Federico Manasse is an illustrator that has caught the eye of thousands. He's immortalised some of the most influential people on social media as well as some of the greatest names in the game.

We caught up with Federico to hear a little bit about his style, passions and what makes him tick.

CK: First things first, who do you support?

FM: I’ve been a huge AC Milan fan since as long as I can remember.

CK: Tell us a bit about yourself?

FM: I’m 21 years old, Italian and have just graduated from university in the UK. In my time at uni I dedicated a lot of my free time to drawing, which is a lifelong passion of mine, and a career seems to have slowly developed out of my efforts. I now feel confident enough in what I do to consider myself an artist, in some shape or form.

CK: Where do you get your inspiration from?

FM: I think my main source of inspiration, aside from art in and of itself, are people. It’s not a coincidence that people are almost always the protagonists of my drawings. I guess observing those around me just feeds me ideas on a daily basis, and I need to be in a social environment in order to “feel inspired”.

FM: I like to think that my style is unique, although I certainly draw inspiration and learn from other artists, both in the football industry and outside of it. I really wouldn’t compare my own work with theirs, but it is undeniable that they influence me in one way or another. In terms of other football-focused illustrators, I think the likes of Dan Evans, Omar Momani and Reuben Dangoor are all artists whom I admire for both their ideas and execution. 

CK: What project has had the biggest impact on social to date?

FM: The week I spent at Copa90 as Artist in Residence was certainly a watershed moment in terms of my social channels. Working there full-time for a week gave me a lot of exposure, both in terms of quantity and quality. It was by far the project with the most tangible and immediate impact on my social platforms.

CK: What has been a dream project for you?

FM: I would love to do something similar to Reuben’s ‘This is Home’ project for Arsenal x Adidas. He made a wonderful illustration which was then painted as a temporary mural on Holloway Road. If an illustration of mine was ever reproduced as a mural on the way to San Siro I think I’d gladly call it quits and hang up my pen. Another retirement-worthy project would be to design a choreography for Milan’s Curva Sud.

CK: Is there still anyone you'd still love to work with?

FM: I’d love to create some work for the club I support, and I’d also love to get some gigs in the music industry. There’s no specific clients which I can think of though – I think that in the world of football I’ve been lucky enough to do bits and bobs for almost everybody.

CK: What do you love about illustrating the world of football?

FM: As I said, my drawings are mostly inspired by people, and I think that football provides me with a vast selection of interesting and bizarre characters to draw inspiration from. Lots of funky-looking, charismatic, “drawable” personalities. Also, football is just such an engaging social phenomenon and such a huge passion of mine that it’s hard for me to not want to be a part of it, in whatever capacity.

CK: What have you got coming up?

FM: In mid-September I’ll be moving to Amsterdam to start working full-time as an Illustrator for 433. It’ll be for just under a year, to start with, and I’m just really looking forward to it. I never imagined until this year that I’d have the opportunity to draw for a living and I can’t wait to see how it goes.

CK: Where can fans of your work get their hands on a copy?

FM: I still haven’t really looked into making prints, but it’s something I’ll do eventually so keep your eyes peeled.

You can view more of Federico's work here.

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All images from @federicomanasse