PORTFOLIO PRESENTATION

Gisela Hager

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GISELA HAGER

ILLUSTRATION 300 / 2023

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I’m a 26-year-old illustrator from South Africa, now living in London. I have a loving twin sister and a cat named Dexter, who has inspired many of my drawings. I aspire to write and illustrate children’s books.

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While studying at The Open Window, I discovered my love for creating stylised images on my iPad—especially ones that feature animals. I’m drawn to playful shapes, expressive characters, and the kind of storytelling that makes both kids and adults smile.

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Since moving to London, I’ve found endless inspiration in new places, people, and pets. Whether it’s sketching in a café or dreaming up new characters on a walk, I’m always creating.

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I love:

Milkshakes

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I hate:

Onions

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gizziehager@gmail.com

GISELA HAGER

ILLUSTRATION 300 / 2023

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EDITORIAL ILLUSTRATION

GISELA HAGER

Firstly I illustrated an animated cover for The New Yorker magazine assignment . I designed the cover using the article, “AI and the Transformation of the Human Spirit. The first stage of grief is denial, but despair is also misplaced.” I chose to illustrate the article, “We’ve always been distracted. Worried that technology is ‘breaking your brain’? Fears about attention spans and focus are as old as writing itself”. The article gave me the opportunity to illustrate different techniques and practice my skill in drawing more stylised illustrations. I found out that I like to use minimal use of lines, and bolder colours.

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New Yorker Cover

ILLUSTRATION 300 / 2023

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We’ve always been distracted “

Editorial Illustration

| EDITORIAL ILLUSTRATION

ILLUSTRATION 300 / 2023

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ILLUSTRATION IN ADVERTISING

GISELA HAGER

Medium: Etching and digital adaptations

Illustration in Advertising was difficult and also fun. I created two traditional mixed with digital illustrations, namely “Age in action” and “Afrikaburn”. I then fid two digital illustrations, one for “Juicy Lucy” and “Illustration Superstation “. The themes for these illustrations were more directed at adults, so I wanted to put my childlike ideas in it, but still appeal to the over 18 generations. This assignment was challenging, but fun.

Medium: fine-liners, paint and digital adaptations

ILLUSTRATION 300 / 2023

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| ILLUSTRATION IN ADVERTISING

DIGITAL

ILLUSTRATION SUPERSTATION AND JUICY LUCY

ILLUSTRATION 300 / 2023

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ZINE PROJECT

GISELA HAGER

I illustrated a Zine booklet about unknown heroes. I chose to illustrate unknown hero cats as the content of my zine. Firstly I researched cat stories, where there was a famous cat inside, but later I delved deeper. I discovered that although there were not many “hero” cats in the traditional sense like dogs, but the stories I found were still remarkable like the first cat in space, a cat that survived three ships that sank, the hair of a cat that solved a murder and a music note that was named after a cat. Illustrating the cats might have been the hardest task, I am more proficient in drawing environments and then working my way back to drawing the main characters.

SCREEN PRINTED ELEMENT

ILLUSTRATION 300 / 2023

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| ZINE

DIGITAL ILLUSTRATION

CAT HEROES

ILLUSTRATION 300 / 2023

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SELF-PROMOTIONAL ILLUSTRATION

GISELA HAGER

I created a self-promotional themed illustration, that features cats. I again used my cat, Dexter as inspiration. I used my fears in the illustrations i.e. spiders, driving. I have always feared driving, and in one of the illustrations the woman signals for the cat to “take the wheel”, in the illustration though, the wheel is a tire. The illustration signifies that sometimes it is okay for someone to help you. The other illustration is about spiders and the “web”, signifying the internet. We are overwhelmed and overstimulated with the amount of content we consume, this is again seen in the illustration where the girl is laying on a computer. Lastly I illustrated a girl “overselling” herself, promoting her work. Doing so is fine, but sometimes the work needs to speak for you.

BUSINESS CARD FRONT AND BACK

ILLUSTRATION 300 / 2023

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A5 ILLUSTRATIONS AND A3 POSTER

FOUR UNIQUE POSTCARDS AND A3 POSTER

| SELF-PROMOTIONAL ILLUSTRATION

PINS FROM APPLIED ITEMS

ILLUSTRATION 300 / 2023

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Applied items:

Notebook A4 and Pins

APPLIED ITEMS

TERM 4 | SELF-PROMOTIONAL ILLUSTRATION APPLIED ITEMS

ILLUSTRATION 300 / 2023

Different types of maps

Illustrated type: O is for ogre.

“Crocodile tears”

I illustrated a quirky, satirical accordion booklet about a dog who eats mushrooms just to see the world in colour.