feel of watercolor on paper. My challenge is trying not to overdo it with details or digital effects, letting the brushstrokes and water work their magic. The mark, like color, needs to be felt within and understood when it works or not. Mark and color reach their full energy when they seem placed there almost by chance, effortlessly – this is what I have always sought.
Q5: What were your greatest gains and regrets in the process of publishing your personal works/ picture books? What advice do you have for novice illustrators who want to publish their personal works?
Alessandro: My satisfactions have always come solely from projects that I felt it was necessary to do. For example, 'Fiume lento' or, as it was titled in America, 'The River,' was a public and personal success because I created it driven by a strong need to express myself in that way, without paying attention to the effort and time that project required. I don't regret anything except perhaps preferring works where I am the total author. The advice I can give to young illustrators is to work tirelessly to try to illuminate their own personal world with colors, marks, perspectives, silences, and mysteries that can make their own imaginary world real and believable.
Q6: What abilities do you think an excellent picture - book illustrator should possess? How do you usually enhance the narrativity of your works through creation
Alessandro: An author and illustrator of picture books must have the courage and strength to say and draw what they truly feel the need to say. Everyone has their own energy and their own vision of the world, and this is seen and read when it appears on the pages of a book. Being authors and illustrators is a profession, and it is true that there are many compromises and discussions among the figures who drive publishing, but an author should be able to maintain their own voice, strong and sure, just like when as a child they could express their feelings with a drawing without filters and without compromises. To be an author of images, you absolutely must have visions to defend in order to bring them to the light of the page. The path that every creator takes is to find the most illuminated road that lights up their inner world like a great sun. Only in this way will the narrative through images be engaging and exciting.
Q7：You have been in the illustration industry for a long time. What do you think are the obvious changes in recent years (such as market demand, copyright environment, and reader preferences)? As a senior illustrator, how should one adapt to these changes? Could you give some advice to the newcomers?
Alessandro：There are many important changes; first of all, many more books are being made than when I started. The quality of publishing houses has risen considerably, making the illustrated book sector a territory of research and communication that interests various audiences, from children of all ages to adult readers and enthusiasts, to people who read poetry and philosophy. The illustrated book is a precious tool that brings families, schools, and individual readers into contact with works of figurative art and literature that blend together. Obviously, I am talking about the best possible situations because the illustrated book for children and young adults is also an object of play and entertainment created by professionals, not only illustrators and writers, but also graphic designers and typographers.
I don't have any particular advice to give regarding work management. I can suggest not being afraid to ask for opinions on one's work from authors and illustrators who have many years of experience, and not to give up if they give judgments that could dampen anyone's enthusiasm. I think that if the fire is lit, it is difficult to extinguish. Respecting and listening is a sign of intelligence, but sooner or later you have to come to terms with who you are, and we cannot afford to lie.
Q8：Social media can boost the works of some novice artists. For example, it can promote their works and help them meet clients. However, some novice artists also think that social media has a negative impact. They often receive messages from fans criticizing that their paintings are not good enough or that their works bear the influence of certain artists. As an illustrator, how do you usually handle your relationship with social media?
Alessandro：My relationship with social media has almost exclusively been based on my work, with communications regarding the release of my books or works in progress that I am carrying out at that moment. I don't have any particular action plans and I often rely on posts written by others that mention my work, and I simply share them. I think it is more important for a young author, compared to a senior one, to receive confirmations and contacts through social media.
Q8: What do you think are the most noteworthy new trends in the field of illustration in the next five years?
Alessandro：Difficult question because everything and the opposite of everything exists. I believe that compared to the past, in the field of illustration, technical virtuosity is not as important as a good idea of a possible world to represent. The represented world can be resolved with a few well-placed marks and colors that do not require further additions from the reader's mind and eye. To do this, one must have very clear ideas and work hard on everything that is put on the page. The illustrator is a director but also a lighting and photography director, as well as a production manager. I like the similarity to the world of cinema because the author/illustrator must keep an eye on many skills related to 'making see.' When I recognize these peculiarities in an illustrator, I feel a certain affinity and interest. I don't know if I answered the question.
Q9: What do you think are the most noteworthy new trends in the field of illustration in the next five years?
Alessandro: Difficult question because everything and the opposite of everything exists. I believe that compared to the past, in the field of illustration, technical virtuosity is not as important as a good idea of a possible world to represent. The represented world can be resolved with a few well-placed marks and colors that do not require further additions from the reader's mind and eye. To do this, one must have very clear ideas and work hard on everything that is put on the page. The illustrator is a director but also a lighting and photography director, as well as a production manager. I like the similarity to the world of cinema because the author/illustrator must keep an eye on many skills related to 'making see.' When I recognize these peculiarities in an illustrator, I feel a certain affinity and interest. I don't know if I answered the question.
Q10: As a renowned illustrator, your works have inspired numerous aspiring illustrators. How do you view novice illustrators learning from your works? Do you think that a similar style among "successors" constitutes a form of plagiarism?
Alessandro: It pleases me to be a role model for young aspiring illustrators, and I think that having a starting point is physiological and natural in the early stages, but then that much-loved and imitated model will transform into something personal, and this is also natural. Plagiarism is a constant danger, but personally, even if I encountered it, I wouldn't recognize it as such but as a tribute to the author, male or female, who is so highly esteemed.
