
About Jacopo Olivieri – aka Fatomale
Jacopo Oliveri, Fatomale, is an illustrator and graphic designer primarily based in Genoa. His type is characterised by daring colours and a playful, narrative strategy, bringing on a regular basis tales to life via his illustrations. His influences vary from graphic design and classic visible tradition to up to date artwork and nature.
Though he primarily works digitally, Jacopo enjoys experimenting with conventional strategies, corresponding to collage, Uniposca markers, and oil pastels.
He has collaborated with purchasers like De Morgen, Internazionale Youngsters, and Il Corriere. He commonly participates in illustration markets, showcasing his prints and self-produced works. Along with his illustration apply, he organizes business occasions, together with I’M Market in Genoa, which serves as an area for illustrators, publishers, businesses, and the general public to attach.
We had an opportunity to interview him!
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Hi there Jacopo, and welcome to Hue&Eye! To start with, inform us the place you grew up and the place you presently work and stay.
I grew up in Genoa after which studied in Bologna and Hamburg. However now I’m again to stay in Genoa!

When did you notice you wished to develop into an artist, and what experiences led to that understanding?
I’ve cherished drawing for so long as I can bear in mind. As a baby, I used to create commissioned drawings for my classmates. As I grew older, I attended a specialised highschool for graphic design in Italy.
When it was time to decide on a college, I moved to a different metropolis to chase my desires. I enrolled within the Academy of Tremendous Arts in Bologna, the place I had the chance to satisfy different passionate illustrators like myself and join with vital occasions and festivals, such because the Bologna Kids’s E book Honest.
After graduating, I spent a yr overseas via the Erasmus program, learning at HAW Hamburg. It was an extremely inspiring atmosphere the place I might be taught each approach with nice precision.
Nevertheless, after I returned to Italy, I discovered myself brief on funds to proceed residing away from house, so I moved again to my hometown to finish my research in portray. Transferring again allowed me to deepen my relationship with conventional strategies, and I ultimately graduated with a thesis in digital portray. My ultimate undertaking was a limited-edition publication in Risograph, impressed by the Italian “musica leggera“.
Inform us about your approach and what motivates you to create artwork.
My approach combines digital illustration with a powerful curiosity in conventional strategies. I’ve a specific sensitivity to paint and texture, usually impressed by the aesthetics of Risograph or display screen printing. My work strikes a stability between graphic precision and painterly spontaneity, making it each recognizable and dynamic.
I draw inspiration from nature, creating detailed and kooky topics and from up to date visible tradition. I’m intensely all in favour of high-quality editorial publications and illustrations with a powerful narrative part. Graphic design additionally influences my work, which is evident in my cautious strategy to composition and my considerate use of printing strategies.
What units your work aside?
My means to mix digital illustration with a standard printmaking aesthetic units my work aside; I concentrate on texture and colour to create a tactile really feel, even in a digital medium. My background in graphic design influences my compositions, making them daring but balanced. I additionally try to stability precision and spontaneity, making certain that my illustrations really feel refined and expressive.
Which piece of your art work greatest represents you?
The piece that represents me probably the most is Fiori dal culo (Flowers from the Butt). It was born from a sense each inventive individual is aware of too properly: the fixed strain to push additional, give extra, and persistently exceed expectations.
At first look, it could seem to be a humorous illustration, however behind it lies the arduous work and dedication that go into inventive professions. Folks count on you to be a whole communication workforce in a single individual, always arising with concepts, options, and innovation.
At some point, after one more request to go the additional mile, I jokingly stated, “At this fee, I’ll be pulling flowers out of my ass!”. And that’s how this character got here to life: a determine sporting a pressured smile, struggling on the within, bent over whereas expelling a flower. It’s a surreal picture with a lighthearted and playful tone as a result of humor is usually the one strategy to cope.
Who or what conjures up your work?
My inspirations span artwork, design, and illustration. I draw affect from Miró, Matisse, and Picasso’s daring colours and important shapes, in addition to Fortunato Depero’s dynamism and graphic synthesis. On the identical time, I’m extremely all in favour of up to date illustration and design, notably the playful and experimental spirit of the Bauhaus and fashionable designers who embrace a vibrant, lighthearted strategy.
I’m additionally obsessive about classic packaging and promoting prints minimize from worldwide magazines in the course of the financial growth. I’m fascinated by how shapes, colours, and typography made each product fascinating, with a direct, iconic aesthetic that usually carried a charmingly optimistic really feel.
Is there something exterior of the humanities that motivates you?
Nature is my most important supply of inspiration past artwork itself. The Mediterranean and its flora usually take heart stage in my drawings and work. Liguria, the place I presently stay, is a singular place—a land caught between the mountains and the ocean, with breathtaking cliffs that plunge into deep blue waters. The maritime pines scattered alongside the coast, the extreme daylight, and the colourful sunsets form my inventive imaginative and prescient, making me really feel like a nostalgic soul out of time but endlessly captivated by picturesque landscapes.
How would you favor individuals to work together together with your work?
I’d love for individuals to have interaction with my work in a playful and significant approach. My illustrations usually have a lighthearted, ironic tone, however there may be at all times a deeper layer behind them, whether or not it’s a mirrored image on creativity, nature, or on a regular basis life. I hope viewers can join emotionally, discover particulars that resonate with them, or benefit from the colours and textures that make my type distinctive. Since I like printmaking and bodily objects, I additionally respect it when my work is collected, displayed, or used unexpectedly.
What recommendation would you give somebody wishing to pursue a inventive educational training?
My recommendation for these pursuing educational research is to remain curious, take up as a lot as potential like a sponge, and concurrently nurture their persona with out shedding concentrate on their work. It’s important to discover a sense of stability early on, permitting them to confidently navigate their journey whereas avoiding impostor syndrome with out falling into vanity. I additionally strongly advocate taking a public talking course. Many creatives are usually shy and introverted, and it usually takes years to discover ways to speak about our work and what makes us really feel good whereas doing it. But, growing this consciousness is without doubt one of the keys to reaching inventive maturity and genuinely having fun with the inventive course of.
Unfold the phrase! Do you’ve something thrilling arising?
I’m engaged on a wine label for Wine52 impressed by the Sicilian Carretto, a embellished cart pulled by a horse, as soon as used to move meals and wine. This custom reinterpretes a up to date illustration type. This undertaking feels particular to me as a result of my grandmother was Sicilian. After I was a baby, she gave me a small Carretto Siciliano toy that fascinated me. It was in contrast to every other toy I had seen. Rising up, I spotted it was only a memento. Humorous, proper?
Go right here to observe Fatomale on Instagram or store his prints right here >>>