How to narrate with a pencil
A journey in drawing as narration, between mystery, living nature and silent books

What can you tell with a pencil? Worlds, characters, emotions, silences, friendships. Drawing as narration: that’s the theme of the 2^nd issue of Illustratore Italiano, that was released on the 21^st of June. The study focuses on the different ways of representation, explores the relationship between the images and words, that a good illustrator, just like an artisan, shapes and reshapes depending on his feelings. The second journey of ILIT is a crossing in the multilingual drawing between thoughts, fantasies, moods and points of view.

We start losing ourselves in Luigi Serafini’s ironic and surreal encyclopaedia, the Codex Seraphinianus; we then move to the first of three episodes of What a night that pasta (a spin-off taken from Crisma) by the illustrator from Rome Martoz, and to the illustrated short story narrated by the writer Fulvia Mosconi and illustrated by Sergio Ponchione (chosen in collaboration with Inchiostro Festival for the first of three parts). The study goes on with Simone Massi’s animations that precede, with a correspondence with the editorial staff, the first edition of next July’s animation festival Animavì; it continues with The Journey of memory, Daniela Iride Murgia’s silent book where the fully visual narration embraces the reader in a reflective intimacy.

Jacopo Rosati’s Venetian nursery rhymes reinforce the leitmotiv of the second issue of Illustratore Italiano, together with the story of a deep friendship linked to Simone Massoni’s passions: illustration and typography. The core of the magazine is an excursion along the old paths of the Unesco heritage site Cerveteri, recounted by the naturalistic watercolours of Graziano Ottaviani (who collaborates with National Geographic). A call, open to professionals or beginners, has been launched again in this issue: this time, the aim was to illustrate the idea and meaning of friendship, guided by a dialogue between the lucky protagonists of Simone Tempia’s My life with Lloyd. And then, of course, some tips by Ivan Canu, the director of Mimaster: he retraces Libero Gozzini’s career through the famous characters he has developed over the years for some of the most important Italian and international brands. One for all: Esso’s Tiger in the tank.