Illustration & Writing Resources - Stay Home Edition

March 30, 2020

Hola, ¿cómo estás? I know that is a charged question these days… I hope you are staying home (if you can) and staying safe. I hope you find reasons to smile and keep going despite the fear and uncertainty. We are living through some weird times, but this too shall pass.

I am doing okay considering the circumstances. I was very busy this winter: teaching and working on a new book. But then I finished the book (YAY!), the classes I teach got cancelled mid-way (booo!), and all my plans fell through. The coronavirus arrived to California and life slowed down for me.

Of course, it’s not what I wanted or what I expected, but we are all dealing with this new reality the best we can. And that’s why I’m here!

I’ve been isolating for a few weeks, and I already started working on my next book. But I also wanted to find some time to reach out... Although we can’t meet up for coffee, we can still be here for each other.

I’ve collected some resources that hopefully will bring you some hope, distraction or reassurance during these difficult days. Okay, here they are:

The Creative Process: Unexpected Inktober Collaboration – Part 2

October 29, 2019

Last week I talked about the creative process, Inktober and unexpected collaborations. I also dared you to find inspiration in an unlikely place…

I found inspiration at a women’s dance workshop I attended recently. I was reminded of how amazingly liberating creating art can be when you are “feeling” instead of “thinking” the process. It was very challenging to…

The Creative Process: Unexpected Inktober Collaboration – Part 1

October 21, 2019

Most times an illustration “illuminates” a story. Text comes first, illustration follows. But that is not always the case. In the creative process rules are meant to be broken, toyed with, stretched. Sometimes a story appears at once through words and images. Other times, an illustration serves as the starting point for a story.

A couple of years ago…

Travel Journaling – Learn From My Mistakes

August 3, 2019

I’m back from a family camping trip in the Sierra Nevada (not the one in Spain... it turns out there is one also in California!). It was gorgeous.

We had no…

Give Chapter Books a Try

June 12, 2019

Are you happy with your illustration career? Do you have any regrets? I certainly do... I have made many mistakes in my career! But there is one thing that I never expected doing and that I am very happy about: working on chapter books.

Back when I was starting out, creating picture books was the dream. Picture books are so clever, and beautiful, and full of possibilities… Oh, aren’t they gorgeous? I wished I could make my own.

These days I ask my students what’s their goal, and guess what they tell me... They want to make picture books!

But sometimes what might look like a detour is actually a step in the right direction. So even if working on chapter books is not where you imagined your career going, I'd suggest you give it a try. And here is why...

Illustration Is Not a Hobby

June 1, 2019

Illustration is NOT a hobby, it’s a job.

We live in an extremely visual culture, and illustration is an important industry. Without us books, wine labels, clothes, posters, kitchen towels, etc. would be blank.

We might enjoy our job, we might be passionate about it, but still... we need to make a living from it. That we have fun doesn’t mean we don’t deserve getting paid. This is hard to understand for many people, illustrators included!

The good thing is: realizing that something needs to change is the first step to fixing it. So let’s…

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La ilustración no es un hobby, es un trabajo.

Vivimos en una cultura extremadamente visual y la ilustración es una industria importante. Sin nosotros…

Fighting Impostor Syndrome

January 29, 2019

I always told myself I was not a planner, I was a go-with-the-flow kind of gal. Planning was for accountants, not for artists. I now realize I was just scared... If you don’t plan, your plans CAN’T fail! Not the best strategy, but hey, it’s fool proof logic.

But three years ago I started planning, setting goals, writing to-do lists, doing self-evaluations… And I can’t begin to tell you what…

Making Inclusive Books

March 26, 2018

We illustrators have a mighty important role: we shape worlds.

When kids open our books, they step into our worlds and go off to live adventures. If we are lucky and create a compelling enough world (with the help of authors, publishers, designers, etc.), a kid will visit it again, and again, and again.

I didn't realize back then (7 years ago), but my first book was not very diverse. Luckily I have gotten a lot better about it! The protagonists of my last three books were a kid with a disability, a mixed race family, and two siblings of ambiguous race.

Are your books diverse enough? If your answer is no, do not despair... You have a chance to do better with the next one. We all do. Here are some strategies to help you embrace diversity and avoid stereotypes...