Stella Mongodi

Stella Mongodi – Designer

Whimsical, feathery and playful illustrator with a traditional flavour. Specialized in children's books, animals and starry skies.

Overview

Great illustrations are more than pretty pictures that frame a good story: they catch the eye of the reader, describe your world and characters. The illustrations often extend beyond your words to tell a story of their own. It’s like a pas de deux - a beautiful complex dance of two distinct entities that have to move as one.

It is creating this perfect mesh of picture and words that fuels my passion for illustrating children’s books.

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I've studied illustration and art for may years with renowned professionals such as Alessandra Cimatoribus, Anna Castagnoli, Carll Cneut and Stefano Moroni.​ I've worked on more than 20 books now, fine tuning my abilities and skills with each of them.

I specialize in children's books illustrations.
I especially love those with animal characters and beautiful landscapes.

My images are all digital now but they still have a "traditional media flavour" (I started as an oil painter after all!) characterized by a dreamy, feathery and still playful style.

When I work side by side with author, I love to communicate a lot: a book is a great team effort and good teams, IMO, discuss and share ideas, doubts and enthusiasm.

What's included in my service?
- character design and color palette selection
- thumbnail storyboarding: this is where ideas start to grow. It maps out how the text is broken up and how it will be portrayed in illustrations. This is the stage where we can discuss composition and flow of the story.
- more detailed storyboard and sketches (at this stage, we can agree on any modifications to the artwork without incurring additional time and cost)
- final digital images - RGB files (for online promotion and social media and ebook version) and CMYK (for printed version)
- cover design (including back cover of course)
- end papers design and any handwritten text (such as handwritten title)
- book design

Services
Non-Fiction
Children’s Non-Fiction Nature
Fiction
Middle Grade Middle Grade Fantasy Picture Books Poetry
Languages
English
Awards
  • 2021 Finalist Next Generation Indie Book Awards for best cover with "The Green Woolen Fedora"
  • 2022 Kirkus Starred Review for "there's an N on your nose"
  • 2022 Kirkus starred review for "Dance Stance"

Work experience

Self-employed

Sep, 2012 — Present

Children's books illustration, decoration.

Traditionally Published books
2019 Terra Nuova editore - A lezione di qui e ora
2020 Ethicool Books -Watermelon Pip;
2020 Orto della cultura - "Siamo stelle/We are stars"
2021 Bertoni editore - "Arrivano gli extraterrestri!"
2021 Puppy dogs & Ice-cream Books - "Capes are for dads"
May 2022 Ethicool Books "Where do butterflies go at night?"
June 2022 Skyhorse Publishing "Wally and Freya"
coming soon fall 2022 Ethicool Books "Connecting the stars"

Published with self publishing authors (illustration and design):
2021 "The Green Woolen Fedora"
2021 "Brielle's Birthday Ball" & "Belluna's Big Adventure in the sky"
2021 "Celebrate Your Magic"
2021 "The Monster that lives at our House"
2022 "There's an N on your nose"
2022 "Dance stance"
2022 "Wilbur's Wish"

Stella has 20 reviews

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

Kavalya S.

Kavalya S.

May, 2023

Stella is an absolutely amazing artist. Working with her was a pleasure. She patiently listened and tuned into my needs and desires and then she created the most beautiful cover art for me that reflected my writing and who I am. She also helped make the inside of my book elegant and professional. The final product is something beyond my wildest dreams. If it's true that people judge a book...
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Kelly B.

Kelly B.

May, 2023

Stella is a dream to work with! Her artistic abilities are out of this world! She made my book come to life in a magical, yet relatable way. As a first time author/publisher she helped me in so many ways to navigate the industry and figure out the best printing route for the book. I can't wait to work on another project with her. I am so grateful.
Ellen P.

Ellen P.

Mar, 2023

Stella is amazing! This is our third project together, for obvious reasons. I couldn't be happier!
Becky E.

Becky E.

Mar, 2023

Stella is amazing! She is very kind and fun to work with and her illustrations are magical!
Ellen P.

Ellen P.

Feb, 2023

This is my second time working with Stella because she is so amazing at what she does. She is very creative and imaginative, with a very good eye for detail. She is also very helpful and great to work with. The final product of both of my books has been incredible, thanks to Stella. I highly recommend her!