Personal project / Digital painting on Procreate

Sometimes, between projects it’s a good thing to take a break and unwind a bit. For me, one of the best ways to do it is by facing a white canvas and just let my hand flow freely, without any impositions or limits, color or any idea of what will come out of it.

In this case, I just found myself drawing layers of different shades of blue that reminded me of the ocean. So, I turned them into an illustration of an underwater landscape. Then, I decided that it’d be good for someone to enjoy such place, so I draw a man diving into the deep, all alone and listening only to the sounds beneath. After this nice brake, I was ready to go back to my other projects.

Personal Project / Digital illustration on Procreate app & Photoshop

We all know the story of Psycho, mostly thanks to the amazing horror movie directed by Alfred Hitchcock, which was based on a story by American author Robert Bloch. But… what if this book had been written instead as a romantic novel?

The idea of the characters from the novel living a true romance instead of… well… instead of what what they really do, seemed an interesting idea for me to work on. If I were asked to do an illustration for the cover of this romantic novel, this is one of the ideas I’d submit.

Personal Project / Digital painting on Procreate

Sometimes we´d rather do a very different thing from what we are supposed to do. On this particular occasion I had to work on a sunny Sunday, while my friends met for a nice drink. So, I decided the best way to cope was by making myself my own and turning work into pleasure. I used this illustration as a way to study light, reflections and the different textures a cold drink has.

The result is this illustration of a summer wine cocktail, what we call in Spain, a Tinto de verano.

Personal Project / Digital illustration on Procreate app & Photoshop

Art direction has always been a passion of mine. The work top international photographers do for fashion magazines has always been an inspiration for me, from Avedon to Mert & Marcus.

As an illustrator, I took a cultural phenomenon, the Kardashian family, and made them pose for me. Oh, and Kermit the Frog, from The Muppets Show, because, it sure starts also with a K:

Clockwise, from top to bottom: Kourtney Kardashian, wearing Giambattista Valli; Kris Jenner, in Valentino; Kim Kardashian, in Atelier Versace; Kendall Jenner, in Alexandre Vauthier; Khloé Kardashian, wearing Armani Privé and Kylie Jenner, in Giambattista Valli. All looks came straight from the Fall 2016 Couture fashion shows.

Personal Project / Digital illustration on Procreate app & Photoshop

When I was really young I remember we had hawks at home. My dad used to practice falconry with Spanish naturalist Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente, and they’d go to practice to one of the airports in Madrid, where they’d drive any bird around away from the nearby planes.

This illustration depicts the moment a gerfalcon lands into the gauntlet the falconer uses on his fist, after flying around. It’s based on a photography my dad took, and I used digital drawing techniques with Procreate app, on an iPad Pro, with some tweaks on Photoshop afterwards to highlight the texture and colors.

Personal Project / Digital illustration on Procreate app & Photoshop

I was on vacation with a few friends, in Geneva, spending a great evening by the lake, and there was this springboard where a few children were playing. Among these children there was a small boy, around 4 or 5 years old, with his dad. And you could see the boy wanted to try the springboard, but he was rather afraid.

After a few failed attempts, because it was five meters high, and the encouragement from his father, the boy finally jumped, and emerged from the water seconds later with a huge grin in his face before the proud eyes of his dad.

This image stayed with me some time, because we all have felt like that sometime, one way or the other.

Personal Project / Digital illustration on Procreate app & Photoshop

My dad is a wonderful photographer. He used to travel with his Leica camera everywhere, taking pictures of everything he wanted to remember, like this photo of my mum with two of their friends, taken at a lake in Scotland.

I love turning beautiful pictures into illustrations and I find my dad’s work pretty inspiring, so it’s no wonder I chose this one here to get some practice on capturing water and its reflections and illustrating the vintage atmosphere the original photograph has.

Commissioned illustration / Digital illustration on Procreate app & Photoshop

Client: Piazza Comunicación / Armani Beauty

For the launch of their fragrance SÌ, Armani Beauty and Piazza Comunicación, its Madrid based PR Agency, commissioned me portrait illustrations of 24 prominent women from the Spanish beauty and fashion industry.

As the event was planned around Mother’s Day, we requested each of them their favorite picture they had with their mother, or with their own daughters, so I could turn it into an illustration for such an special moment. Here are two examples, my favorites, from the final lot of illustration portraits.

Personal Project / Digital illustration on Procreate app & Photoshop

Starting from a photo I took of one of my best friends, I turned it into an illustration using just my iPad Pro and its Pencil. This drawing was one of the first I did using Procreate app, and I was amazed at how well it responded. Also, Procreate’s different brushes and its tweaks helped amazingly to achieve the effect I was looking for.

Personal Project / Digital illustration on Tayasui Sketches app & Photoshop

Apple’s iPad Pro is a great tool for illustrators. In this case, it let me work on a photograph of one of my friends, adding color layers and the typical textures you’d find in real life paintings. One of the best things about it, and with apps such as Procreate or Tayasui Sketches, is that they make it really easy to do and undo brush strokes, making digital illustration one of my preferred techniques. 

Competition entry / Digital illustration on Illustrator, Procreate app & Photoshop

When I heard Spanish author and playwright Juan Arcones was calling a contest for artists to illustrate the cover art of his latest work, I didn’t hesitate and got to work. The book was the follow-up to his previous novel, a romantic story about two guys falling in love, and its title, Basoréxico, refers to someone suffering from basorexia, that is, the overwhelming urge to kiss someone. 

Commissioned illustration / Digital painting on Procreate app & Photoshop

Client: Condé Nast Traveler

If you were to grant me a wish about where I’d like to be published, I’d say that in any of the publications from Condé Nast. So, when Condé Nast Traveler Spain reached out to me to do something for one or their sections I couldn’t believe it. The page was called Destino ilustrado -illustrated destination- and not only I had to do the illustrations but also the text, which had to be about any special place I’d visited abroad.

This commission, featured in their March issue, meant a lot to me, not only because where it was going to be featured but also because I got to be both the artist and the journalist, which is what I majored in at university.

Commissioned illustration / Digital drawing on Illustrator, Procreate app & Photoshop

Client: Kérastase / Vogue Magazine

Sometimes brands need to advertise their newest innovations in magazines even without an official picture of their finished product. That’s what happened at Kérastase, when they were to promote one of their products in Vogue Magazine and chose me to make a beauty illustration instead of using a real picture.

Although I knew how the product looked like I decided to draw a beauty scene, to set the mood for the page and match the text on the page. I presented them with two different choices that were combined in the end to look like this. It was featured in Vogue Spain’s Hair Special issue, in September 2017.

Commissioned illustration / Digital portrait on Procreate app

Client: Coolhunter Diary (Spanish blogger and influencer)

I’m very lucky to have great friends. One of them is Patricia Sañes, known to the world as Coolhunter Diary, one of the best fashion journalists in Spain. I’ve known her now for more than ten years since we worked together as journalists in the beauty industry. Now, neither of us do the same, as we both pursued our dream job and are still at it, and we try to see each other whenever we can (which is somewhat difficult).

She commissioned me a fashion portrait of her for her official website and we worked together on it as if it were a real-life photoshoot. We carefully chose everything, from the posture to the last item of clothing, and I made different versions till we found the drawing that fitted best. Feel free to check it at her site, where you’ll also be able to contact her and watch her amazing work.

Commissioned project / Digital illustration on Procreate app

Client: Ruth Delgado, author

Illustrating a book is always a great responsibility, and even more if it’s aimed for the younger audiences. Children’s illustration is one of my favorite specialties because you get to be part of something special and big. You help every young reader to dream and make the most out of every story, and your drawings will be completely attached to their experience.  

The monster with the big feet tells us the story of the titular monster, a friendly blue creature with huge feet that craves to have some friends to go trick-or-treating on Halloween. 

Commissioned Illustration Project / Digital artwork on Adobe Illustrator & Photoshop

Client: Globally / Nike

Early in my career, when I was still working as a journalist but doing some things here and there as an illustrator, I had the luck to meet the people at Globally, one of the most important PR and Communication agencies in Spain. At that time, I think it was in 2010, they represented Nike and were working with different artists on a project for the eyewear division of the international brand. I was really honored to be part of it, after they commissioned me four illustrations, that had to be inspired by Nike’s latest vintage sunglasses collection, to be exhibited during their launch event.

Personal Project / Digital illustration on Procreate app

Drawing based on a photograph of a woman lying by a pool on a summer day. I used exclusively digital brushes on Procreate, with zero post production on Photoshop.