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When creates an illustration, he thinks of it a little like composing a piece of music. In the modern music industry, both traditional and electronic instruments have found their place in the songwriting process. Software like Audacity or Apple’s GarageBand have made it possible for the uninitiated masses (i.e., me) to make something resembling music. But I’m sure that one glimpse at my childhood computer would be enough to convince you that software is no substitute for talent and a well-trained ear. Even advancements in artificial intelligence have yet to replace these core tools.

Alessandro Manzella, The Shipwreck – Memento Mori, 2024

Many people assume that because computers make music production easier, they are inferior to traditional instruments. But the reality is that computers present a very different path of music production than traditional instruments. As Manzella points out, “You have to be consistent with the instrument itself.” One may never be as impressed with an electronic composer’s technical ability as with that of a traditional musician. But as digital products have made the process of music creation faster and more adaptable, they’ve spearheaded a culture of experimentation where the unique attributes of the music itself can shine.

Manzella takes a similar approach with his digital illustration. His work uses a mix of traditional and digital techniques. But it is on the computer that his vision truly comes alive. “After I find the right idea,” he says,

I make a quick drawing on the graphics tablet; then, I create a background by putting together scans of watercolored sheets. The background and drawing must communicate and influence each other continuously. I also digitally put together scans or drawings that I have already done, merging them with what I am doing to create more and more chaos. And then, by drawing on them, I hide or bring out the shapes useful for the final drawing. I try to find a sense in the noise.

By blending his technical proficiency in drawing and painting with the fast-paced flexibility of digital software like Procreate, Manzella creates pieces that are at once frenetic and cohesive. Starting from the foundation of his subject matter, he can quite literally draw the concrete out of the abstract. His technical skill may ground him, but it is in composition that he truly tells a story.

Alessandro Manzella, Jousting, 2022

Manzella has been drawing since he was very young and always dreamed of making a living with it. After winning awards for his illustrations, he transitioned out of a career in graphic design and found a home in the close-knit Italian publishing sector. In recent years, most of his work has come from comics and video games. Not only are these fields a growing and lucrative option for many creatives, but they also offer a wealth of opportunities to explore different genres, personalities, concepts, atmospheres, and moods. Comics, in particular, require careful attention to detail since every element can either add or subtract from the intended effect of the story. 

Alessandro Manzella, book cover for The Maleficent Seven, italian edition, 2024

Though Manzella creates all the elements of his illustrations himself, his proficiency in the digital space allows him to mix and remix them in an infinite number of ways – like musical notes, blending harmony and dissonance to create a scene that feels at once chaotic and integrous, verging on an ever-more-specific “feeling” that is as unique as the story he’s depicting. If done right, these images will stick in the viewer’s mind as vividly as the most poignant line of dialogue.

Viewers may not even realize all the details that go into making an image memorable beyond the more obvious factors, like landscape rendering and character design. The thickness of the lines and shapes, the positioning and angling of elements, the momentary flash of a complementary color, the relative size and distance of figures, the texture of the “paper,” the contrast of light and shadow, the size and shape of the negative space, the position and intensity of the focal point (or points), and countless other factors all contribute to the quality and emotional impact of the art. While traditional artists also consider these factors, they can find themselves hemmed in by the restrictions of their medium, in which compositions often require careful planning. On a computer, Manzella has the luxury of deviating from the plan and exploring a new series of possibilities where, with pen and paper, he would slowly be limited to one.

Alessandro Manzella, Mech vs. Geometry, 2025

As you may have noticed, the process I’m describing is similar to that of collage-making. And that is no accident. One of Manzella’s most important influences was the work of artists from the 1980s and 1990s who “went beyond the self-imposed limits of the medium by creating works made by mixing the most varied media: photography, collage, craftsmanship. Artists like Bill Sienkiewicz and Dave McKean,” he says, “taught me that if there are limits, they are much wider than one might think and that we have not fully explored them.” These artists shared what we might term the “digital” attitude of creation at a time when most art and design were still done almost exclusively with tangible media. Long before there were RGB screens, there were people cutting pictures out of magazines with X-acto knives – or printmakers experimenting with different color schemes, or mosaicists shifting around little shards of stone and glass. Manzella’s illustrations are an evolution of this time-honored tradition of meditating on the little details of composition. The difference being, he has the luxury of being both artist and composer.

Alessandro Manzella, Western, 2023

Because beneath Manzella’s compositional process lies a sincere desire to make and communicate real meaning. Alongside the Sienkiewiczs and McKeans of the art world, he is also fascinated by the works of Andrew Wyeth, especially “Christina’s World,” which he stumbled across one day while reading a comic. “[Wyeth] has a way of drawing nature and trees,” he says, that “manages to convey a materiality of the things he draws, which have very deep meanings.” 

 The world of comics and video games has come a long way from the trivial pastimes of the 1980s; many now look to it as one of the most promising horizons for masterful, emotional storytelling. When Manzella is commissioned to create a digital illustration, his toolbox includes more than just software; it includes a lifetime of time and talent spent observing people, places, and things. It includes learning how to express their essences in a way that transcends words.

Alessandro Manzella, Dawn, 2023

Much like music, where the audience’s emotional reaction to a piece can shift dramatically depending on the melody, key, and tempo, a good illustration’s core is its narrative meaning, upon which the composition can build. Manzella’s work, with its blend of technique and experimentation, presents a vision of computers’ roles in our creative journey that enhances rather than deadens it. With computers’ expansive reasoning capabilities and humans’ intuitive touch, there are innumerable avenues that remain to be explored.

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