AOI Mentorship and Mentors (*Applications Closed*)
We are delighted to introduce our wonderful mentors who are generously sharing their time and expertise with our community.
The scheme is designed by illustrators for illustrators and is coordinated by The AOI. There is no cost to take part. Applications are open to all illustrators who are underrepresented in our industry. You do not need to be a member of the AOI to apply.
As well as Illustrators, our mentors include agents who are looking to support people underrepresented in the agenting field, either at the early stage of their career, or who are considering moving into being an agent.
How it works
Mentees will have six sessions (online) with their mentor over a 3-6 month period. In the first session you will agree a basic contract, including when you will meet, what you will achieve, and any challenges that you can identify.
Mentees are asked to set up to three goals to achieve during their mentorship. This might be developing a new technique or skills, getting more confident in negotiation, or working in a new area. They don’t have to be world changing- just game changing for you.
Mentees will be expected to work on agreed areas between meetings. You’ll have a task(s) set to go away and do before the next meeting.
At the end of the sessions, you will write a short report for the AOI, summarising your mentorship and identifying your next steps.
PROMOTION: The AOI will share the great work of mentees on the website and social media platforms, offering valuable promotion to the industry.
PEER SUPPORT: We will also create a space for mentees to get to know each other, creating a network which can be helpful at the end of the scheme.
How to apply
Applications are open to all illustrators and agents underrepresented within this industry.
You must submit one PDF attachment comprising of;
1. A short covering letter, including:
- Why you’d like to be a mentee
- 3 goals you’d like to achieve during the mentorship
- Your availability for the mentorship sessions (ie anytime, evenings only, weekends only). This may impact the availability of mentors.
- How you consider yourself to be underrepresented in the industry*
2. A CV with a link to a folio or website.
*We are aware there is a breadth of background and experiences which may be considered ‘underrepresented’ and are therefore not providing definitions which may be limiting. It is an eligibility criteria that is self-determined.
It may include disabled illustrators, illustrators living with a learning disability, illustrators of colour, refugees or asylum seekers, LGBTQ+ illustrators, illustrators who are young parents or carers, illustrators from low-income households (a household income of under £25K or comparable) or illustrators who have not had a university education.
Please send your application directly to [email protected]
Dates
Applications must be received by midnight Tuesday 19th March 2024. (GMT)
Meet our previous mentees!
2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020
Our 2024 Mentors are:
Chanté Timothy
Chanté Timothy is an award winning illustrator whose work is filled with vibrant colour and expressive characters that jump off the page.
A rising star in the industry, Chanté’s work has been published in a total of 11 books in her first three years as a children’s book illustrator. Best known for her work in Hey You! – by Dapo Adeola, Daddy Do My Hair (series): Beth’s Twists and Deji’s Haircut, My Big Mouth by Steven Camden, and most recently the Keisha Jones series by Natalie Denny.
Viola Wang
Viola Wang is a visual artist and author working in a range of areas including painting, bookmaking, illustration, murals, and education. Diversity and inclusion are underlying themes throughout Viola’s practice as an artist and storyteller. An award-winning children’s book author and illustrator, her books have been translated into multiple languages and distributed globally. While investigating the many ways to empower children through arts, her work also functions as a platform and starting point for this topic. Printmaking is at the core of her practice. She enjoys experimenting with a wide range of printmaking techniques and developing various visual languages for her illustration and fine-art practice.
Her recent prints have been exhibited in the RA Summer Show, the Transport Museum for London, and Woolwich Contemporary Art Fair. Viola is also a passionate educator, specialising in illustration for children’s literature. She has taught at Cambridge School of Art, the University for Creative Arts and Kingston University. Viola grew up in Beijing, China; she currently lives and works in London.
Sean O’Brien
Sean O’Brien is an illustrator working out of a sunny studio in Brighton, UK. His illustration practice is defined by a love of traditional drawing and mark making and can be found in magazines, newspapers, books, walls and beyond. Sean’s work has also seen him co-direct projects with Minute Books, which have been featured on It’s Nice That and also the Observer. A selected client list includes The Guardian, Hachette Children’s, Dog’s Trust, Monocle, Rouleur and Cyclist Magazine.
Carina Lindmeier
Carina is a freelance illustrator from Austria. Specializing in digital illustration, her work is characterized by a contemporary and playful style, featuring layers of textures, vibrant patterns, and bold colors. With her unique style and passion for her craft, Carina has worked with big brands such as Adobe, Bombay Sapphire, or Penguin Random House. In addition, Carina is also passionate about sharing her passion and knowledge with others. She is always looking for opportunities to network and connect with people in the industry and has held several illustration workshops and community events. This not only showcases her dedication to her craft but also her desire to help others grow and develop their skills.
Claudine O’Sullivan
Now based in Glasgow after a decade in London, Irish artist Claudine O’Sullivan has gained industry spotlight for her distinctive hand drawn illustrations, featured in the worldwide Apple Pencil campaign, which won the World Illustration Awards Professional Advertising category. Her uniquely traditional drawing style has appealed to established brands such as Twitter, MTV, Island Records, WeTransfer, Tiger Beer and Derwent Pencils. Claudine has hosted a number of workshops and industry events with the Royal Academy of Arts, Cass Art, Apple and John Lewis.
Claudine graduated from University of the Arts London with a First Class Honours degree in Graphic Design. Her adaptable, design focused approach to art is reflected in the diversity of her commercial portfolio and client base.
Ollie Hirst
Ollie is an award-winning Conceptual Illustrator, based in Manchester, UK and illustration makes him tick. Though it’s not the only thing that does. He’s a lifelong cardiac pacemaker patient. So, whilst he puts his heart into drawing, it gets help from time to time. Ollie has a natural affinity to science, tech, health and the human experience and likes his work to hinge on a strong idea, diluting complex topics into digestible visual concepts, helped by a splash of colour.
Ollie’s illustration spans across editorial & advertising, working with the likes of BBC, Boehringer Ingelheim, The British Heart Foundation, Citroën, Genomics England, Harvard Business Review, The Lancet, New Scientist, The New York Times, TED and has been recognised by The Association of Illustrators, The Directory of Illustration, Communication Arts, 3×3, The World Brand Design Society, The One Club for Creativity and D&AD.
Ari Liloan
Ari Liloan is Filipino/Italian illustrator living and working in Berlin. Her favorite subjects to draw center timeless topics such as power, money, science, death, love and fried chicken. Outside of work you usually find her developing vegan recipes or losing at overcomplicated board games.
Her clients include the likes of Google, Microsoft XBOX, Facebook, Pepsi, Penguin Random House, Time Magazine and The New York Times. Ari is represented by Roar illustration agency.
Kingsley Nebechi
Kingsley Nebechi is a Nigerian-born, Italian-raised graphic designer, illustrator and artist based in Hertfordshire. Kingsley’s kaleidoscope of creative ideas bloom in combination with his unique illustration style.
He made his debut in 2017 with his solo exhibition entitled ‘A Soulful Mind’ in which he showcased works form his personal experiences in life drawn from his well of creativity. Since then, Kingsley has progressed his talents to a greater plateau, working on various campaigns from publishing and advertising to sports and media. Notable clients include Nike, Electronic Arts, Apple, Google, Island Records, The Guardian, among many others.
Monika Jurczyk AKA Monsie
Originally from Poland, Monika’s yearning for adventure and the unknown took her to live and work in Spain, Japan, SE Asia, France, the US and now Scotland. It was in Tokyo where she earned her professional moniker and personal nickname – Monsie.
Monika’s approach to illustration is minimal yet playful. She loves working with bold colors, fluid lines and whimsical shapes to create characters that can smoothly inhabit editorial and advertising worlds.
Monsie’s clients include Adobe / Harvard Business Review / HSBC / ING / LA Times / Like the Wind Magazine / PBS / Refinery29 / The Guardian / Vans.
Monsie took part in the AOI Mentorship Scheme in 2021. Read more here.
Agent Mentor! Ryan Claydon
Ryan Claydon is a director and agent, championing a diverse range of artists from all walks of life, in the illustration, CGI and animation industry.
He is the founder of A Human Agency, representing some of the best contemporary illustrators and artists working today. A Human Agency is one of the first – if not the first – artist management agency to partner with charities, NGOs and NFPs.
A Human Agency believes in “art as a vehicle for change”.
Laurindo Feliciano
Laurindo Feliciano is a Brazilian contemporary artist, illustrator and art director living and working in France since 2003. Inspired by his own collection of vintage books, magazines, postcards and letters, he created a big amount of illustration works over the years, using different techniques as collage and digital painting. All his Illustrations and posters share a certain nostalgic flair and a great passion for surrealism.
Laurindo’s work has been published and exhibited in several countries and recognised in 2014 by the AOI in the Professional editorial category. Among his clients and collaborations: Netflix, Le Monde, Heineken, Universal Music, Musée des Arts Décoratifs/Paris, Victoria & Albert Museum, British Airways, WIRED, The Financial Times, Nestlé, The Wellcome Collection, Penguin Vintage, and many others.
Marcus Marritt
Marcus Marritt is an illustrator and graphic artist living and working in Glasgow. His work is based on a minimal approach with a focus on light and shadow. A former Studio and Creative Services Director in agencies across the UK, Australia and New Zealand, Marcus has been working full time as an illustrator for 6 years.
Clients include UEFA, Fever-Tree, The FA, British GQ, Politico Europe, Aston Villa, WIRED, The Wall Street Journal, Chelsea FC, BT Sports, NPR, The Financial Times, Siemens, Truman’s Brewery, Arsenal FC, Barron’s, The Guardian … and more.
Matt Murphy
Matt Murphy is an award-winning, British illustrator based in Dorset, UK. Renowned for his conceptual approach, delicate textures and confident colour palettes, his work is full of mystery and meaning, leaving us wanting to find out more about the characters he depicts.
Matt is represented by Handsome Frank and his clients today include Johnnie Walker, Adele, The Guardian, Stella Artois, and Penguin Books. Matt’s engaging and thought-provoking work perfectly suits editorial and literary-based projects due to his ability to communicate conceptual ideas with intelligent simplicity. From his studio in Dorset, Matt combines his two loves: nature and music.
Agent Mentor! Matthew Shearer
Matthew Shearer is an Agent at Bernstein & Andriulli, looking after a roster of around 50 Illustrators, Animators, CGI Artists and Muralists from all over the world.
Since graduating from Cardiff School of Art & Design with a Degree in Printmaking, Matthew has spent his career in Artist Service, starting in Marketing at London Print Studio before working for years as the Membership Manager of the AOI. During this time he was able to advise Members on every possible type of commission, contract and situation, experience that was crucial to his next role as an Agent.
As an Agent, Matthew sources projects for his Roster from Clients all across the UK and EU, maintains those Client relationships and oversees the projects from commission to delivery.
Montana Forbes
Montana Forbes is a fashion, beauty and lifestyle illustrator of 17 years with a graphic design and fine art background. Inspired by the psychology of fashion and the narrative of individual style, she’s an expert in the field and is an (AOI) Association of Illustrators board member.
She collaborates and works on wide-ranging commissions from notable publications, high profile brands to international institutions with clients such as Condé Nast, Random House, Capital Records, Harrods, The BBC and The National Costume Museum in Berlin where some of her fashion illustrations are held as part of their permanent collection.
She is passionate about sustainable fashion and advocating diversity in illustration and the arts.
Owen Davey
Owen Davey is an award-winning Illustrator from the UK. He has worked with clients including Google, Facebook, Sony, Lego and National Geographic. He is the lead illustrator on the multi-award winning app Two Dots and has produced many picture books over the years, most notably the non-fiction ‘About’ series with Flying Eye Books, which began with ‘Mad About Monkeys’ in 2015. These books have been published in every continent except Antartica. He won Best of Show and two Silver Awards in the 3×3 Professional Show 2019.
Owens clients include Google / Facebook / Pottermore / Sony / AirBnB / Nobrow / TFL / Lego / The Guardian / New York Times / National Geographic / BBC / GQ / Walker Books / British Airways / Virgin / Orange / Guinness / Microsoft & many more …
Rachelle Panagarry
Professional Illustrator, and Lecturer in Illustration, Rachelle Panagarry has a long background in the arts sector.
Rachelle’s illustration and artwork has been published worldwide with clients including; Bloomsbury Publishing, NFER, Interweave Press, Stampington Studios and more. Rachelle has previous experience as Creative Director and Artist Agent, focussing on representing illustrators and surface pattern designers and continues to offer mentoring services and portfolio reviews to recent graduates and established illustrators. Rachelle is also the host of ‘Hand Drawn & Quartered’, the AOI Meet Up group in Preston.
Ngadi Smart
Ngadi Smart is a Sierra Leonean Visual Artist and Designer based between London, U.K and Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. Her practice consists of Illustration, Photography and Design. Ngadi also works as a mixed media artist, primarily in the form of collage art. In her Illustration work, she is motivated by the representation of minorities, highlighting cultural identity and racial discrimination, as well as themes on Feminism and gender roles.
In particular,Ngadi likes to deconstruct mainstream society’s preconceived views of what the definitions of “normal”, “beautiful”, and “right” are. Clients include The Guardian, Time Out London, Eastpak, as well as for publishing houses including Penguin’s Riverhead Books and Faber’s Children.
Ngadi took part in the inaugural pilot AOI Mentorship Scheme in 2020. Read more here.
Agent Mentor! Amy Simpson
Amy Veried is an Agent at B&A, looking after a roster of around 50 Illustrators, Animators, CGI artists and production companies from all over the world.
Since graduating from Manchester School of Art with a Degree in Illustration and Animation, Amy has spent her career looking after and helping artists. She is able to advise on all sectors where illustration and animation can be used, every possible type of commission and contract.
As an Agent, Amy loves working predominantly in advertising and seeing projects come to life out and about in the world.
Please contact [email protected] with any questions.
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