Art as Escapism - The CreativeMindClass Blog

I'm from Venezuela. I grew up in a tropical town with hills and palm trees, however I unfortunately, I was not allowed to experience my surroundings fully (partly because of my parents' overprotectiveness, but mostly because of all the anxieties that surrounded my own country). The majority of my time was spent indoors. TV and books became my main forms of escapism - and drawing! I was constantly drawing my favourite anime characters as well as my family, friends, pets I couldn't have, costumes, and everything else.

It was mainly a hobby at the time, and I was aware that it would not go beyond that in Venezuela. However, my family made the decision to relocate to the UK and that was a major change for me. In my teen years, I was finally allowed greater freedom, and was able to travel by myself and to think about what I wanted to do.

My love for character design and narrative has led me to comics which in turn inspired me to draw. All the pieces were put together. After a couple of years of studies (and lots of effort) I'm currently freelance as an Illustrator in London.

I think my work is bold, fun and somewhat wild (in an excellent way!). It can be straightforward but it could also be extremely detailed, but every illustration has a person, or an animal, or a nice bit of nature. I believe every illustration I draw is part of the same universe.

For me, the most important thing is to have fun with it. It is easy to think of aspects that made me smile growing in my youth: vibrant colours, sneaky characters, funny scenarios, little details that you can lose yourself within. My goal is to encapsulate all of these aspects when I design something fresh. If I'm able to get the viewer to feel happy or satisfied, or even feel that they noticed something interesting that I've achieved the goal I set for myself.

"Another essential element that I am looking for is the sense of humor. I realized over time that I'm not the most competent person to create serious or conceptual artworks however I am pretty good at making something fun and lighthearted to bring a smile to someone's face. I am a good player currently."

You can follow Marianna's creative process on her Instagram; discover detailed illustrations from the children's books she wrote during lockdowns as well as backstage photos of her redoing her Skillshare class to name just a handful. Links to the class as well as Marianna's books are available at her site.

This post was first seen on here