“Our Celebración!” – Pre-order links & Kirkus Starred Review!

I am very excited to share with you the upcoming book that I illustrated “Our Celebración!”, coming out this October 2nd to bookstores near you! It is written by Susan Middleton Elya, published by Lee & Low Books and I am very happy to share also that it has received a Kirkus starred review!

It is available for pre-oder at the following locations: IndieBound, Amazon, Barnes & Noble

 

Thank you so much to everyone that has been supporting my work!

 

Interview with animator-illustrator Catalina Matamoros

Catalina Matamoros is an award winning animator and illustrator from Colombia. She has been animating for the past 10 years and is currently working in very exciting projects for interactive children’s books in places such as Airbnb.
To learn more about her work please visit catalinamatamoros.com

Her work is whimsical, full of joy and unique! I am very happy to share with you an insight of Catalina’s work:


Q. Where do you find inspiration for your illustrations/animations ?

I really like looking children’s books and other illustrators’ work.  I like taking pictures and later using them for illustrations and animations.





Forbidden Music – A story told in Gifs – Airbnb

Q. Can you describe your process and how you came to find your voice? Which are your favorite tools?

My favorite tool is Photoshop! I do everything with it. Usually my process starts with writing. I like doing to-do lists of ideas that I have that I can later go back to. When I have a project I also write the ideas down. I try to describe as much as possible what I am visualizing and I make little doodles.

Once  I go with one of the ideas, I start sketching it out. I like working in Photoshop because I like using layers. I first start with a simple drawing creating the composition. After I go refining in different layers until I have a result I am happy with.

At the beginning I was always copying the work of others. I felt like I didn’t have a signature of my own work. but that was good in the way that I learned to be versatile. Now I prefer, flat, geometric and colorful compositions.

For animation I usually do a rough animation in Anime, after I go to Photoshop and paint it, and do compositing in After Effects.

   
Two Americans – A story in Gifs – Airbnb

Q. Congratulations on your amazing new animation projects for children! Can you tell us more about this projects and your experience in it?

Thank you! Yes, I am working on a series of interactive books for children. These are aimed to inspire children when they travel anywhere in the world. The idea is to teach them about the destination so they can be inspired to go to new places.

It was a fun experience, for this I collaborated with Lisa Vuong a talented interactive designer. Something I learned in the process was to develop interactive stories. Usually in animation we just create the story for an audience but here the audience plays and modifies the stories so it has a different structure.



  

Character design – Animals

Q. Favorite children’s book(s)/animations:

My favorites animated movie for children are:

The Secret of Kells by Cartoon Saloon
A cat in Paris by Folimage
Mulan by Disney
and Song of the Sea by Cartoon Saloon

The big O by Shel Silverstein
El viaje de los Elefantes by Dipacho
Once Upon an Alphabet by Oliver Jeffers
and of course Madeleine!



Q. What projects are you working on right now and what are your dream projects for the future?

I am finishing a film about face blindness, it’s a story a about a man who falls in love but doesn’t remember the face of the person he fell in love with. This short film received an animation grant from the Sloan Foundation and now it is almost done. I also want to start developing a short film about my great grandma.


 

Q. What advice would you give to people who aspire to be animators / illustrators?

Just try and practice and be patient. If something doesn’t come up the first time, try a second or a third time and I am sure it will be better. 

Thank you so much for the inspiration, Catalina!

Chupacabra drawing contest!

Please share with kids ages 5-8: draw the SCARIEST thing you’ve eaten for a chance to win a signed and personalized copy of the picture book comedy “The Chupacabra Ate the Candelabra.” See attached for the rules and drawing template! (Entering is as simple as tweeting your child’s drawing with the hashtag indicated.) Four winners, one per week starting today, 6/19/17

 



¡Concurso para niños de 5-8 años! Dibuja la cosa más ATERRADORA que has comido para ganar una copia personalizada y firmada del libro “The Chupacabra Ate the Candelabra“. Ver las bases en la plantilla adjunta.
(Para entrar al concurso basta con twitear el dibujo de tu niño con el hashtag indicado.) Habrán cuatro ganadores, uno por semana empezando hoy 19/6/17



Book Launch Party & Original Art Show “The Chupacabra Ate the Candelabra”

The book ¨The Chupacabra Ate the Candelabra¨, written by the incomparable Marc Tyler Nobleman, illustrated by me and published by Penguin’s Nancy Paulsen Books will be out very soon!

Join me to celebrate the book birthday and an original art show in the Bay Area:

I would be very happy to see you there! Thank you so much to everyone for your support!


¡El libro ¨The Chupacabra Ate the Candelabra¨, escrito por el incomparable Marc Tyler Nobleman, ilustrado por mi y publicado por Penguin/Nancy Paulsen Books saldrá muy pronto!

Todos están invitados a los eventos de lanzamiento así como una exposición de arte original en el Área de la Bahía:
 

¡Me daría muchísimo gusto verlos por ahi!  ¡Gracias a todos por su apoyo!

 

7th annual Wes Anderson art show @ Spoke Art NYC!

Last few days to see the 7th Annual Wes Anderson art show in NYC!

Thanks to everyone that has come to the “Bad Dads” show at Spoke Art NYC, a tribute art show to Wes Anderson’s films!
Check out some of the amazing articles that talk about the show: Juxtapozi-D / Vice and Arrested Motion

You can also check it out online at the following locations:

Original Works : http://spokeart.com/collections/bad-dads
Limited Edition Prints : http://spokeart.com/collections/bad-dads-prints

anaranda_zissou_crayon-ponyfish

My original piece for the show (also available as a print), inspired in the film The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. 

anaranda_zissou2

Detail of the piece, created in watercolor, inks and gouache on watercolor paper.

Thanks for stopping by!

Bob’s Burgers show at Spoke Art NYC!

Check out my latest illustration for the upcoming Bob’s Burgers Art Show opening September 24th at Spoke Art NYC! To inquire on my piece or to receive an advanced collectors preview, please email [email protected]

 

I’m so excited to be part of the first exhibition in Spoke Art’s amazing brand new NYC gallery space!

For more details about this event visit: https://www.facebook.com/events/337244839949506/

 

anaaranda_bobsburgers“Dancing Burgers”, watercolor and gouache on watercolor paper, 2016

 

sneak-peek-bobs-burgers-anaranda

Detail on “Dancing Burgers” with Tina, one of my favorite characters from the show.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Heart and Calavera & more at Alabama Project Gallery!

calavera_corazon

I’ll be showing a few personal pieces this Saturday April 9 at the Alabama Project Gallery with super talented friends from the Journal Building. I’ll be very happy to see you there!

“Convergence”
Alabama Project Gallery, 1295 Alabama Street, San Francisco, CA
7-9pm You can find more info about the show here

 

Just a few blocks away you can also visit the mural “Calaveras y Diablitos” that my super talented friend and artist Paulina Suarez and I created at the Lucky Alley close to 25th Street

calaverasydiablitos1

Thanks to everyone who has been supporting my work, it is greatly appreciated!