Camilla D’Errico is a big kid, a big kid with one hell of a talent.  She is “shy and eccentric with a twist of craziness.”  Camilla has been Illustrating comic books, crushing comic con, painting like she’s gone mad and designing toys for over 12 years now.    Her list of employers has ranged from Ride Snowboards all the way to Disney.  Her skills and imagination are second to none.  With her career exploding as we speak it’s amazing Camilla has time to sleep let alone hold it down with us here at Lower Branch.

Camilla knew she was going to be an artist at the young age of 5 years old, with the support of her mother she started doodling away in the confines of her home on the east coast of Canada.  Yes that Canada.  Lucky for her she moved out west to beautiful Vancouver.

“I grew up in the East of Canada until I was 12, then we moved to the West. So I say things like “you betcha” a lot and can’t shake it! Canada is an awesome country, seriously, I’d never want to live anywhere else. I love being in Vancouver because it is so eclectic and has a big Asian influence.”

The early stages of her art work may make her “cringe” but nobody is cringing now.  Camilla is a force in the comic world.

“I tried various things, including animation, but it wasn’t until I started drawing comics that I dug my heels in and went for it. At the time (12 years ago) I was one of the only females in the industry.  I got my fist job with Committed Comics and I worked completely for free! I loved it and it helped me learn about the industry, deadlines, expectations, and
working with others in a team to create a final, finished product. I met them at a comic convention when I showed them some of my art.”

In many circles Camilla’s art is grouped into the pop surrealism category, an art form that has risen from the underground and is gaining serious notoriety with the help of such magazines like San Francisco’s own Juxtapoz.

“I’m on the fence about it because on the one hand, I despise categories and being categorized, but on the other hand categories are necessary for people to help them understand what they are looking at, and have some parameters for comparing, evaluating and understanding things. Pop Surrealism is a very important art renaissance that I’m also proud to be a part of because there are some extremely talented people who have taken it from an underground, and not very appreciated scene, to something more mainstream and bringing art (and culture) back into people’s lives. I’m happy to be part of something that has an impact on people and Pop Surrealism definitely doesn’t go unnoticed.”

But it’s not just comics, Camilla got to work on a graphic novel for fellow Canadian and pop star Avril Lavinge.

“Yeah, go Canada! It was bittersweet, I must admit, because the company that hired me to do the work wasn’t all that great but they were new and maybe didn’t know exactly how to handle the making of a graphic novel. But it was a
great experience insofar as I got to work with Joshua Dysart, who is one of my favorite writers. We had a lot of creative control over the story, which is why, if you read it, you’d be surprised that it isn’t about Avril at all!”

When Camilla isn’t partaking in designing graphic novels for the stars or busting out comics she can be found painting away on her very own brain child the “HelmetGirls.”  Which we here at Lower Branch are absolutely in love with!

“Helmetgirls is my biggest dream project. It’s who I am. And I’m so excited because now things are moving along and I’ll soon be working on a graphic novel series all about them. When I first started painting them, I had no story for them,
they were just these girls with gargantuan headgear, and even throughout the years they helmets themselves have evolved to actually have meaning. In the beginning there was no meaning to the helmets and they were just aesthetic
accessories. But now, and especially with my latest for the show in Rome, the helmets were a part of the girls, and I painted them so that you couldn’t tell where one started and the other stopped. So as grotesque as it may sound, the two things are intertwined and part of each other and each has meaning.”

I know I’ve come to be known and recognized for the Helmetgirls and did you know that there are girls out there who cosplay as Helmetgirls?! Oh yeah! It’s totally rad. So I’m going to start a Helmetgirls revolution.”

As if Camilla doesn’t have enough projects going on, she is currently working on another original creation of hers Tanpopo.

“Tanpopo is my passion project and it’s something that has taken on a life of its own. It started as a single, close-ended 20-page story and now I’m developing it into a series of 10 books (4 graphic novels). It is all based on, and inspired by, classic literature from around the world. Each book is inspired by a different poem or literature and I use the original text (all public domain) to tell the story of Tanpopo and Kuro. The story boils down to Tanpopo’s search for emotion
and how she wants to experience it. Kuro is her companion along the way. He is a mysterious creature, perhaps a devil, who shape shifts and who creates situations to elicit these emotions in Tanpopo. He gets really wicked (as in evil)
in book 3 but you still can’t bring yourself to hating him, since he’s actually only doing what he promised her. The series is going to get very emotional and very exciting as each book comes along. I’m working on book 4 now.  Tanpopo 4, and the first Tanpopo graphic novel (it’s a collection of the first 3issues, with bonus material). I’m also working on Helmetgirls, some paintings,and a graphic novel with a French creator. With my sister, who does all thebusiness dealings, we’re working on expanding the licensing of my artwork. Iwant more merch!”

So how does Camilla get inspired for all these wonderful renderings?

“Lots of things inspire me, anywhere from anime, manga, photography, literature, and overall fixation with visual stimuli! Its hard to pinpoint any one thing when so much of this industry is full of amazing art and stories that continually motivate me to work harder and achieve more.”

With her hand in all these different cookie jars there has gotta be some favorites right?

“My favorite painting is No Ordinary Love; it has a very special and personal meaning.”

“I’d say one of my favorite projects was Nightmares and Fairytales. When Serena Valentino (creator and author) asked me to take part I didn’t believe it was true. That title was my favorite north american book at the time and it was like a dream come true to work on the series.”

“I loved the Hello Kitty Anniversary Show held last year. Being part of that was incredible. I have loved Hello Kitty for a long time and being able to paint a piece for the show and even be flown down for the event to live paint, so a total trip! I
had such a blast and I think from my use of pink in the painting you can tell I was in pink heaven!”

And a favorite cover?

“Hmmmm….that’s a hard one, but maybe it was a cover I did for BURN, volume #2. It was my first time really going at digital painting in a serious way. I must have used 70 layers to create the look of rain and make it seem like I colored it with markers. Its definitely one of my favs.”

If you’ve ever read any other interviews and articles on Camilla D’Errico you will realize instantly she is in love with Duo Oils.  Literally they should be paying her, she is an ambassador of sorts.

“DUO are the water-soluble oils from Holbein. Honest-to- god I don’t paint with any other oil-based paints. They also recently introduced me to their acryla gouache and I must say, I’m impressed! I have to experiment more with them but I love what I’m experiencing so far. Plug: Holbein paints are probably available at your local arts/supplies/paint store and if they aren’t – ask for them!”

Camilla recently wrapped up one of the biggest solo shows of her already illuminating career in none other than the boot of the world, Italy.

“The show in Rome was amazing! It was unbelievable. There were SO many people out there who came to see me. The pieces for the show are all inspired by Leonardo da Vinci, and they were al painted in my black line style. I wanted to
bare my soul with these, so I also stripped away all color; there is nothing to hide from with these and the girls are there for all eyes to see and ponder. I’m really happy with how the paintings turned out, and the hugely positive response I got.
There was lots of press around the show too. It was my first solo show outside of North America, and my third career solo show.”

“So right now I’ve got paintings hanging at Opera Gallery in New York and Miami, and a few paintings at a different gallery in Rome, called Mondo Pop (they were hanging in a museum in Naples but have been moved to Rome). You can also see
some of my originals at The Ayden Gallery in Vancouver. There are still some of the Rome solo show paintings available too but they aren’t hanging anywhere at the moment.  I was in the Thinkspace Gallery’s 5th Anniversary show that is still hanging in Culver City and I’ve got 2 paintings in the Sanrio 50th Anniversary show this weekend coming up, then a piece for a Greg Simkins curated show in March at Gallery 1988. I won’t be doing any large bodies of work where painting is concerned, at least not for a while.”

The big gallery shows are nice and all but we all know that Camilla’s heart is in the comic book industry.  You can’t shake the kid out of this young lady.

“I prefer the comic circuit. I got into painting by accident and although I am honored to be amongst peers like Kathie Olivas, Greg Simkins, Dan May, Audrey Kawasaki, Gary Baseman, etc. it’s not my kind of world. Even though it’s ‘lowbrow’, it’s still very highbrow, fine art, kind of snobby – as far as galleries are concerned. I’m much more down to earth and goofy and a nerd, so I fit in much better with the illustrators and comic creators of the world. Some of
the painters I’ve mentioned also come from that world, which is probably why we get along so well! And why they also go to conventions like Dragon Con in Atlanta.”

So what propelled Camilla into Anime?

“I’d like to thank Sailor Moon for that. Growing up in the 80’s they started aflood of anime in North America and Sailor Moon was one of the first ones that really caught my attention. But let me just say that it wasn’t the North American
dumbed down edition they aired, it was the true Japanese version that really made me pay attention. After seeing the true version with all the adult content and emotional impact I realized that the Japanese were on a whole other level of
storytelling that we in North America were too censored to know existed. I fell in love immediately. My eyes were opened to all sorts of stories and my brain was on overload. There was no turning back after that.”

Ahh but yes you knew we weren’t going to leave out that crazy world of dirty, dirty Anime.

“Oh yes, hentai, well there is a topic that no one has officially asked me about. I think its a very intense genre, I applaud the Japanese for expressing themselves and their dirty fantasies in such a creative manner. I think its an entertaining
genre, but keep it as far away from minor’s eyes as possible, some of that stuff will make you go blind.”

With any art genre paying gigs can be hard to come by.  Well hell not just art, websites promoting art leave you eating many a pb&j’s.  What can one expect when breaking into the comic book world?

“Comics are competitive; be prepared to work your butt off, and to be the best salesperson of yourself. I networked a TON and it’s what got me as far as I’ve come. It is a small industry where everyone knows each other so it pays to be as professional as possible and to really talk to anyone and everyone – and to be sincere.”

The future is bright for Camilla D’Errico and I’m sure we will see a flood of her work hitting the streets near you and hopefully near us here in SF.

“Holy momma! I don’t know what more I can add! Except maybe to keep your eyes open on my Youtube page because I’m planning on uploading a weekly video of me doing comic work and sketches, I’ll be working on the next issues
of Tanpopo and some other cool comic work! I’m very excited about that, plus there’s lots of new merchandise and … toys! Soon my own vinyl toy based on one of my characters will be hitting the market! I really can’t wait for that.  Right now I’m mostly working on my own projects, for d’Errico Studios. Hint: keep your eyes on the Dark Horse and Image Comics websites.”

“All I’ve ever wanted was to be an artist and draw comics. It couldn’t be any other way.”

We all here at Lower Branch are extremely thankful its not!  Next time your in San Francisco the Crown Royal is on us!

LB

www.camilladerrico.com
www.tanpopoandkuro.com
www.helmetgirls.com
www.facebook.com/camilladerricoart
www.deviantart.com/camilladerrico
www.youtube.com/camilladerrico