Animation Reel
Biography Interview
Audrey Malo is a French Canadian illustrator living and drawing in Montreal. Audrey loves to explore contrasts of shapes, sizes and colours with a touch of humor and naiveté. Her characters either live on floating platforms or inside of ornate frames, while her characters experience mundane domestic situations. Malo works digitally, using an ipad, the Adobe Fresco app and a limited colour palette. Since joining Anna Goodson Illustration back in 2016, Audrey’s work has been seen in many international magazines, editorials, advertising, packaging and in children’s books.
Selected clients
The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Globe and Mail, VICE, The Hollywood Reporter, Masterclass, Reebok, Fast Company, Goldfish, Tim Hortons, Reader's Digest, Harvard Ed, The Boston Globe, Le Devoir, Ad Age, La Pastèque, Éditions les 400 coups, L'actualité, Brasserie Dunham, La Presse +
Read moreAwards
- LUX 2017 – Prix relève
- Award in the Local Cover category for the cover of the Perspectives section of Le Devoir titled “(Re)sortir le spectateur de sa bulle”- The Society for News Design, 43rd edition of the Best of Print News Design.
Career Milestones
Work for The New York Times, Loto-Québec and the national vaccination campaign in Québec
Read moreAudrey Malo in the Spotlight
Audrey Malo
Illustrating the future
We work with the world's most brilliant and visionary creatives to bring the boldest concepts to life.
Your pronouns
She/Her
How do you define your identity? Do you identify with (or advocate for) any marginalized communities?
I’m a single, able-bodied caucasian woman in her thirties. My career and education have been my main quests for all of my adult life and I’ve come a long way to support myself and make a life that I’m proud of, filled with childlike wonder.
Where is home?
In my small 3 ½ apartment on Montreal’s east side of the Plateau.
Describe your illustration style in one sentence
Simple yet funny characters in a world defying proportions.
What lights your soul on fire?
Curiosity and spontaneity
What themes do you enjoy exploring in your illustrations?
Human touch, innocence and naïveté.
What techniques do you use?
When I’m in a rush I do everything on my iPad – from sketch to finished illustration – using the app Adobe Fresco. If I’m not on a tight deadline, I will usually work on the sketches with a pencil and paper first, before transferring it to the iPad.
How much of yourself and your own story can we see in your work?
Subject-wise, my work feels like it reflects a part of my subconscious. Style-wise, it reflects my evolution as a person and illustrator. I used to be messier, as an artist and person, and now I like things to be simple, or at least, simple in their complexity.
Is there an unmistakable thread in your creative work?
The primary color, which I will use for the outline, will be the darker shade of the whole piece. Other than that, I’d say the small black dots as eyes.
What do you want to be known for?
I want people to feel amused by my work.
Which projects excite you most?
When I’m working on something that is new to my portfolio, that will push my art in new directions. I like big-scale and ambitious projects as well, the ones that make my parents proud.
What is your dream gig?
A beautiful tangible project: an artsy wine bottle, a fun packaging for a new technological object that I love, a book for a publishing house that I admire, a mural for a cute café or restaurant.
Where, when and how do you best create?
Shamefully, I sometimes work for long hours while laying on my couch.
How has your style evolved since you started?
It’s light years away from when I first started. I’ve worked with watercolors, acrylics, oil, collage, then switched to complex layered digital images, flat design. Everything that was on trend at the time, for the past 15 years.
What do you find most challenging in your practice or in the illustration industry?
I’m at this point in my practice where I’m really comfortable with my style and I’m trying to stay fresh with it and not do the same thing over and over again, which is hard when you have to post often on social media to be at peace with the algorithm.
How has being an illustrator changed your life?
It helped me find my people, build a life that feels authentic and unique. I wouldn’t see myself doing anything else.
Name a tool you can’t live without!
My iPad Air
Tell us about a project you worked on that was meaningful to you as an artist.
Getting my first job for The New York Times was quite a milestone for me. It’s something I wasn’t sure I’d achieve in my career.
What influences or inspires your art?
Vintage children’s books, small objects, antiques, movies, books, podcasts, a healthy work-life balance…
What would you tell your younger self?
It’s going to take a while but you will get there and it will be worth it.
Why do you think art speaks louder than words?
Art is more accessible than words, and art can be anything.