the jewish ghetto of venice: animations

here is a teaser of the animations I worked on with Amopix and Tangram film as part of the documentary: "500 years of the Ghetto of Venice". The documentary tells the story of the history of the first Jewish Ghetto in the world. you can see the full length animation extracts from the documentary here.

mary and child

may it be a blessed christmas.

Crescendo, a new book

I finally have some time to share my new book with you! It's a story written by my dear friend Susanna, based on an idea for a book that i had started working on about 5 years ago.

I'd come up with an idea about a town where music ceased to exist, and a little boy helped bring it back. I didn't know how to develop the story or find an ending for it, so I asked Susanna for help. I had already made about 5 illustrations, and we took the opposite route. She wrote a beautiful story based on the initial concept, but adding an unexpected twist: the boy is deaf.

After many turmoils (uninterested publishers, a doubtful and lazy illustrator, the finally giving up and leaving the book to gather dust in an abandoned drawer), I am happy to announce that Crescendo has seen the light of day. there are already books out there with my name on it, but I can say that this is really my first, as it goes back to the very beginning of my life as an illustrator.

The title is a play on the musical term which comes from the italian word 'growing'. an apt term in every way.

Susanna has dedicated the story to the Manos Blancas project, an initiative born in Venezuela to bring music to children who are cognitively or hearing impaired.

The book was published in Spain by La Fragatina,  you can find it online in Spanish and Italian.