Wigwam’s Sara Storino on how music and nature fuel her creativity

Sara, it’s great to catch up. You’re Illustration Lead at Wigwam Studios. How did you come to connect with that group?
Well, I’ve worked with the guys at Wigwam for many years as a freelance illustrator. In my freelance days I’d also work with clients like Disney – I worked with them for 30 years! I started many years ago with Disney in Italy, where I’m based, working on the Mickey Mouse magazine. From there, I worked on many classic characters with the team at Disney Italy and then also starting working with the French team. That also opened the door to collaborations with the UK, Denmark, the US…

Away from Disney, I also worked with publishers here in Italy and around the world, primarily doing illustrations for children. I love drawing elves and animals, and did a lot of work for a German publisher called Blue Ocean on their Bayala magazines.

When Wigwam were looking for an illustrator to join their team, I thought it was a great opportunity! I completed my final freelance projects and joined them. I’m developing my own knowledge and learning a lot! It’s incredible.

“If we’re illustrating poses, you have to understand the way a character moves.”

Great! And at Wigwam, you’re creating illustrations for iconic brands and characters. How do you approach crafting something new for such established IP?
The first thing is to learn how the character has been developed – that’s always useful. When I worked with Disney, I’d get the chance to connect with their animators and they’d explain how they created the characters and worlds. That kind of insight is really useful when it comes to ‘retracing those steps’ and becoming familiar with a character’s proportions and expressions.

Then I’ll do some loose rough illustrations – nothing detailed – just to get the mood and feel for a character. I might also watch early rough animations or the trailer for the movie or TV show… Anything to understand the mood that’s trying to be conveyed with a brand.

The next step is to learn how characters act and move. If we’re illustrating poses, you have to understand the way a character moves. It then becomes a balancing act between engaging with the client’s needs and my own creativity to craft something fresh.

“Nature is the first thing I go to for inspiration.”

Does your process differ if you’re working on brands with limited material? Where characters might only have a few ‘poses’ or illustrations on record?
It’s different. In a way, you have more freedom, but in those cases I’ll create my own restrictions and constraints… It gives me a kind of ‘comfort zone’ to work within.

You mentioned earlier about being based in Italy. Does that feed into your creativity and how you approach illustrating at all?
Yes. I’m between Milan and Turin in Alessandria; there’s a lot of wine production here. It’s a nice place. I love being in a natural setting and being outside in a forest, rather than being in a city. I can go for a walk among fields and plants and hear the birds – that’s when I’m happy! I missed the sound of nature back when I worked in the city.

Does anything else help inspire you, or keep your creativity juices flowing?
Nature is the first thing I go to for inspiration. I also like to observe people and animals and watch how they move and act. I take that and try to bring it into my work. It helps a lot. Photos and nature documentaries also do that for me.

That said, if I’m working on something totally new, music helps me a lot. I find that you can imagine more if you have a soundscape supporting you. I use headphones not to be isolated, but to have a constant reminder of the inspiration… Music can keep you in that creative space, tied to the relevant inspiration. It’s a big help.

Thank you Sara. It’s been great to catch up.