The Artwork of Ricardo Bessa
Born in the central regional city of Viseu in 1983, Ricardo Bessa is a Portuguese Manga-style illustrator whose work depicts unique 
subjects and distinctive color combinations. Using both digital and hand-drawn elements, he creates illustrations that straddle the line between fantasy and reality.
After a personal exploration of digital art work in his teenage years, Bessa studied Art and Multimedia at the Faculdade de Belas-Artes da Universidade de Lisboa where he earned his Bachelor of Arts in 2010. He continued his studies at London’s Kingston University where he achieved his Master of Arts in Illustration in 2011. Bessa worked in several Design and Art Direction positions before committing to a career as an independent illustrator in 2012.
Both an illustrator and storyboard artist, Ricardo Bessa specializes in sharply-edged, detailed figures and dynamic perspectives. His work draws inspiration from his Portuguese upbringing, the natural world, comics, mythology, and a variety
of queer art. Bessa’s character studies and challenging narratives appeal to a wide range of audiences. His work can be found in advertising projects, textbooks, comics, young-adult book covers, and many digital projects.
Among Bessa’s many clients have been the Oxford University Press, Puffin Books, Bloomsbury Publishing, HBO, Macmillan Publishing, Sony, Penguin Random House, Wired, The Atlantic, and Wizards of the Coast. He has worked for such properties as “Game of Thrones”, “Dungeons & Dragons”, “Magic: The Gathering”, “Power Rangers” and “Lumberjanes”. Bessa also did illustrative work for advertising animations to promote the second series of “The End of the F***ing World”, produced and animated by Picnic Studio. In 2015, Bessa curated “Heróica”, a 
superhero fanzine created by twenty-one Portuguese illustrators; he was also one of the curators for “Burl & Fur”, a 2016 magazine tribute to the bara manga genre.
Ricardo Ressa has exhibited his work in such English venues as the September 2024 Pride Comic Art Festival (PrideCAF) in the city center of Bristol; the October 2024 MCM (Movies, Comics, Media) Comic Con in London; the November 2024 Thought Bubble in Harrogate; and 2025 MegaCon Live, an annual pop culture and fandom convention at London’s ExCel exhibition center.
Based in London, Bessa is represented by the Folio Illustration and Animation Agency. His site and listed social links can be found at: https://www.ricardobessa.com
Notes: A 2020 YouTube video presented through Nicer Tuesdays’s live event website highlighted a presentation of Ricardo Bessa who discussed his illustrative work for season two of “The End of the F***ing World”. This video can be found under the name: Nicer Tuesdays: Ricardo Bessa.
Top Insert Image: Ricardo Bessa, “Self Portrait”, Digital Color Print
Second Insert Image: Ricardo Bessa, “Coming Home, Part 3”, January 2018, Illustration for May Healing’s short story “Coming Home”, Woman’s Weekly Magazine
Bottom Insert Image: Ricardo Bessa, Editorial Illustration for “Sky at Night: A Window on the Universe”, February 1990, British Broadcasting Company