Christopher Sabat

Christopher Sabat Instagram – Nine years ago at a convention in Australia I met a quirky fan artist named Mel. She was a nervous wreck, self-conscious and overly apologetic (which isn’t entirely uncommon for an Australian anime fan) but her offbeat demeanor made her instantly likable and endearing. And when she shared her art with me for the first time, a little handmade book of illustrations about a fingerprint that becomes something more, I was immediately a fan of hers. Her style was just as quirky and frenetic as she was. Her illustrations were smudgy and raw and dripping with the kinds of emotions you don’t see in art very often. (I still have the book and I have included some of the images in this post for you to see.) I gushed over her how much I loved her style and technique, but Mel wasn’t the type of person who knew how to see her own value. (She still doesn’t, but she’s working on it.) Over the years we’ve kept in touch and I’ve tried to encourage her to share her talents, to get a stalll at artist alley and even sell her drawings to support herself and her craft. It took some time, but she eventually surpassed her fears and did it. And in true Mel fashion, she did it in the most eccentric and funny way, cosplaying as Monkey D Luffy and doing childlike Luffy-style commissions in character.
Fast forward to today: Mel has just been published for the first time, as an illustrator on an Australian children’s book called “No! Never!”, which I just received in the mail. The story isn’t hers, but her art is what makes she book special, leaping off the pages in a perfectly dynamic, engaging way. I can imagine children losing themselves into the pictures while a parent reads to them. I can’t wait to share this to my own children and imprint Mel’s brilliance into their adorable developing brains.
@mel.odica — I am so very proud of you. And if you continue to believe in yourself even a fraction as much as I believe in you—-you are going to have such a wonderful career. See you soon, friend.
#illustrator #childrensbookillustration #overcominganxiety #friendship | Posted on 24/Jun/2020 10:13:11