Gianna Ruggiero, more commonly known as “Gigi,” is an illustrator, concept artist, gamer, and lover of a good story. She was raised on water ice and pretzels in South Philadelphia. She studied computer animation, which landed her a job in feature-film animation, and worked on Toy Story 3, Car 2, ParaNorman, and The Boxtrolls. She then switch career to work in the video game industry as a concept artist while pursuing her illustration career in children’s books.

Gianna’s art is mostly inspired by everyday life and moments, with an emphasis on diverse characters and creatures. She works mostly in digital but likes to mix real world materials and media into her work like pencil, bark, and dirty paper to add a nice texture. She also loves to use pencil and watercolor from time to time. Every Night Is Pizza Night is Gigi’s debut as a children’s book illustrator.