The CreativeMindClass Blog
I'm from Venezuela. I was raised in a tropical town surrounded by hills and palm trees, but it was impossible for me to experience my surroundings fully (partly because of my parents' excessive protection however, mostly due to the everyday insecurities in my country). Almost always indoors, TV and books became my main methods of entertainment - along with drawing! I spent so much time drawing my most favorite characters from anime as well as my family, friends, pets I was not allowed to own, costumes, and anything really.
The main reason was for a leisure activity that I had a little bit conscious that it wouldn't be a full-time job in Venezuela. However, my family made the decision to move to the UK which was a major change for me. When I was a teenager, I was finally allowed some autonomy, and I was allowed to go to places on my own and think about the things I really wanted to do.
My passion for characters and storytelling inspired me to read comics which then inspired me to draw. Everything came together then. Following a few years of studying (and a lot of hard work) I'm currently freelance as an Illustrator from London.
I think my work is adventurous, enjoyable and sometimes a little wild (in an excellent manner!). Sometimes it can be simple and sometimes it's very detailed. However, the illustrations always feature a figure, or an animal, or even a beautiful piece of scenery. I love to believe that every illustration I draw is all part of the same world.
The key for me is to enjoy it. It is easy to think of things that enthralled me as a child up: really vivid colours as well as sly characters, humorous situations, tiny details to be lost in. The goal of my work is to capture all of these aspects every time I make something brand new. If I'm able to make my viewers feel happy or excited and feel as if they've discovered something new that I've achieved what I wanted.
"Another essential element that I am looking for is the sense of humor. I realized over time that I'm not an qualified person to produce complex or abstract artworks However, I'm quite adept at making something fun and light-hearted to make someone laugh. I am a good player currently."
Marianna's art journey on her Instagram; discover detailed illustrations from the children's books she created in lockdowns, as well as some behind-the-scenes images of her recoding Skillshare class, to mention a handful. The links to the class as well as Marianna's books can be found on her website.