Mariah Llanes is an illustrator based at Toronto, Canada. Her bright and colorful digital illustrations are full of sport fun elements. Here’s Mariah (pr: mah·rah·yah) telling us about her work and art in brief:

Please tell us about yourself:

My name is Mariah Llanes and I am a 23 year old illustrator from Toronto, Canada. I studied illustration at Ontario College of Art and Design.

How did you become an illustrator?

I always enjoyed drawing as a kid. My parents had a bunch of lined paper in the house and I’d put them into a binder, and that would be my sketchbook. I also watched a lot of anime at the time so naturally it contained pages and pages of my favourite characters or my own interpretations of them. I guess my love of drawing just continued to blossom from there.

Most of your work is full of humor in form and content. Are you fun person inside?

I’d like to think so! I enjoy making people laugh through my work and in real life. Though I’d consider myself an introvert so it might take a little time for me to loosen up and bombard people with my jokes.

How do you get into creative mode?

Listening to podcasts while drawing always gets me in the zone. I also keep a folder of notes and images that I like, which have elements that could be used for a future illustration. I use it as reference when I get stuck on an idea or a project.

What in your opinion makes a perfect illustration?

I don’t think illustration ever reaches a point of perfection. There’s always something that could be improved. Besides, my purpose isn’t to make a “perfect” illustration, but rather to convey the intended message to the viewer with consideration to content, colour, and composition.

Tell us about the equipment you use at work:

I usually draw with a tablet on Photoshop but I use traditional tools too. My sketchbooks are filled with rough pencil drawings and acrylic paintings. It’s nice to take a break from the screen once in a while.

What are your future plans/projects, ambitions, inspirations etc.?

Even though I’ve already finished school, I want to keep expanding my skills. In the future, I’d like to get into different forms of art-making such as screen printing, ceramics, embroidery, and animation. It’s a lot to do but there’s just so many ways my art could exist and I want to try them all!

Something to say to our readers or aspiring artists:

Drink water regularly, sit up straight, take breaks, and go outside!

Mariah Llanes : Website | Twitter | Blog | Instagram

Note: Note: All artwork images are the exclusive property of the artist/photographer and protected under the International Copyright laws. Their copying and reproduction in any manner is strictly prohibited without the express permission of the owner.