Julie Mellan

Born in Annecy, France in 1988, Julie Mellan has been drawing every day since she could hold a pencil. She spent her childhood fascinated by the animals in the Disney and Beatrix Potter classics; then, at the dawn of adolescence, by the characters in Blacksad (Juan Díaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido, published by Dargaud). Her career would undoubtedly be artistic, but between illustration and animated films, her heart swayed…
After passing her baccalauréat in literature, she studied academic drawing, illustration and animation at the Émile Cohl school in Lyon. When it came to choosing her speciality, she was more attracted by the feel of paper than computer screens, and finally opted for publishing.

For almost ten years, she has published numerous children’s books in France and abroad, notably with Penguin Random House (The Last Rabbit), Lire c’est partir (La Moufle), MK Kids Books (Tizzy Throws a Fizzy) and Fleurus Mame (Les belles histoires de grand-mère).

Loyal to her brushes and traditional techniques, she loves to use watercolors to depict tender, mischievous animals. Drawing her inspiration from her two little boys, Julie seeks to bring a certain narrative, to suggest an emotion, a trait or an attitude characteristic of childhood in each of her illustrations.