About

I was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, obtained a BA from UPR Mayagüez, and an MFA from SCAD Atlanta. In 2003 I began working as a scientific illustrator for the Puerto Rico Sea Grant. Work shifted throughout the years and now I mostly do sci-fi fantasy, book illustrations, comics, editorial, and some advertising here and there. I currently live in Atlanta, GA.

Clients Include

Adobe // Adweek // American Way // Architectural Review // BOOM! Studios // Canada Business Magazine // Chicago Tribune // DC Vertigo // Dungeons & Dragons // Dwell Magazine // Entertainment Weekly // ESPN // Euroman // Disney Publishing Worldwide // Guitar World // Intel Corporation // Ladies’ Home Journal // Leo Burnett // Macmillan // Major League Baseball // McDonald’s // Men’s Health // The New Republic // The New York Times // The New Yorker // Pearson Education // Playboy // Rolling Stone // San Francisco // Magazine // San Francisco Chronicle // Scientific American // Simon & Schuster // Skiing Magazine // Society of Illustrators LA // Tor Books // The Village Voice // The Wall Street Journal // The Washington Post // Wired // Wizards of the Coast // Young & Rubicam

FAQ

What are/were your primary inspirations for the work you create?

For the record, I kinda hate this question but it keeps coming up so buckle up!

1- Self-Deprecation.

2- Dinosaur-related romance novels. Hey Chuck Tingle how are you? 😉

3- Gotta pay them bills!

4- Every project provides its own unique inspiration. Consider that almost every single one of these illustrations started with a story, an article, seldom a mere title. Some are exciting, some eerie, some just plain sublime! In the end, they are the primary source of inspiration for their respective illustration. This means that some ideas appear faster and some take a while to take form. Which leads me to my last bit.

5- Just forget inspiration. Sit down and draw. If inspiration is searching for you, whatever it is, wherever it comes from, let it find you drawing.

I feel like other artists can answer this better than I can. You should seriously email them, like, all the time (please don’t), incessantly (for real, don’t), they’ll love it! (they won’t!).

What is your creative process?

It’s pretty standard: thumbnails, sketches, final. I haven’t done color comps in many years cuz digital media lets me tamper with colors once everything else is settled. Sometimes my art directors get several different color schemes to choose from at the tail end of a project. Lastly, I never truly stop changing things up a bit and trying new things, which is why I feel like my portfolio is held together by scotch tape and a bucketful of some old oil my tostones were fried in, but it keeps the whole ordeal fun and tasty.

What type of techniques and tools do you use when you are illustrating?

There’s no magic there, just a bit of strategy that’s been learned through years of education under the tutelage of some really amazing illustrators as well as a good deal of self-taught techniques through personal exploration. Nowadays, tor the most part I use Photoshop with a few analog mediums thrown here and there. It’s nothing too fancy. Most of the time I just use the original Photoshop brush with the occasional bit of tampering. I started learning Photoshop, Illustrator, and several other applications around 1996-1997, which means I have some old habits that I’ve carried through these last two decades. I absolutely love what other artists do with all these new brushes that have been coming out the last several years! Personally, if I want a watercolor look, I’ll take the chance to step away from the monitor and break out the watercolors. It’s art, there’s no way to do it so wrong you’ll end the world. Trust me, I’ve tried, but I think I’m just falling short. Anyway, please don’t contact me with further ideas of how to end the world. I’m trying something new.

What advice do you have for upcoming illustrators?

This is a good question and it’s not bad to respectfully ask other artists as well, just don’t throw me under the bus when you do, k? Anyway, everyone’s career is different so you’ll find we all have some differing pieces of advice that could help you get a broader understanding. In other words, take these with a grain of salt:

1- Lose the fear of putting yourself out there. You’re an artist and a communicator. If you’re afraid of expressing yourself, you’re afraid of doing your job.

2- Be responsible. Nobody wants to work with an illustrator that’s either rude or irresponsible. That illustrator’s kind of a drag and will make any art director feel uncomfortable. It’ll decrease your chances of them wanting to work with you. If you can’t help yourself though, I guess have at it and godspeed? Again, don’t throw me under the bus.

3- Be polite, friendly, and mindful. When you meet potential clients, be respectful of their time and their needs. Some Art Directors will absolutely love your work but will have no place for it in their publications. There’s nothing wrong with that. Be very mindful of the person too. Never treat an art director like a means to an end. If you want to work with someone, especially more than once, it’s ideal to form a healthy, professional relationship with them. That starts from the first time you say hello.

4- Pick your clients wisely. Awareness of your abilities and stylistic choices will help you find a market where those skills are necessary. Then target that market like your livelihood depends on it, cuz it kinda does.

5- Develop a healthy web presence (this kinda goes with #1). Talk about your artwork online and allow people to get to know the kind of artist you are. Whatever passions you may have, whether artistic or not, may lead to some really interesting projects. There’s always a project out there in need of a very personal viewpoint and you might just be the perfect fit for it.

6- Get social. Going to events and meeting artists will help people remember you. It increases the probabilities of art directors calling you when they need a problem solved.

7- Enjoy other things besides illustration. Freelancers need to tap into some very broad, very universal sources of inspiration. Feed those inspirations a healthy, complex diet.

8- Please stop contacting me with ideas of how to end the world. Really! Please!