Tell us about yourself
Hola! I am Natalia Revelo, a designer, and illustrator from Barranquilla, Colombia living in California, USA.
What type of art do you feel most connected to?
I gravitate towards artists with a lot of creative imagination, regardless of their style. However, I usually find myself admiring surrealist pieces, for their distorted and bizarre scenes, that can make us feel a variety of emotions.
How long have you been drawing or illustrating?
Since I can remember! But as a profession, 3 years.
What inspires you most to illustrate?
Nature, colors, the human figure, and shapes that adapt to the spaces that they are given.
Do you remember your first-ever illustration? What was it?
Not exactly, but I do remember I had a phase when I was about 8 or 9 years old when I would draw my favorite cartoons, the Sailor Moon's characters were my favorite! I remember a friend at school who had the same passion for drawing them, she was really good! We would fill our notebooks with faces and create our own characters. That was the art class I never took at school.
Describe your creative illustration process in several steps.
For my Instagram posts, I usually share my sketchbook's illustrations. I don’t have a process for it. I would just sit in my "art corner" (as I call it), play music *super important for Latinos*, and allow myself to illustrate anything, no matter how "ugly" or "imperfect" the illustration turned out.
For commissioned work, I would generally start by researching the topic I’ll be illustrating.
After having a clear picture of the elements I want in the illustration, I would start with the first sketches, there can be 1 to 10 different initial versions since I play with colors a lot. Finding the right balance is super important to me. I spend most of my time tweaking, adding, erasing details. This is the step where I would spend most of the time.
For the final steps, I scan any hand-drawing illustration, balance colors digitally, and deliver the first draft and final version of the illustration. This is when I can finally receive feedback from clients and make sure their vision has been illustrated.
Receiving feedback from clients it's a great way to keep improving your work. It’s part of the process.
Where do you see yourself in the future?
I am currently working on opening my online store. I am hoping to keep growing and learning as an Illustrator, as a person, and keep meeting other creative minds.
What three things would you tell others to be inspired to make art during Covid-19?
I have struggled with creating during this time, it is not easy to have the same daily routine with everything that is happening around the world. However, I've been practicing different “routines” that are not connected directly with art, that have helped me to feel more inspired to create.
Making sure I "get ready" every morning for work, helps me to be more productive. Even if there are only a few steps to get to my workspace, changing my clothes and the space where I work/sleep/relax helps a lot.
Exercise, walking, sitting outdoors, or anything that makes me feel disconnected from technology and connected to the world around me.
The last thing I would tell others is to get inspired to make art during these ambiguous and difficult times. Over and over I’ve read: Practice, practice, and practice! It doesn't matter how "good" or "bad" the art you make looks, finding the space every day to create something helps to continue to create inspiration and style.
Which tools do you use to illustrate? Which one do you use the most?
For my digital artwork, I use Procreate, Adobe Illustrator, and Photoshop to balance colors, and edit details. For the hand drawing illustrations, I share on my Instagram. I use any sketchbook for mixed media or any paper with more than 150GSM. For the rest of my illustrations, I love to use any surface, and I usually work with acrylics and watercolor.
How can others find your work or connect with you?
Follow me in my Instagram: @reveloarte
Stay tuned for the launch of my shop: www.nataliarevelo.com