Hi, I’m an illustrator from Sao Paulo, Brazil, 31 years old. I have a small home office where I like to work at night. I think the night is perfect to concentrate more and have better ideas.

Well, sometimes I change the time too, it depends the work I’m doing at the moment. I started in about 12 years ago as graphic designer, in a small studio. So, I could work with many different kinds of jobs, since CD covers to Toys. I think this time gave a good experience and contacts enough to start my so wished illustration career, in 2005.

My first action was to contact potential clients (publishers, design studios, agencies) and tell them that I was working as illustrator and show some portfolio, full of fake works, actually, but enough to show some of the work I was able to do. I got some jobs from the people I’ve been working when I was a graphic designer and I got some few jobs from publishers, children books, educational stuff. I think this was my start.

Thank you. Well, the only way to become good in everything is to keep pushing the boundaries, not be satisfied and keep trying to improve the work. For Illustration it means that you always need to make a critical review over your work and see what could be done better and consider these points to the next work. Sometimes the points to improve are related to technique, sometimes the creative work and sometimes nothing related to illustration skills but related to relationship with clients and creative partners, yes they can help you to make great works but they can destroy any potential masterpiece

It’s important to learn how to deal with different minds, learn how to make clear your points of view and defend your work. About learning, I like to see showcases of different jobs of illustrators, designers. I can always learn something by others experience. Also I like to keep studying illustration and everything related to the human perception, semiotics, psychology. I’m not a deep student, just a curious, but I always can learn something interesting to use in my works.

It depends. It can be from 8 to 12 hours or 15 to 30 hours. More complex works, more time to do...sure.

The process is simple. First I like to have clear in my mind what I’m going to illustrate. If I’m doing a work for a client, for example, I like to have long conversations until understand exactly the reason for the illustration, what messages, concepts or ideas the illustrations will carry, also where the illustration will be applied and the context where the illustration will be displayed. This is just to know the role of the illustration in the communication strategy. With everything understood, I sketch some simple thumbnails on paper, just to clarify the ideas and start working some elements. As soon I have something, I go to Photoshop and I do a better sketch using a wacom tablet. At this point I start to find for references of the elements I will need to draw. Sometimes I send 3 different sketches to the client, but it depends how the initial idea was conceived, if it was not clear, so more sketches are needed, if the client comes with a more solid idea, so one sketch can be enough. After having a sketch approved, I go to finish the job in the technique chosen (vector, in Illustrator or digital painting, in Photoshop). At this time I use all the references to draw everything I cannot draw by memory. I like to draw objects and people by references, even if I’m doing a stylized work. When I finish the job, I send to the client for approval, and if it’s ok, it’s done.

Well, ESPN Brazil contacted me directly, the art director called me asking for illustration of portraits. He had seen my work in my website, specially some portraits I did for another magazine here in Brazil. So the art director saved my portfolio on his reference folder and contacted me as soon he got a job. The same was for Nike, the art director had my work safe on his reference folder and contacted me as soon they had a concept of work that my illustrations would fit well. These cases just show how important is to keep a website updated and running all the time, you never know who exaclty is viewing your works and thinking about you for a future job.

Both. I like client work obviously because I need money :) But the question is not just money, I prefer to work with good people and interesting jobs and have always a good experience in the process. I work alone, I need to use my time carefully. I like to make personal pieces to try a new technique or just to make an exercise of creativity. Actually, the basic is: I love to do interesting works, I don’t mind if they are for client or personal. I just want to feel motivated to work, that’s when I can extract 100% of my potential.

Both. I like client work obviously because I need money :) But the question is not just money, I prefer to work with good people and interesting jobs and have always a good experience in the process. I work alone, I need to use my time carefully. I like to make personal pieces to try a new technique or just to make an exercise of creativity. Actually, the basic is: I love to do interesting works, I don’t mind if they are for client or personal. I just want to feel motivated to work, that’s when I can extract 100% of my potential.

I like to work by myself. I think I can work much more by this way. The main advantage is that I can make my time as I want. I don’t need to meet a workload, but just finish the requests in the given deadline. I like to have the possibility of make a plan to meet the deadlines considering only my work. I worked years in a usual workload and I always had problems. It’s really hard for me to be creative between “X” hour and “X” hour. So, working by myself I can be a better professional and work with the needs of the client. Another good thing is that I can keep focused just in my work. Sometimes when you work in a agency you cannot avoid to be involved in parallel things such interest conflicts, relationship problems….things that don’t help you to make a better work, of course. Some cons of working as self employed are: Accountant, Bills, Taxes, bureaucracy, and that I can’t meet my mates after work for a beer.

Keep moving and keep improving.