Picasso Pictures is delighted to announce the signing of an incredibly talent designer, illustrator and animation director Caroline Attia. Fresh from the centre of Paris where she lives and works, we met up for un tasse de thé and caught up with all things Caroline...
CA: Thanks! I am based in Paris but I travel to London a lot.
CA: I started drawing heavily at the age of 6. I knew then this was my thing and it’s always been very hard to imagine myself doing anything else than that for a living. When I was 12, I saw an ad in a magazine for Disney, they were hiring animators for their brand new studio in Montreuil (where I live now!). That’s how I first discovered people were actually making a living creating and animating characters, from that moment I knew I wanted to get into animation and I kept going in that direction with my studies.
CA: I guess my 'Monsieur Martin' trailer. Firstly because 'Monsieur Martin' is my first book as both a writer and an illustrator, and secondly because I had a lot of fun doing it, it does really represent my style at the moment.
PP: And what were you influences that kept you going from a young age?
CA: I have many influences, it's really hard to narrow it down. I guess Franquin when I was younger was my favorite comic artist and Claire Wendling as well. Of course, my work does not relate to them anymore, but I still think what they do is amazing. I am very fond of Michael Dudock de Witt films, and his feature 'The Red Turtle' did not disappoint me. I also love Saul Bass and it surely has been a great influence in helping me simplify things! In kidlit, I should say, Jon Klassen, Olivier Jeffers, Marc Boutavant, Sasek, among others are people I look up to!
PP: What inspires you?
CA: I love walking and taking photos
of houses, streets that I think I could use later as an inspiration for one of
my projects.
My husband is a painter, I go to a lot of galleries and look at paintings, photography as well as contemporary drawing and etching.
Travelling is also a great source of inspiration. Oh yes and a great
new source of inspiration for me is baby stuff! I was asked to design some baby clothes and accessories and really enjoyed that.
PP: Finally, can you tell us something about yourself that people would never know?
CA: Well, I used to do pole
dancing and was really into it for a few years. It’s a really great workout,
it’s very demanding and it has an element of risk to it so it really helps with self
confidence. I had to stop when I got pregnant, and haven’t gotten back yet. For
now I am doing Yoga and it’s very soothing.
