Gizem Burcu Gerçek graduated from the Department of Painting at the Faculty of Fine Arts and the Department of Painting at the Institute of Fine Arts. After working with children on education through art using picture books, she became interested in illustration. She continues her work as a full-time illustrator and workshop instructor at the Platform XOX Art Consultancy Office, which she founded. She also conducts academic studies on the effects of art on child development. She is also the Art Director at AYNA Culture, Art, and Literature Magazine and a Board Member of the Dyslexia Learning Disability Association. She loves getting into stories; playing with color balls, making friends with characters, and getting lost in paint.