From Passion to Profession: Giacomo Agnello Modica’s Artistic Journey of Continuous Growth

Why did you decide to take up your creative trade?

Drawing has always been an irrepressible impulse for me to express myself and describe my world. I’ve always been passionate about art – theatre, music, cinema – but drawing was the most obvious path for me.

So I decided to undertake it, attending illustration, graphics and animation schools in Milan, Italy, and over time I challenged myself to make a job out of it, initially starting from my personal projects and slowly managing to find clients interested in my work. It’s always a work in progress and an ongoing professional and personal growth!

How do you get past creative blocks?

For me, a great way to get past creative blocks is to remind myself that illustration is my job, but art is my greatest passion. So drawing in my sketchbook just for myself, but also pursuing my other passions – in particular theatre and drag – helps me keep the fire of creativity alive in areas that don’t always strictly relate to my work.

Diversifying is also a good way to overcome creative blocks: our work can be made up of many things – self-promotion, teaching, attending workshops to stay updated… all things that help me stay creative.

What is your creative process?

When I receive a brief I always start by doing my research, making a mood board, and looking for style and colour references. I usually sketch ideas with pencil and paper, because it helps me to be more instinctive and spontaneous in my drawings. When my sketches begin to take shape and look precise enough, I show them to the clients and we start from here to create the final illustrations. I often draw the final images on my iPad, but lately, I’ve decided to go back to pencils too, so I often draw on paper and then colour the scanned images on Procreate.

Where do you look for inspiration?

I love to see other artist’s work, both past and contemporary, and study in detail what touches me most about their works. I love divas, and my icons always stay with me with their music and their beautiful auras and keep me inspired. I also love cartoons and picture books, which remind me to be joyful and a little silly in my drawings. And I love going out on my bike and wandering in the city and in nature to find new details to inspire me.

What are you reading or listening to right now?

These days I am listening to Caroline Polachek, Charli XCX and Lady Gaga, as well as some old-school Italian divas like Giuni Russo, Donatella Rettore and Alice. At the moment, I am also reading “The Path to the Nest of Spiders” by Italo Calvino.

What does your typical day involve?

I’m a freelancer, so I usually work from home or in coworking spaces. I use the early hours of the morning to check emails, update social networks, and send invoices, typically with a cup of tea on my desk. Once the boring stuff is done I can feel more relaxed doing what I love most: drawing!

What has been your favourite project to date and why?

I think my favourite project was a book published last year by the Italian publisher Il Saggiatore, “Piccolo manuale illustrato per cercatori di font”. It’s an illustrated essay on fonts. It was a really fun project to work on, I felt free to play with Sara Panzera’s beautiful text and I enjoyed working with the team.

How do you switch off?

I switch off by cooking, doing theatre, watching movies, walking and cycling, and having a beer with my friends.

Who inspires you?

Disney Classics like 101 Dalmatians, but also cartoons like Spongebob. Drag performers like Jinkx Monsoon and icons like Grace Jones. Artists like Auguste Rodin and illustrators like Quentin Blake.

A big thank you to Giacomo Agnello Modica for contributing to our series of creative conversations with industry experts.