Dan always loved drawing. Before he went to school he was already having art lessons, so he learnt to draw before he learnt to read. He studied in his native Romania and went on to be a concept artist for animation companies and illustrated a book of poetry for children. He is a recent graduate from the prestigious MA in Children's Book Illustration at the Cambridge School of Art. Nara and the Island is his author-illustrator debut, for which he was a Runner-up in the V&A Illustration Award in 2015.