Today we’d like to introduce you to Demetrios Liollio.
Hi Demetrios, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
The foundations for my creative career were laid at the Charleston County School of the Arts, exploring traditional media and techniques as a Visual Arts major. In 2006 I graduated from NC State University with a Bachelor of Graphic Design (BGD) and a minor in Animation & Motion Graphics. As a young professional, I worked in Raleigh, NC as a designer/animator at an ad agency for clients like John Deere, Whole Foods Market, and Duke University; however, in 2011 I left this world to pursue another creative passion: teaching. Over the next 6 years, I lived in East Asia, teaching ESL (English as a Second Language) to ages 3–18 while also studying Mandarin Chinese. Upon returning stateside in 2017, I illustrated and co-published ZYGI’S BEANS, a picture book for ages 3-8 exploring friendship, courage, and adventure in the face of intriguing mysteries in our universe. Currently, I work as a designer/animator for another Raleigh-based agency while working remotely from Charleston. When I’m not busy with my day job, I am working on my personal illustration portfolio, which focuses primarily on Kidlit, or children’s picture books. I am very active with the SCBWI (Society of Children’s Books Writers and Illustrators) too, a professional organization committed to helping authors and illustrators establish a lifelong career in the Kidlit world. I am especially grateful to our local SCBWI Carolinas chapter (which covers North and South Carolina) for all the events and opportunities they provide for our community.
My near-term goals are to find agent representation for illustration (specifically children’s picture books), as well find an art director who believes my work would be a good fit for their next picture book. I’m specifically interested in applying my illustration and teaching skills to non-fiction picture book topics such as linguistics, science, and history.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
It certainly has been a very exciting road, but smooth…not as much. I would say much of my struggle has been rooted in the lack of knowledge of the industry and how to actually market a book once it’s been published. I remember working so hard on my first illustrated picture book with the author. The creative process was quite fun, but we both learned a hard and fast lesson when it came to marketing the book in an ever-growing jungle of self-published picture books. We were never able to successfully market the book—and thus we made little to no overall profit. It was deflating for both of us and made us question our own capabilities and self-worth. I remember fantasizing that upon clicking “publish” the book orders were just going to come flooding in—an expectation born out of true naiveté. That being said, this experience has shown me another path by which I can build a career: the traditional publishing industry. As opposed to self-publishing, like Amazon KDP, traditional publishing offers me a way to work on exciting projects with a well-established publishing house that helps with the printing, marketing, and distribution because they are already connected to a vast publishing and marketing network.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I have been fortunate to have worked in a variety of visual storytelling arenas: illustration, comics, graphic design, corporate branding (logos, etc.), interaction design, 3D and 2D animation, and film. Today, I work professionally in the advertising industry as a 2D motion designer (motion graphics + character animation), as well as corporate branding + illustration. However, I am most proud and excited about the children’s picture book illustration portfolio that I am currently building, which is a combination of analog and digital illustration techniques.
My work ethic and design/animation background have served me well to get jobs that others have sought but were not as proficient and detail-oriented. I’d say that these days, especially, there are a lot of animators that are transitioning into Kidlit illustration; however, I feel what sets me apart is a 16-year career that’s taught me the importance of cultivating long-lasting client relationships, as well as hitting deadlines while still maintaining my own high standard of quality.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Success is fulfillment—and for me, that fulfillment comes from knowing that I have enriched the life of young readers in the same way I’d witness the lightbulb go off in my students’ heads upon learning something new in my classroom. The only difference nowadays is that my “canvas” has evolved from a classroom whiteboard to the pages of a children’s picture book. I’d also be remiss if I didn’t say that success means being able to do this while making a living that supports the continuation of this kind of work. It’s not making gobs of money, but certainly, enough to be afforded the time and means to find inspiration to illustrate (and eventually write) more picture books.
Contact Info:
- Email: 2wo.leos@gmail.com
- Website: www.2woleos.com
- Instagram: @2woleos
- Twitter: @2woleos
Image Credits
Demetrios A. Liollio
