Anil Tortop

Bio
Workshops and Talks

Anil Tortop was born and raised in Turkiye. She moved to Australia in early 2011 and has been trying to get used to the local eight-legged house intruders and slithering visitors to her garden ever since.

Anil Tortop presenting

Anil studied fine arts in high school and animation at university. She started illustrating children's books in 2008 after being encouraged by an art director friend to give it a try. That "try" resulted in a quick career change, and she has since been drawn away from her passion for animation as her relationship with children’s books has become more serious. Since then, she has illustrated more than 70 books, mainly in Australia, followed by Turkiye.

With a background in animation, her work often features many moving characters. Body language and facial expressions are at the centre of her art. She enjoys adopting slightly different styles to convey the mood of each book. With a fondness for the “undo” button, she primarily works digitally to create professional work.

Anil Tortop photo

Some of the publishers she has illustrated for include Albert Street Publishing (Allen & Unwin), Scholastic Australia, Lothian (Hachette), Little Hare (Hardie Grant), and Affirm Press. Some of the books she has illustrated are:

Rock Dogs by Sally Barns, Affirm Press

Pigasus by Zanni Louise, Little Hare

Bat vs Poss by Alexa Moses, Hachette (CBCA Book of the Year Awards 2020 - shortlisted)

Leaping Lola by Tracey Hawkins, New Frontier Publishing (CBCA Book of the Year Awards 2020 - nominated)

Tippy and Jellybean by Sophie Cunningham, Albert Street Publishing

Flipper and Finnegan by Sophie Cunningham, Albert Street Publishing

A First Time for Everything by Tiffiny Hall and Ed Kavalee, Albert Street Publishing

Anil also provides illustrations, including covers, for a bimonthly Turkish children's magazine called Young Researchers (Araştırmacı Çocuk) since its first issue in 2013. In addition, she enjoys creating books for self-published authors. In their small home studio at Springfield Lakes Queensland, Anil and her husband play “Children’s Booksmithing” at Tadaa Book — at least when they are not playing hide and seek with their little daughters.

For Children

I deliver 45 to 60-minute presentations primarily for Prep to Year 2 students.

A session may roughly include:

A talk about myself, my work, and how I create books, using examples
Reading one of my books
Presenting an illustration time-lapse video
Demonstrating a few stages of an illustration using an iPad
Teaching how to draw using simple shapes
Involving the children in creating their own illustrations
A Q&A session

For Adults

I deliver 15 to 30-minute talks for adults. I tailor the presentation depending on the audience. These talks aim to provide brief information for those seeking to extend their knowledge in the area, rather than offering workshops or master classes. Possible subjects include:

The process of illustrating a picture book
Creating a book for self-publishing
A particular aspect of the process, such as character design or storyboarding

Requirements

I will need access to technology to play my presentation. If the presentation includes a drawing demonstration, I will need to connect my iPad to the screen. Otherwise, I can connect my laptop or bring a USB stick.

Children will need a few pieces of paper and something to draw with. More details can be discussed prior, depending on the theme of the presentation.