Takeover Tuesday with Andrea García
An interview with Andrea García: a 26 year old Mexican artist living in Mexico City that graduated from Universidad Anáhuac in Multimedia Design who has great interest in character design and visual development.
Interviewer: Bella Alfonsi
Read time: 5min
Bella:
Thank you for joining us in this series, Andrea! Can you please introduce yourself?
Andrea:
It’s my pleasure! Thank you for inviting me. My name is Andrea García, I am a 26 year old Mexican artist.
Bella:
How did your art career begin?
Andrea:
It begin little by little. I started taking as many character design and illustration courses as I could. Once I started to feel more confident about my work, I decided to volunteer at projects. In this phase I designed characters, I interned as a color artist for a movie, and I started offering my illustrations as a freelance. After that, and after a lot of failure, projects started coming.
A few character explorations from Andrea.
Bella:
What is the design industry like in Mexico City?
Andrea:
I think it’s a very competitive industry where you have to give your best to stand out. But I think that is great, because thanks to this, every time there are more talented mexican artists.
Also, people in this industry are very nice. Professionals are always open to help you grow and give you advice if you reach out for them. So, it’s a great time to be a part of this industry.
Bella:
Is there an artist or piece of work that inspires your art style?
Andrea:
Absolutely, a lot of them actually. But if I have to name a few, I would say Stephen Silver, Jean Fraisse, Torsten Schrank, and Gaby Zermeño.
A frame from one of Andrea’s illustration explorations.
Bella:
When you're feeling stuck, what keeps you going?
Andrea:
Definitely the motivation of achieving my dream. Feeling stuck is normal, specially when you are working hard on something with no results, and I think it’s okay to take breaks when needed. As I said, it’s a very competitive industry, and this also means it’s hard to get in. There are many rejections on the way, and this can be very frustrating sometimes, but you have to be patient with your path and figure out how to get better until you make it.
I guess I was so sure of what I wanted to do, that I just had to come back every time and keep going.
Bella:
Do you have a dream project or anything specific that you dream of working on?
Andrea:
Yes, I dream on designing the characters of a big movie.
Bella:
Are there any mediums or styles you'd still like to explore, but haven't yet?
Andrea:
Sure, but I think there are some things that you explore on the way. Working for different clients definitely helps with this style exploration, and I am sure this will keep making me expand my styles.
Illustration titled “Wizard of Oz”
Bella:
Is there a project you've worked on so far that stands out as a favorite to you? Why?
Andrea:
Yes, a pilot episode for a TV show where I worked as a character designer. This was great for me because I had a lot of creative freedom, so the characters turned out to be pretty much what I pictured them to be. Also, I love working on projects for children, and this was the case. I got to work with amazing people and it was so exciting to be a part of a talented team. There were a lot of things that made this project special and I am really grateful that I got to be a part of it.
Bella:
Is there anything coming up that you're excited about?
Andrea:
There is! I am about to start a new project where I will be designing the characters of a new TV show. I am really excited about it!
Color and turn explorations.