Zafouko Yamamoto (real name Zafeiroula Simopoulou)
Describe your illustration style in ten words or less.
Describe your illustration style in ten words or less.
That’s a tough one...I really have no idea, maybe a combination of these: Sweet, strange, melancholic, nostalgic can’t find the other six, sorry...
What items are an essential part of your creative space?
What items are an essential part of your creative space?
Colour pencils and paper of course!
Do you have a favourite artistic medium?
Do you have a favourite artistic medium?
An old watercolour palette of mine
Name three artists whose work inspires you.
Name three artists whose work inspires you.
Ohhh there are so many! I don’t know where to begin...Gary Bunt, Akira Kusaka, Taryn Knight but there are so many others!
Who or what inspired you to become an illustrator?
What is your favourite part of the illustration process?
What advice would you give to an aspiring illustrator?
Zafeiroula Simopoulou -also known as Zafouko Yamamoto in the world of illustration- is a Greek illustrator living and working in Thessaloniki, Greece.
She uses different kind of media such as watercolours, gouache, colour pencils and pastels along with layers in Photoshop.
She has collaborated with Alba Publishing House, Tota Books, Ellinoekdotiki Publishing House and more.
For more information, please visit Zafouko's website or follow her on facebook or instagram.
Which artistic period would you most like to visit and why?
I find the Pre-Raphaelites period very mysterious and delicate.
Who or what inspired you to become an illustrator?
It came up very natural, I think that when I was a kid I was inspired by children’s books and the drawings inside them, specifically by an old version of Cinderella that I had read, illustrated by Errol Le Cain.
Can you share a photo of your creative work space or part of the area where you work most often? Talk us through it.
My working space, which is in my room, is usually a mess, papers, ideas, sketches and art materials everywhere! Even in the kitchen. I live in an apartment with no view and I often ‘envy’ those artists who live in cottages with a yard. However I try to keep it cosy and special because this working space is all I have actually!
What is your favourite part of the illustration process?
The research and the colouring part!
What advice would you give to an aspiring illustrator?
Believe in yourself, stay close to your truth.
Zafeiroula Simopoulou -also known as Zafouko Yamamoto in the world of illustration- is a Greek illustrator living and working in Thessaloniki, Greece.
She uses different kind of media such as watercolours, gouache, colour pencils and pastels along with layers in Photoshop.
She has collaborated with Alba Publishing House, Tota Books, Ellinoekdotiki Publishing House and more.
For more information, please visit Zafouko's website or follow her on facebook or instagram.