Introducing Illustrator Thaís Mesquita!

We are thrilled to welcome Brazilian illustrator Thaís Mesquita to our Full Circle Literary family of illustrators!

Thaís Mesquita is a Brazilian illustrator and 2D artist working across children’s publishing, visual development, and animation. She is passionate about stylized shapes, exuberant nature, earthy colors, history, and whimsical characters.

Thaís grew up in a little historic town in the south of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Surrounded by mountains and waterfalls, her childhood was filled with the exuberant fauna and flora of this magical region. Minas Gerais is rich in history and culture and known for the friendly lifestyle of the so-called “mineiros.” In the region, there is the famous Royal Road. It connects a group of tiny historic towns that experienced great prosperity in the 18th century following the discovery of gold. The remarkable Royal Road is filled with a variety of baroque buildings and churches, which flooded her imagination with fantastic stories about their beautiful ornaments and designs. The magical energy of her beloved homeland of Brazil is a big influence on the warm colors and rich textures Thaís brings to her artwork. 

Thaís was lucky enough to have artists in her family who encouraged her to pursue an artistic career. For birthdays, she always received crayons, colored paper, and art supplies to explore creativity! She studied Fine Arts at one of the biggest universities in Brazil, and then moved to Germany for a master's degree at a university full of history, the Bauhaus.

Thaís loves exploring and experimenting with various materials and techniques, and each of her works results in something unique and special.  Her strong connection with rich source materials and traditional art allows her to create new textures and possibilities that are then applied digitally to her artwork. She uses traditional materials such as acrylic paint and gouache, markers, pencils, colored pencils and watercolors to create artwork full of texture and brushwork.

Thaís describes her artistic process:

“I start by filling several sheets of paper with patterns drawn with markers and pencils, then paint big areas of color with gouache and/or watercolor, that are at first quite abstract. Along the way, I discover which color palette is best suited to the story I want to tell, and many happy accidents happen in this moment of free creative exploration. When I have many sheets of textures and patterns, I scan my favorite ones and apply them digitally all over the illustration. I love this mixed media work process! Combining traditional and digital media has opened a whole new world of possibilities and I love how it brings so many layers to my work.”

Over the years, Thaís has worked with many publishers and animation studios in Germany and Brazil. She frequently collaborates with the United Nations and UNICEF creating illustrations and graphics for their educational projects. She is proud to educate people around the world about very difficult topics (such as mental health and migration) through this illustration work. She applies her knowledge of the concept art process used in animation to the early stages of picture book development. From the first steps of a picture book– almost like a movie –she will visualize and connect characters with their environments to make everything aesthetically cohesive.

Her favorite subjects range from history to spooky, and she is always looking forward to stories full of heart, adventure, and magic! Thaís is open to picture books, board books, chapter books, book covers and interior illustrations. For book projects, she would love to work on:

- stories that take place in nature

- stories based in reality with a touch of magic and fantasy

- folktales and stories with a classic feel

- mysteries and thrillers, she loves ghosts, haunted houses, and outer space!

- diverse characters with challenging adventures

- stories that celebrate Latin America and Latin American culture have a special place in her heart!

- hand-lettering

- book featuring landscapes or cityscapes

- books set in ancient civilizations or historical settings 

Thaís now lives in Germany (with regular visits to Brazil) as a full-time artist and illustrator where she can be found connecting with the artist communities, visiting historical sites, or watching documentaries. For more information and to see more samples, please visit her website and Instagram.

Thaís Mesquita’s lead agent is Stefanie Sanchez Von Borstel in our San Diego office. Contact her: stefanie@fullcircleliterary.com.

For more information on all of our Full Circle Literary illustrators, please visit: www.fullcircleliterary.com 

We look forward to creating beautiful books with you!

Full Circle Literary

3268 Governor Drive

San Diego CA 92122

Copyright 2023 Full Circle Literary. Copyright artwork 2023 by Thaís Mesquita

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