Vanessa Flores is an artist, illustrator + author raised on plátanos and old-school salsa. She grew up in New York in a Domini-Rican family and finished her high school studies in Puerto Rico. After moving to Florida, Vanessa studied and graduated with a BFA in Art, specializing in graphic design. She worked for several years as a graphic artist at Scholastic Book Fairs, designing and illustrating characters and backgrounds for several Book Fair themes. Continuously inspired by the books she was helping promote, she finally left to pursue a career in children’s book illustration.
Her passion for drawing began at the tender age of 3, when she reached the height of her artistic abilities by drawing her family as sausage-limbed characters on her Etch-a-Sketch. Summers in Puerto Rico fueled her love for mountains and magic. Botanical gardens, dancing, Studio Ghibli movies, and ghost stories are also a few of her favorite things. She loves illustrating humor, magic realism, and repping her culture through the art of storytelling.
Vanessa is the illustrator of the EAT BUGS: PROJECT STARTUP duology (Penguin Workshop), the TWINS VS TRIPLETS series (HarperKids) and a contributing artist for IN THE SPIRIT OF A DREAM (Orchard, December 2021). She is currently working on her graphic novel debut MORIVIVÍ (Dial). She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and an Orlando Giant Illustrator.
Let your passion be greater than your fear of failing!
For professional inquiries, please contact Vanessa's agent Christy T. Ewers at christy@catagencyinc.com.
Vanessa is currently not taking on book illustration jobs from self-publishing authors.
For all other inquiries, or if you want to say hi, send a message below!
Thank you!