Giulio Lardera
Giulio Lardera is a freelance illustrator and graphic designer based in Milan, Italy.
After achieving a bachelor’s degree in classics, he decided to change course and focus on his passion for drawing. In 2019 he majored in graphic design and illustration at ISIA Urbino, Italy.
Inspiration comes from many sources, from surrealist art and metaphysical painting to the Japanese decoration tradition. He states, “anything can be a reference, an epic scene form a pop movie, contemporary indie comics or just a well-lit shot.”
Giulio likes to combine geometrical shapes, designed with fine pencil lines, with pictorial elements made with acrylics or watercolours. The main goal is to create contrasts between different media and then resolve them through a calibrated balance of weights and shapes on the paper. He replicates the same approach on digital media, using Adobe Illustrator or Adobe Photoshop to create a more graphical result.
He aims to bring the viewer to a suspended but colourful world, made by basic elements, which can evoke different messages and personal interpretations. His style suits the world of children’s picture books, as well as the editorial illustration field. His Back to Nature series of illustrations earned him the third prize in the 2019 Shanghai CICLA Original Illustration Exhibition and one of his works has been selected for the 2020 Children Spectators Competition, included in the 2020 Bologna Children’s Book Fair.