My name is Mar Hernández, professional and vocational illustrator.
My passion is drawing, I’m happy when I hold a pencil in my hand and combine this activity with the teaching profession. I also give lectures, speaking about my work as illustrator and I like to say yes! when I am invited to teach an illustration workshop in any city.
How did you get started in illustration, what is your background?
I studied Fine Arts and worked several years as a designer but then I slowly began to realize that the projects that I most enjoyed were those where there was illustration so I decided to start my career as a freelance illustrator.
Where did you study? Looking back, would you recommend your path for beginners in design/illustration?
I studied Fine Arts in Valencia, Spain, in the faculty of San Carlos Fine Arts. I don’t think there is only one way to work in the field of illustration, things have changed a lot since I studied, there is now much more specific studies. I think everyone has to learn in their own way, there are very good self-taught professionals. The important thing to learn something is to spend some time practicing and doing it with energy.
What is a turning point in your professional career?
I don’t think there’s a turning point, everything has been very progressive.
What is your ideal work environment? Do you prefer to work at studio all day long or mix a few activities?
It depends on the project you are working, sometimes I need to be locked in my study long hours and sometimes need to get out, do other things and then go back to what I was doing. My studio is a place where I draw calm but when I’m conceptualising a project sometimes I prefer to get out and walk, it helps the ideas flow.
Where are your favorite places in your city or outside?
In Valencia I like the parks, especially Los Jardines del Real a big and very pretty gardens with benches to sit and read while listening to running water in a nearby fountain.
Out ... there are many, I love to travel, whenever I travel I fall in love with many places and the experiences that I lived in them.
Who are the designers and illustrators, colleagues in your city/country or outside you admire most?
Many, I couldn’t say some names and leave out many others.