How did you become an artist?

I’ve always enjoyed drawing, to be honest, it was my main hobby as a kid (and now as well). I knew i wanted to make art for a living, but I wasn’t sure how to accomplish that or what path to take. I studied Fine Arts at the University of Barcelona, and even though it wasn’t what I expected, it helped me to find out what I liked. I met so many interesting people who introduced me to digital tablets and suggested me to start posting my art on social media.

On my last year of university, I worked a few months for Ubisoft designing characters for mobile games. After graduation, I received my first offer to illustrate a book for a Spanish publisher, who apparently, found my work through social media. Since then, i’ve been working non-stop illustrating books for Spanish and American publishers.

Where do you get inspiration?

Literally everywhere. From movies, anime, art books, sculptures, photography, music videos… I love watching the people on the street, specially on public transport (I had to take the train everyday to go to university). Now, I also go for a walk with my dog to the woods to clear my mind and get my inspiration back when I’m stuck with an art piece or a project.

Also at social media, I follow tons of artists from different specialities who make incredible art that inspires me all the time. I have a Pinterest account where I make tons of boards and where I organize all the inspiration I may need for a project or future references.

What’s your hardware setup?

I work with a Wacom Cintiq 22HDT.

What do you like best about Clip Studio Paint?

It’s such a complete software, I don’t even know where to begin with. It feels like every time I discover something new and amazing? There’s all this free material available: 3D models of human poses, objects or entire classrooms, materials to create comics and manga screentones… There’s literally everything. It’s also super easy to get used to it, some programs have hidden menus or tools and it can be a little bit difficult to find how to do something, but Clip Studio Paint is just amazing and super complete.

How long does it take you to make a single illustration?

It truly depends, I feel like I keep spending more and more time with each piece I make hahaha... If it’s a simple illustration with no background, I just need a day. But if there are more elements involved or I have to make a background, then it can take me from 2 days to a week. I usually have no problem with the sketching or lineart, but I struggle to pick the color palettes sometimes and I can get stuck for a bit longer than necessary.

Would you consider Clip Studio Paint an industry tool?

Of course! I started using Clip Studio Paint when a friend of mine recommended it to me. Apparently, it’s the software she was using at her work place at the moment and I fell in love with it immediately. I can practically do everything with it, the only thing I miss is being able to work with CMYK, but luckily, you can view how your file will look with almost any color profile, so it’s not a problem.
Right now I can’t see myself working with any other software.

Would you like to promote some recent project?

Unfortunately, all the projects i’m working on right now are under strict NDA. But I can say that new exciting things will come out next year and I can’t wait to show them. One of the new projects is my new two-part story manga “Kioka. La profecía al otro lado del espejo” that I’ll publish in the Spanish magazine Planeta Manga next year.

Where can we follow your work?

Where i am most active is Instagram (@juditmallolart ) and Twitter (@juditmallol).

*** Judit is doing a #Giveaway with us! Reach her post on Instagram, follow her, follow @graphixly and leave a comment. Winners of Clip Studio Paint Pro will be announced on November 16, good luck! ***