Introducing Illustrator Nyrryl Cadiz!

We are thrilled to announce that Filipina illustrator Nyrryl Cadiz has joined us at Full Circle Literary!

Nyrryl was the recent Grand Prize Winner of the SCBWI Summer 2022 Portfolio Showcase and the 2022 Ezra Jack Keats Showcase Prize, awarded to an up-and-coming BIPOC illustrator. We are excited to shine a light on her beautiful work.

Nyrryl Cadiz is a Filipina artist, who loves to create dynamic and joyful pieces, taking inspiration from Filipino folk art, and using vibrant colors and texture that mimics traditional pencils and crayons. Nyrryl loves to illustrate fun and whimsical stories, especially featuring Filipino culture.

Nyrryl is from a small city in the Philippines, right on the coast. A fairly rural area and agricultural town, Bayawan City has an annual fiesta celebrating a bountiful rice harvest called the Tawo-tawo Festival (Scarecrow Festival). Despite growing up in poverty, she remembers a childhood rich in strong community, great food, good weather, and beaches with stunning sunsets.

The granddaughter of a photographer and portrait painter, Nyrryl has always been drawn to art and storytelling. Her mother has always been her biggest supporter, proud to say her daughter had inherited her own father’s talent. As a child, Nyrryl would ask for coloring books and crayons, and her mother would spend what money she could to buy her art materials. Nyrryl treasured these, even if the off-brand crayons didn’t color quite as brightly as her developing, vibrant style wanted.

Filipino folk art and history is a significant inspiration for Nyrryl’s work. When she was a kid, every Sunday she would lay under a mango tree and listen to her mother tell stories – Filipino folktales, stories about her grandparent’s experiences during the war, her mother’s childhood, and more. By the time she was in school, she loved classic tales, devouring fairytale collections, Filipino, Greek, and Roman tales and histories. As she developed as an artist, Filipino stories and artwork influenced her style and desire to feature the folklore and culture in her work.

Nyrryl’s illustration work falls into two styles. Her primary style is textured and stylized, with softened edges, warm, earthy tones and pops of bright color. Here is a little about how Nyrryl describes her artistic process:

“I work digitally for the entire process, but using techniques to capture a more traditional style. I start with a rough sketch, then use a small textured brush to incorporate a pencil look. I paint in small strokes and keep my colors rough and uneven, making a point to avoid flat and even paint applications.”

Nyrryl’s second style is a more crisp, comic style. Her work is bright and expressive, and a great fit for a wide range of projects across categories.

She also works in black and white, and is open to projects in all styles!

Nyrryl is open to picture books, board books, chapter books, book covers and interior illustrations. For book projects, she would love to work on:

- Stories with diverse characters

- Stories that celebrate Filipino kids, families, and culture

- Coming of age stories

- Fantasy meets real-world adventures

- Strong female leads

And much more!

She is also developing her original author-illustrated projects, which we look forward to bringing to you in the future!

Nyrryl lives in the Philippines, working as a full-time illustrator. For more information and samples of her work, please visit her website and Instagram.

Nyrryl Cadiz’s lead agent is Taylor Martindale Kean in our San Diego office. Contact her at taylor@fullcircleliterary.com.

For more information on all of our Full Circle Literary illustrators, please visit: www.fullcircleliterary.com 

We look forward to creating beautiful books with you!

Full Circle Literary

3268 Governor Drive

San Diego CA 92122

Copyright 2023 Full Circle Literary. Copyright artwork 2023 by Nyrryl Cadiz

All rights reserved