He is a Freelance Art Director and Illustrator based in San Sebastian a little big city located in the Basque Country. Mitxel describes himself as a creative and imaginative person but also fanatic of the design. He has been working for many big and small companies for almost twenty years.
We had a talk with him about his artistic life. This is what he told us.
How do you define yourself in a few words?
Mitxel: I’m a Freelance Art Director and Illustrator. I’ve been working for almost twenty years designing, illustrating and as art director for many big and small companies like advertising agencies, cartoon studios and international brands of streetwear & fashion. Lexi&Bö // Streetwear for Scuba Divers, LEGION Headwear, Jart Skateboards, Disney, L’Oreal, Filmax, Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Repsol YPF or Volcom are some examples. Apart from the freelance work and collaborations with outside companies, I’m a fanatic of designing many stuff as apparel, phone cases, etc. and I have some online stores where I sell my own designs.
In what stage of your life did you decide to become an illustrator?
Mitxel: Since I was a child I was continuously drawing and I’ve always been a creative and imaginative person so it wasn’t so difficult to choose my profession. I began my studies on graphic design when I was 18 years old and currently I’m 38 years old.
What was your favorite comic during your childhood?
Mitxel: I read tons of comics during my childhood but if I have to choose one then my favorite is Spiderman.
What historic or contemporary illustrators do you admire the most?
Mitxel: I admire many artist from all times like El Greco, Raphael, Salvador Dali, Gustav Klimt, Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, André Masson, Marcel Duchamp, Henry Matisse, Vincent Van Gogh, Rembrandt, Andy Warhol…
While your work, what kind of music do you listen?
Mitxel: I like many types of music such as Queens of the Stone Age, Leonard Cohen, Belako, Joe Cocker, The Clash, Royal Blood, Muse, Pulp, Ramones, Depeche Mode, Die Antwoord, The Smiths, The Black Keys… the list of bands that I like has no limits.
What do you want to transmit with your art?
Mitxel: I try to work mixing creativity with sense of humor. Blending surrealism and pop culture allows me to create striking designs that reaches many kinds of public.
The illustrator knows exactly what he or she wants to do, but what does not know is the first step to take. What are the first steps recommended by you to the new illustrators reading this?
Mitxel: Usually I get inspiration from different sources, from the visual pop culture of the world around me, from the current design trends on different media, sometimes I simply do searches from a bank of photos about a theme and then the images inspire me. I like to work each creative concept from the root, so when I have to design something, I look for information that has to do with the theme and then I write words related to the topic like a kind of brainstorming, and then I do some quick sketches with pencil on paper.
Once I get the creative idea, I use different techniques for developing it. Sometimes I paint directly over the paper and then I scan the image to digitize it; other times I work directly on my computer with a software for graphic creation.
Each design presents different needs so I think that I don’t have a golden rule. I can’t say that I have a defined graphic style, I think that I’m quite eclectic on all my creations. Through all my years of experience I’ve learned different graphic skills so each day I’m capable of creating something with a completely different graphic style to the previous day.
As an additional gift to celebrate the arrival of this new artist of the ArtsCase family, we want to give you a 50% off your purchase. To see the discount code you just have to click on one of the following links. Valid until 11/30/2016.
[sociallocker] Use Code: MITXEL50 [/sociallocker]
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