04: Venezuelan Illustrator, Natali Koromoto Martinez

10/19/21 • 30 min

Draws in Spanish | Conversations with Latinx Visual Artists and Designers

In this episode, I sit down with Natali Martinez to uncover where she draws inspiration for her cute illustration style, how her Venezuelan roots influence her work and perspective, and exactly what goes into getting started with an online shop.

Natali, who unexpectedly moved to Florida after Chavez took power in Venezuela, pursued a degree in animation only to realize she didn’t have the patience for the field. After graduation, she took a leap of faith and moved with her friends to NYC, where she began her freelance career.

During this time, she slowly began creating her own illustrations and developing her voice and style. Now, Natali has a loyal following of 180k Instagram followers who love her cute illustrations and buy into her world through prints, pins, apparel, and plushies.

Natali is already working on her next big project by launching an apparel line with her partner later this year.

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, or on your favorite podcast platform.

Topics Covered:

Moving from Venezuela to the U.S.
Starting her Small Business from Scratch
Raising awareness of Latinx culture by depicting Latinx foods and desserts
What Inspires her Playful, Cute, and Unique Style
The Pros and Cons of Working with Manufacturers
Tips for Starting Your Own Online Shop

Guest Info

Connect with Natali on In st agram and check out her shop h ere.

Bonus Links:

Special Offer

Listeners of the podcast can get a free, undated weekly and monthly planner inspired by the show from our website here.

Follow Me between Draws in Spanish episodes:

Natali is already working on her next big project by launching an apparel line with her partner later this year.

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, or on your favorite podcast platform.

Topics Covered:

Moving from Venezuela to the U.S.
Starting her Small Business from Scratch
Raising awareness of Latinx culture by depicting Latinx foods and desserts
What Inspires her Playful, Cute, and Unique Style
The Pros and Cons of Working with Manufacturers
Tips for Starting Your Own Online Shop

Guest Info

Connect with Natali on In st agram and check out her shop h ere.

Bonus Links:

Special Offer

Listeners of the podcast can get a free, undated weekly and monthly planner inspired by the show from our website here.

Follow Me between Draws in Spanish episodes:

Previous Episode

03: Gay Chicanx Collage Artist, Ruby Marquez | @Broobs

If you’ve ever had a crisis about your Latinx identity, you’ll feel at home with this episode featuring Mexican-American collage artist Ruby Marquez. Ruby is very familiar with the emotional ups and downs surrounding Latinx identity and is on a never-ending journey to connect with their indigenous roots.

Ruby, who was initially encouraged to become a Firefighter by their father, connected with collage-making after taking a rouge photography class in college. Now, they’ve amassed a source material library of over 2,000 images, and are constantly finding new material online and offline in order to create their Catholicism-inspired collages.

With Ruby’s vast collection of photos, this San Fransisco-based collage artist is able to pay homage to victims of police violence by creating ornate tributes that honor victims with compassion. Ruby also makes portraits of LGBTQIA+, Latinx, and Black icons to raise awareness for both historic and present-day political movements.

Looking forward, Ruby dreams of creating a Fantasia-inspired video with a legendary lineup of Latinx musicians. Go ahead and listen to this week’s episode to hear more about Ruby’s Chicanx identity and how they connect with their culture through their work.

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, or on your favorite podcast platform.

Topics Covered:

Connecting with and reclaiming your indigenous roots
Incorporating Catholic imagery into their work
Memorializing people through portraiture
Gathering source material for collages
Processing emotions through artwork
The struggles of perfectionism on social media
Oversharing on social media

Guest Info

Connect with Ruby on Instagram, Patreon, and check out their shop here.

Special Offer

Listeners of the podcast can get a free, undated weekly and monthly planner inspired by the show from our website here.

Follow me between [Draws in Spanish] episodes:

Next Episode

05: Mexican & Irish-American Illustrator and Author, Molly Mendoza

If you’ve ever felt shy speaking Spanish, you’ll feel right at home with this episode. This week, I chat with Portland-based illustrator and author Molly Mendoza about how their Mexican/Irish-American culture influence their colorful and dynamic work.

Molly was raised in the Chicago suburbs before moving to Arizona in middle school, and eventually landed in Portland, OR for college. Since their college days, Molly’s illustrated picture books, written graphic novels, and painted murals all while continuously elevating their work.

Despite working with notable clients like Adobe and The New York Times, Molly’s not above making fan art! They explain that they view fan art as a fun outlet and a break from commercial work that allows them to connect to some of their favorite anime series like JoJo Bizarre Adventure. Molly even admits that their JBA fan art subtlety influenced their recent work for “Reflejoz en La Luz,” their recent duo show at Upper Playground Gallery in Portland.

These days, Molly’s focused on illustrating a new picture book, Jovita Wore Pants, and explains how they’ve built trust with Art Directors in order to approach every illustrated book differently. Listen to this episode to learn more about Molly’s Latinx influences, intuitive approach to illustration, and thriving career in publishing.

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, or on your favorite podcast platform.

Topics Covered: