How did you become an artist?

I’ve always liked drawing ever since I was little, so when it came the time that I had to choose a degree to study at university, I chose Fine Arts (because at the moment I didn’t exactly know what I wanted to do with my life, so I thought maybe doing all kinds of art related subjects would help me figure out what exactly was that I wanted to do) And so I did! I met wonderful people there, who liked drawing cartoons or characters in a stylized art style like me. I learned the basics of art at university, but I developed my own art style by myself, watching tutorials at home when I had some free time, observing how my favorite artists work, etc.

Just before finishing my degree, I got contacted by a Spanish publisher, Random House, and they offered me to do some cover art for a re-editing of “The Baby-Sitters club” book series in Spanish. They found my work through social media, and since then I kept getting more job offers in the Spanish publishing industry.

Where do you get inspiration?

Usually from movies, books, music videos, fashion… Whenever I have an art block, I usually take a break by watching one of my favorite movies, animes or I just like to admire how visually aesthetic Kpop videos (some of them have very interesting and meaningful concepts!) They always end up cheering me up and help me bring the energy back to draw some stuff.

On the other hand, I also have a Pinterest account in which I like to peek whenever I lack inspiration, looking at my favorite artists’ work and seeing how great and beautiful their art style is, motivates me to work as hard as they did to get to where they are!

What’s your hardware setup?

I use a Cintiq Pro 24HDT.

What do you like best about Clip Studio Paint?

I just truly think it’s the best illustration software I’ve ever tried. Every time I’ve tried different software, I end up coming back to Clip Studio Paint (I also like that it’s available for Windows and iOS) It has so many cool tools, I personally love the 3D models which can be really helpful when coming up with poses for characters or compositions. The perspective tool is also super helpful if you have to create a background and want everything to make sense! I could say that I also like the interface, it’s simple to the eye and easy to get used to.

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

I realized that the more I improve, the longer it takes me to finish a full illustration. A couple or 3 years ago it’d take me like 6 hours? Or 8? I’m not sure cause I’m terrible at calculating time when I’m drawing, but I could easily spend just one day to finish a full illustration with a few characters and a background. Now I’d need at least 2 or 3 days to complete the same illustration. I take a lot of time looking for references and ideas. Also I believe line art is my forte when it comes to drawing, so I spend most of the time on that and making it right.

Would you consider Clip Studio Paint an industry tool?

Definitely! Actually, the reason why I started using Clip Studio Paint, was because right after I finished university, I started working at a comic/illustration studio as a freelancer cleaning up sketches. Until then, I only used Photoshop for drawing, but they introduced me to Clip Studio Paint and told me it was better to get used to it because they were going to start working with it. It only took me like 5 days to get fully used to it and loved the software.

Would you like to promote some recent project?

A month ago, I published the second and last part of my illustrated novel - Strawberry Moon (1) and Blue Moon (2). Although they’re only available in Spanish, Catalan and French I hope one day it gets translated to English so more people can enjoy it! Besides that, I have an artbook that compiles some of the best illustrations I’ve done so far. I also explain a little bit of my creative process and experiences as an artist. The name of the artbook is “Gleaming” The art of Laia López, and it’s written in Spanish and English!

Where can we follow your work?

I am mostly active on Twitter and Instagram.

Twitter: @itslopezz

Instagram: @itslopez

*** Laia 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 August 6, good luck! ***