Gabrielle Ragusi - Designer

I'm Gabrielle, an illustrator and pluviophile based in Milan, Italy.
I began my journey as an artist in 2015, when I dropped out of University to pursue a freelance career.
I first gained attention thanks to illustrations inspired by known fantasy series. Now I collaborate with authors and bookish boxes.

Although I started painting to become a concept artist, I ended up discovering a totally different aspect of art which is book illustration. Inspired first by artists of Disney's Golden Age like Eyvind Earle and then illustrators of fantasy and science fiction like Jason Chan and Dan Dos Santos, today I work on illustrations that feature fantasy characters, surreal colour compositions and storytelling.

When I'm not drawing, I'm reading dark fantasy novels and drinking tea.



- The book covers and illustrations -

Give me characters, landscapes and castles... give me plants and trees and fluffy clouds.
But seriously, I love working on both character-driven and more aesthetic covers. As an illustrator, I'm more comfortable with the first, but the designer in me likes a good composition of graphic elements around pretty or striking typography.
So, what do I do? Book covers, dust jackets, endpapers, interior illustrations and designs like chapter headers and maps, foil designs, and art prints.



- The process -

First I want to know more about the book and the characters. Unfortunately I can't read the manuscript, but book snippets and scenes can help me understand what direction the cover can take.
In short, I need a brief, as detailed as possible. Photo references and/or mood boards are very welcome.

Once I have what I need, I open Photoshop and start drawing 4-4 thumbnails for you to review. Then I’ll clean up the sketch to have a somewhat detailed drawing. After approval, I start painting.
I might show one or two work in progress at this stage, but I want to make most of the decisions when I'm sketching.
I offer three revisions during the sketching stage and two (small) in the painting stage.
The same goes for the typography for the book cover, I’ll give different options or work on a specific request.



- The files -

The final files will be a PDF in CMYK; a JPEG in RGB; extra files like mockups and banners/posts for social media. I don't share PSD files unless necessary, not because I don't want to reveal my secrets, but because PSDs take a long time to upload.



- How much it costs and who owns what -

Book covers start at €900 (about 980 USD).
I consider different elements to give a quote, like the number of characters and the amount of details requested.

Included in my quote are typography, formatting if needed, and an exclusive license.
With an exclusive license, you can use the cover/illustration however you want but the artist remains the copyright holder.
If you're interested in a copyright transfer to own the illustration, I ask 100% of the cost.

Illustrations start at €400.



Don't hesitate to reach out for any questions or to request a quote for your project!