Marco Albiero

Marco Albiero is an Italian fanartist turned pro. He has done official illustrations of several anime series, from merchandising packages to DVD covers, including Sailor Moon. He still creates unofficial art. His most notorious influences are Shingo Araki, Michi Himeno, Naoko Takeuchi, Yuzo Takada and Ikuko Itoh.
Marco liked drawing since he was a child. At sixteen he started attending an Editorial Graphics School and he's done several drawing courses both in Europe and Japan. He considers his two favourite series to be Saint Seiya and Sailor Moon.
Most of his art is gen, although he's occasionally drawn yaoi and yuri too.
He rose to prominence in the early 2000s, gaining widespread recognition for the big quantity and exceptional quality of his Saint Seiya artwork shared on the Internet. His drawings often achieved such a high level of craftsmanship that they were frequently mistaken for official illustrations. In addition to his fanart, Marco has also designed numerous original characters, including gods that do not feature in the original series, as well as unique armor designs of his own creation.
He became a professional illustrator in 2009, when Kappa Edizioni hired him for illustrations related to Sailor Moon. His works were reviewed and selected by Toei Animation and Naoko Takeuchi, author of the series to appear in the Style Guide.
== Criticism and Controversies ==
In 2021, Marco Albiero faced criticism on Twitter due to an incident that was perceived as displaying unprofessional behavior. Albiero posted a tweet expressing dissatisfaction with the new DVD covers of 'The Rose of Versailles' and tagged TMS, the studio responsible for the series. In the tweet, he shared his own redrawn art of the covers, suggesting that the studio should consider hiring him instead. However, following a backlash from the community, the tweets were later deleted.https://www.sailormoonforum.com/index.php?threads/sailor-moon-key-artist-marco-alibiero-should-know-better.33348/ Sailor Moon key artist Marco Alibiero should know betterhttps://imgur.com/a/RRYrOPJ
=== Unauthorized Merchandise ===
Albiero's artwork, famous for its close resemblance to official illustrations, has been featured through the years in many unauthorized commercial products. In December 2024, a controversy arose involving Albiero and Jorge de Pegaso, the holder of the Guinness record for the largest Saint Seiya collection. The dispute centered around the use of Albiero's illustrations in an unauthorized 2025 Saint Seiya calendar that Jorge plans to release for sale.https://x.com/AlbieroMarcoArt/status/1865807696823275556 This person always uses my illustrations without asking my permission. Please do not patronize him or buy from him. Thank you for your understanding and support.
== Notable Works ==
File:Wyvernharpymarcoalbiero.jpg|Anime style art of Wyvern Rhadamanthys and Harpy Valentine from before the release of the Hades Chapter (2000)
File:Mal-dr05.jpg|Pisces Aphrodite (Saint Seiya) (2001)
File:Unicornjabumarcoalbiero.png|Unicorn Jabu (Saint Seiya) made for Festa dell Unicorno 2017
File:Marcoalbierominakorei.jpg|Hino Rei/Aino Minako fanart (2022) 
== Interviews ==
* Interview to Marco Albiero in Spanish by Tauro Aldebarán
== References ==
Category:Fanartists
Category:Professional Artists