📖 5min reading time

Hello! ♥
This week has been really nice. I was able to finish all the projects on my schedule, and it feels awesome! The most important project was to create a new free brush. It was a fun project that was not as stressful as making a whole bundle but personally felt very rewarding.
I tried to mimic the same brush in Photoshop, and it's a close one, but not perfect. Unfortunately, Adobe's settings are not as intuitive as Procreate, and there are some effects that I still do not know how to achieve.

You can download the brush for free on my Gumroad shop! After all this time, it is the least you deserve for keeping on supporting my work!

Free Watercolor Brush for Procreate & PS

Well, enough of that! Let's get to answering your questions!

✿ Q&A Part 1

You sent me a ton of questions, so to avoid a super long email, I will answer them in two parts. In this first part, I won't include anything about my drawing style because I'm preparing a nice one for next week. There were a lot of questions related to it, and I wanted to make it more like a storytime. So, you will have to wait a bit longer ♥

What materials do you use?
For drawing I always use Polychromos (pencil colors), Promarkers and Copic markers and a Midori sketchbook or Entropia's dotted journal.
Favourite materials for watercolour?
I haven't tried many tools for watercolors, but so far, I've enjoyed Ecoline liquid watercolors a lot. Additionally, I have Arches cold-pressed 300gm paper, which was a mistake because now I can't go back to using another paper; it's too good (and so freaking expensive!).
Have you ever considered making more brushes on Photoshop?
The ones I made weren't exactly successful for some reason. Since I find making Photoshop brushes harder than Procreate brushes, for now, I won't make another pack. However, you can try the one I have: PS & CSP brush pack.
How do you gain inspiration on a day-to-day basis?
I wouldn't say I get enough inspiration; usually, I struggle to come up with anything that's outside my comfort zone. But looking at other artists' illustrations and trying to mix ordinary things with animals usually does the trick for me.
Are you planning to release more drawing books?
Not at the moment. If I create any, they would be more like digital tutorials or courses, like the one I recently released: How to Draw Cute Animals
Do you speak Spanish?
Sí! I'm from Spain. I speak Spanish and Catalan fluently, and you could say I manage with English. And have lil teeny tiny bit of knowledge of Japanese.
What is a tip you would give to your younger self?
Start exploring more styles and stop focusing so much on manga. Also, don't be afraid to come up with ugly sketches; they are part of the process.
If you had to use one medium for the rest of your life, which one would you choose?
I would love to start exploring watercolors and gouache, especially the latter. I think it would suit my art style better and allow me to create bigger compositions. However, I'm still stuck with markers because I'm afraid to move to a new medium. So, yeah, if I had to choose, I would totally change the medium even though I love markers so much.
How long have you been drawing for?
Since I was a few months old! My mother taught me how to grab a pencil and started showing me how to draw random things, so I mimicked her. I have a clock drawn somewhere, which consisted of a circle and two lines, but you could say that was my first drawing. So I have been drawing my whole life.
How do you find the energy/flow to keep creating?
Even if it sounds too harsh, I need to pay bills. That's mainly it. When I wasn't living from art, I just drew when I felt like it, with no schedule, pressure, or anything. But now it's my work, so I have to sit down and draw even if I don't feel like it. Once I start, it usually flows nicely. And if it doesn't, I try to draw things that I really like, such as cats, dogs, and breakfast food.
What did you study to become so great?
That's embarrassing because I didn't do anything art-related. Art has always been my hobby, and that was about it. The only related studies I have are in graphic design, but that's about it.
How long have you been professionally drawing??
It's hard to say, I would say between 2-3 years ago, after the pandemic. Until then, I had been working as a Graphic Designer in a studio and my Etsy shop was only a little side job, but when the pandemic hit, I had no job at the time, and working as a freelancer from home would have been pretty difficult as graphic designer. So I decided to risk it and put all my effort into becoming a full time illustrator, it was worth the try!
Favourite animal to draw? Favourite thing to draw?
Cats! I always end up drawing one when I'm warming up. And my favourite thing is definitely a mug. I don't know why, but I find the shape somehow cozy and calming.
Will you show your old drawings? I have never seen them before.
You will have to wait until next week's newsletter!
Have you ever thought about making prints or lil stickers out of your art?
I've had an Etsy shop before, but after the pandemic, shipping started to become more difficult, so I decided to focus on my digital shop. However, lately, I'm starting to think more about it again. But if I open it again, it would have to be exclusively a sticker and print shop. No more pins, keychains, or anything that means printing outside Europe. Customs can be a struggle.
How to draw? Tips to draw cute cute things like this?
I make tutorials from time to time on my Instagram, and there's also my animal course. Some free tutorials I have are:
✿ Succulents: https://www.instagram.com/p/CkD5W9EqFWD/
✿ Pumpkins: https://www.instagram.com/p/CjawkLEqVbA/
✿ Plants: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cg-Wu65qGjn/
✿ Birds: https://www.instagram.com/p/Ccf6SwYqK71/
✿ Cats: https://www.instagram.com/p/CWi55dDKgDH/
✿ Dogs: https://www.instagram.com/p/CWQ4GPtqCel/
Is it only you who does art in your family or does other members from your family do the same thing.
It's just me. Some other members are pretty handy and love to make things, but that's about it.
How did you grow your account this big? Was it a fast process or it takes some slow, steady?
I will explain a bit more in detail next week, but I've had my Instagram account since 2015, and for the first 4 years, I was stuck at 2k followers. It wasn't until one of my drawings went viral that I started to grow faster, but it took me years! Now it's a pretty slow but steady growth.
What do you use to prop up your camera?
I use a gooseneck holder for my phone, which I attach to a tripod or even a chair. Any place is good as long as it's not touching the desk to avoid vibrations.
Do you usually know what your drawing will look like before you start?
For some drawings, I can clearly see how they will turn out, but only if I use a colour combination that I know by heart. If not, I try to play it safe and mix some colours I like, while doing lots of swatches on the side with the ones I don't use often. However, sometimes I end up failing anyway.
Do you like Japan?
I love Japan! I haven't had the chance to travel there yet, but it's been on my mind for years now.
Which Ghibli movie is your favourite?
It's between Chihiro and Howl's Castle. I love Chihiro's story, and the concept for Howl's is amazing.
What is your favorite Pokémon and why?
I started playing Pokémon in gen1, yeah, I'm that old! That's why my favorite Pokémon have always been from old generations, especially the first two. I wouldn't say I have a favorite one, to be honest. I love a bunch of them, so it would be hard to pick between Pikachu, Gloom, Cyndaquil, Clefairy, Jigglypuff, Tangela, Dratini, Ditto... I could keep going on.

Aww yisss! Hope that wasn't too long! Thank you sooso much for the questions I had a lovely time answering everything ♥

Have a lovely week! ♥♥
Olga

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