Biography
Pamela Samel (b. 1985) is a freelance illustrator. She studied textile design at the Estonian Academy of Arts, received a bachelor’s degree in art education from Tallinn University, and has participated in several other illustration courses.
Samel works as a costume designer for film and television. She has collaborated with several Estonian publications including the children’s magazines Täheke and Hea Laps. Her style is novel and trend-conscious in the context of Estonian children’s literature: naively laconic illustrations dominated by elegant color combinations on surfaces, all of which inspire fun and enjoyment. Her characters are pleasantly peculiar and highly relatable in their sincerity.
Several of Samel’s illustrated books have been awarded in both Estonia and abroad.
What fascinates me about illustration is that it’s an endless and limitless world. While drawing has always been something I’ve done, I place particular focus on illustrating children’s books, which allows you to visualize longer stories. When working on a book, I like to maintain a certain kind of discipline that compels you to make decisions. What tools should I use? What will the format be? What colors? Not to mention the strong emotions that come with making picturebooks. I like flipping through children’s books, inhaling their scent, and returning to them again and again to discover something new. It’s a magical form of art to tinker with.
24.04.2023
Profile picture: private collection
5 Best Designed Estonian Children’s Books, Certificate of Merit (Liis Sein. Why Jaan?)
2024
Selected illustrator for the Lustr Illustration Festival, Prague, Czech Republic
2023
dPictus’ 100 Outstanding Picturebooks
Bologna Children's Book Fair Illustrators Exhibition winner (Liis Kivirand, Tubes)
Book Tubes was selected for the Bologna Ragazzi Awards “The BRAW Amazing Bookshelf”
2022
Special Newcomer Prize, 5 Best-Designed Estonian Children’s Books (Tiiu Kitsik, Who’s There?)
2021
Knee-High Book Comptition, 3rd place (Liis Kivirand, Tubes)
2026
“Bear Your Freedom” group exhibition by the Pictoric art collective at the Book Arsenal international book festival, Kyiv, Ukraine
“Everything Is Translation” group exhibition by the Pictoric art collective at the Bologna Children's Book Fair, Italy
2025
“Life on the Edge” group exhibition by the Pictoric art collective at the Leipzig Book Fair, Germany
Estonian illustrators’ exhibition “Hello! Tere!” at the Bologna Children's Book Fair, Italy
“Cowboy Plague”, Bästard, Tallinn, Estonia
Estonian illustration exhibition “City of Stories” Estonian National Museum, Tartu, Estonia
“Kajab! Contemporary Illustration in Children’s Literature”, Telliskivi Creative City Gallery, Tallinn, Estonia
Estonian illustration exhibition “Cittadini Creativi”, Palazzo d’Accursio, Bologna, Italy
Bologna Illustrators Exhibition 2023, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park, Taipei, Taiwan
Estonian illustrators’ exhibition “A Healthy Mind in a Healthy Body”, Estonian Centre for Children's Literature, Tallinn, Estonia
“Everything Is Translation” group exhibition by the Pictoric art collective at the Book Arsenal international book festival, Kyiv, Ukraine
2024
“Peace Should Be Learned in Childhood” illustration exhibition, Tehran, Iran
Lustr Festival, Prague, Czech Republic
Tallinn Illustration Triennial exhibition, Płock Art Gallery, Płock, Poland
“Life on the Edge” group exhibition by the Pictoric art collective, Warsaw
“Life on the Edge” group exhibition by the Pictoric art collective at the Book Arsenal international book festival, Kyiv, Ukraine
Illustrators’ Symposium group exhibition, Broumov, Czech Republic
“When Everything Matters” — group exhibition by the Pictoric art collective, Bologna, Italy
Bologna Illustrators Exhibition 2023, CxC Art Museum, Seoul, South Korea
Tallinn Illustration Triennial exhibition, Jõhvi Art School Gallery, Jõhvi, Estonia
2023
VII Tallinn Illustrations Triennial (TIT 2023), Estonian Museum of Architecture
Bologna Illustrators exhibition, Nanao Art Museum, Ishikawa, Japan
Bologna Illustrators exhibition, Otani Memorial Art Museum, Nishinomiya, Japan
Bologna Illustrators exhibition, Itabashi Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan
Biennial of Illustrations Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia
Frankfurt Book Fair, Frankfurt, Germany
The International Book Arsenal Festival, Kyiv, Ukraine
Bologna Illustrators exhibition, Bologna, Italy
dpictus 100 Outstanding Picturebooks exhibition (Tubes) , Bologna, Italy
Bologna Ragazzi “The BRAW Amazing Bookshelf”, Italy
