Meet Illustrator Çağlar Özgün!

Meet Illustrator Çağlar Özgün!

“I am a 29 children's book illustrator and Event Caricature artist. I live between Bursa, Turkey and Cairo, Egypt. And I love white chocolate wafers!”    

GM: At what age did you realize you wanted to pursue a career as an artist?

Ç Ö: 11 years old. After watching Heidy I started to write my own stories and draw them. Then I started to characterize people into drawings, when my old neighbor asked me “Do you draw caricature?”, I had no idea what was it! Back then when there was no internet available in each house I went to an internet café and wrote on google “Caracature”, google corrected me “Do you mean Caricature?” I clicked on it and found a whole world of art I had no idea about. I said to myself “OMG that’s exactly what I am doing” then started to research more and more and develop a style of myself.

GM: Describe your studio and where you like to work...

Ç Ö: It’s more of a home-office, I have a large desk with 2 screens and Wacom tablet. Printed on walls my previous works and some caricatures of my family. I have bookshelves where I keep the Children's books I illustrated and old Caricature magazines and comics.

GM: What mediums do you like to use?

Ç Ö: I basically use Photoshop and illustrator for my digital illustrations. In live events, I use soft pastel with piece of cloth and matte photo paper. Sometimes I also use food colors and brushes.

GM: Who is your favorite artist(s)?

Ç Ö: May sound cliché but of course Walt Disney and Peyo! Their perspective of the world and their works are so inspiring that it widens the imagination of whoever watches them.

GM: Do you have a muse or other inspiration?

Ç Ö: When I illustrate children books my inspiration is always my desire to open up children's minds to the world of imagination and pushing them to be themselves, telling them there is more in life than they can imagine.

When I go on live caricature events my inspiration is definitely the smile or laugh the people I draw have on their faces when they see my caricature POV of them.

GM: What is the key to creating an illustration that will resonate with a lot of people and keep them captivated for more?

Ç Ö: We always remember the character that looks like us, that have some of us in them. For example:  always have “Simba” on mind because we have those impulsive moments when we run after our desires and curiosity, and many times we fail to satisfy them, still we want them so badly that we keep chasing them. The point is: creating a character that touches something in us and being creative with it is always the key.

GM: Do you have advice for novice artists?

Ç Ö: Never put limits to your imagination. Always read, watch and analyze. And NEVER give up on it.

Need illustration? Email Çağlar: azcaglar@gmail.com

Follow Çağlar on instagram