Giselle Clarkson is a New Zealand cartoonist and illustrator, best known for her non-fiction comics on conservation and environmental issues.

Clarkson studied for Bachelor of Fine Arts at the University of Canterbury, intending to become a painter but majoring in photography.^[1][2] She works as a freelance illustrator and comics artist, and lives in South Wairarapa, New Zealand.^[3][4]

After graduation she worked in an outdoor equipment shop and volunteered with conservation projects; she was torn between becoming an artist and working for the Department of Conservation.^[1] Her entry into illustration was a 2013 poster depicting New Zealand fish.^[2] Later illustrations of New Zealand native birds featured on RNZ's Morning Report were distributed through Twitter,^[3] which led to commissions from Forest and Bird's children's magazine, the New Zealand School Journal, newspapers, websites, and magazines, and a career in illustration.^[1][2]

Clarkson's first published comic, "The Flood", appeared in the 2016 collection of Aotearoa women's comics Three Words.^[5] Her best known work, "Biscuits and Slices of New Zealand", is a visual catalogue of New Zealand baking, with each object given a fanciful Latin name: for example, Anzac biscuit is "Lestwee forgetum". Widely shared in social media, this was published in Annual 2 (2017) and subsequently became a poster and tea towel; Clarkson was interviewed about the success of the comic on TV3's The Project.^[6][7] A follow-up illustration appeared in Annual 3 (2022).^[3]

Clarkson has a bimonthly comic in New Zealand children's literature website The Sapling, on children's books and how they influenced her as an illustrator.^[8] She frequently undertakes field expeditions as part of her work to places such as the Kermadecs, Milford Sound (to draw penguins) or the Subantarctic Islands (a 19-day sea voyage which led to an 8-page comic in the School Journal).^[1] She regularly creates illustration and T-shirts for the Radio New Zealand show Critter of the Week.^[9] In 2018 she produced a comics summary of a scientific paper on the migration of the Fiordland penguin or tawaki (Eudyptes pachyrhynchus),^[10] which was enthusiastically retweeted by Diana Gabaldon.^[2] She has also illustrated a number of children's books published by Gecko Press.

In 2022 Clarkson began illustrating a regular evolutionary-biology column by Kate Evans in New Zealand Geographic magazine. This led to a nomination as Best Artist in the 2023 Voyager Media Awards.^[3]

In 2023 her book The Observologist: A Handbook for Mounting Very Small Scientific Expeditions was published.^[11] The book was shortlisted for New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults, Elsie Locke Award for Non-Fiction in 2024.^[12]

In 2026 Clarkson's book Omnibird: An Avian Investigator's Handbook was shortlisted for New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults, Elsie Locke Award for Non-Fiction.^[13]

In 2023, Clarkson received an Arts Foundation of New Zealand Laureate Award.^[14] The panel described her work as "always technically impressive and incredibly imaginative; demonstrating huge sensitivity whilst retaining her trademark energy and vibrance."^[3]

Clarkson's 2025 book Omnibird: An Avian Investigator's Handbook was named a Storylines Notable Non-Fiction Book for 2025.^[15]

• —— (2023). The Observologist: A Handbook for Mounting Very Small Scientific Expeditions. Author and illustrator. Gecko Press.
• —— (2025). Omnibird: An Avian Investigator's Handbook. Author and illustrator. Gecko Press.

• Joyce, Rae; Laing, Sarah; Neville, Indira, eds. (2016). Three Words. Illustrations by Giselle Clarkson. Beatnik. ISBN 978-0-9941205-0-2.
• de Goldi, Kate, ed. (2016). Annual. Illustrated by Giselle Clarkson. Gecko Press. ISBN 978-1-77657-077-5.
• de Goldi, Kate, ed. (2017). Annual 2. Illustrated by Giselle Clarkson. Gecko Press. ISBN 978-0-473-39523-0.
• Meredith, Courtney Sina (2018). The Secret World of Butterflies. Illustrations by Giselle Clarkson. Auckland: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 978-1-76063-360-8.
• Blanchard, Nan, ed. (2019). Hazel and the Snails. Illustrated by Giselle Clarkson. Annual Ink. ISBN 978-0-9951135-8-9.
• Cowley, Joy, ed. (2019). The Gobbledegook Book: A Joy Cowley Anthology. Illustrated by Giselle Clarkson. Gecko Press. ISBN 978-1-77657-258-8.
• Tylee, Alexandra, ed. (2020). Egg and Spoon: An Illustrated Cookbook. Illustrated by Giselle Clarkson. Gecko Press. ISBN 978-1-77657-298-4.
• Cowley, Joy, ed. (2021). The Tiny Woman's Coat. Illustrated by Giselle Clarkson. Gecko Press. ISBN 978-1-77657-342-4.

• —— (2017). "The Subantarctic Islands" (PDF). The New Zealand School Journal. Illustrated by Giselle Clarkson.
• —— (2018). "Tawaki, Marathon Penguins". Giselle Draws. Archived from the original on 27 January 2019.

• Ned (snail), a garden snail with a left coiled shell found by Clarkson

• Giselle Clarkson Illustration (website)
• Giselle Clarkson comics in The Sapling