PLEASE NOTE: Some of the art below is NSFW (18+). Please proceed accordingly!
ABOUT CELI_ARTS
Célia Bourdet (she/her) is a freelance illustrator based in France who specializes in creating art for book covers, end pages, and sprayed edges. She has worked on elements of books for publishers like Slalom Romance, Hachette Romans, Gulfstream Éditeur, and more!
Célia has loved drawing since she was a kid. When she was still in school, she enjoyed doodling in her notebooks (instead of listening to class), but it wasn’t until after she finished her studies that she decided to take drawing more seriously.
Her journey with art began in 2011 when she started teaching herself everything, practicing every day, taking inspiration from the things around her, like nature or what she loved, and following tutorials online. Her main tools for creating art include her iPad Pro with the Procreate software, and she also enjoys painting with ink and doodling on paper with pencils.
Where do you find inspiration for your designs?
I honestly find inspiration everywhere. It can be a tree during a walk, a song I've heard, a movie I watched, or a book I've read. That's right, I'm that kind of person who spends hours in a video game just to look at the background and take screenshots. There are also so many other artists that inspire me every day.
Do you have a favorite piece of art you've created to date? What makes it special to you?
It’s hard to choose just one piece out of everything I’ve created! I’d say my skeleton knight "Hemlock," which I made during Inktober 2022. When I finished the drawing and looked at it, I thought, 'Wow, I actually made this!' Even today, I still feel really proud every time I see it.
CELI_ARTS x OWLCRATE
Célia was one of the artists who worked on our social deduction card game Stryx, along with creaturegraphics, wictorian_art, zarimoth, dianadworak, andiliion, and meowtricia_. She illustrated the cards for Coyote, Ryujin, Naga, and Tengu with art direction by @heyatlascreative and @stubbornpagemage.
What are some of your favorite books or authors?
Okay, this one's really difficult because I love so many books! If I had to choose one, it would be Mona Awad, especially her novel "Rouge," because this book is incredibly important to me. I love her writing style—the surreal and slightly eerie feel of their work, with a fever-dream vibe that makes me feel like I’m tumbling down the rabbit hole. Speaking of rabbits, my second favorite of all time is Watership Down—a classic that’s impossible to put down!
