Author S. T. SANCHEZ: Illustrator Interview with Cris Carvalhoss

Today let's welcome to the blog, Illustrator Cris Carvalhoss!

We are so glad to have you with us today, will you please tell us a little about yourself

I am a digital artist based in Brazil. I’m majored in Fashion Design in 2010 and I work as a freelancer illustrator and designer since 2016. I usually make portraits, character design and children’s books. I love to read, I love cats and I just love drawing cute stuff (specially girls).

If there was one thing you wished author’s knew about illustrating what would it be?

I think that I’d like them (and everyone else) to know that illustrating is more than just doing cute stuff on a canvas. It requires a lot of hard work and thinking. It can be kind of tough sometimes, because images are also a message that you spread. So you have to think a lot about what you’re going to communicate, especially to kids. I don’t think that people have this misunderstanding about making art because they’re mean or something like that, it’s just that this part of the work don’t go out a lot. So that’s my message, art is hard work too! :)

I believe you. I can only imagine how much time it takes to achieve perfection. As an author I can just hit delete and start again. With Illustrations you might have to start all over from scratch. How do you communicate with the author on a project? Do you like it when the author gives a lot of direction or just lets you have creative license?

We usually have a more collaborative approach. Starting with the amount of illustrations or spreads that the book will have, to the sketches, composition, colors… We talk about everything, during the whole process. I kind of like it when they give me directions, because I know exactly what they need and what they’re expecting. But creative license is great as well!

What do you typically charge per illustration?

It depends a lot on the kind of illustration. If it’s a simple lineart to a coloring book, now I charge about $15 per illustration. But if the illustration is more complex, like a spread to a picture book, it cost about $45 per illustration. It really depends on the needs of the author, so prices can vary.

Cris, do you have a favorite project that you have worked on?

My favorite so far is an illustration project that I’m working on right now. It’s for a children book, a story about courage of being yourself and I’m doing this with my husband (he’s a writer!). It has been great so far, and I hope I can come up with this soon, because it’s an amazing story and I think it has a great message.

What is your preferred method to illustrate in? Digital? Pencils? Watercolor?

For personal work, any medium is great for me. I love digital, pen and pencils, and I plan to learn about oil painting and watercolor soon. But when it’s about professional work, it’s easier for me to work digitally because of time and high quality of the images. It just helps me to keep the process more organized.

Any last words?

Thank you so much for this opportunity! I really enjoyed your work and it’s an honor for me to be part of it. Best wishes and inspiration for everyone!