About me

Hello! My name is Joana Estrela. I’m a illustrator and author (illustrauthor? authostrator?).

I was born in 1990 and grew up in Penafiel, Portugal. It’s not a very big city but it has a statue of a dragon-snake on the main avenue, and that’s something.

I studied Communication Design in Porto’s Fine Art Faculty, and still live and work next door to the school.

In 2014, Plana published my first book: Propaganda. In 2016, Planeta Tangerina published Mana, the winner of 1st Serpa Internacional Award for Picture Books. The book received the award for Best Illustration of a Picturebook (Portuguese Author) in Amadora BD, the same year.