Meet Claudia Barros | Illustrator & Concept Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Claudia Barros and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Claudia, let’s start by talking about what inspires you?
That’s a good question, to be honest. I was always inspired by Disney, Pixar, and DreamWorks movies… As a child, I was obsessed with them, and I used to spend so many hours drawing their characters. My favourite was Ariel from the Little Mermaid!

Later, with more experience and with a wider and open world, I was able to meet and observe other artists such as Gabby Zapata, Vanessa Morales, Meg Park, Emilia Ibáñez and other wonderful artists who work in the companies of my dreams.

Also, outside the animation industry, I love illustrating novel covers and children’s illustrations, they make me very happy and release my inner child haha. Children’s illustrators radiate a lot of peace and kindness through their illustrations, I love to read and take a look at some books for kids.

Some topics that I tend to add to my illustrations and concepts are natural elements such as trees, mushrooms, fairies, kind creatures, flowers, etc. I usually go to forests or parks full of trees and little animals so I can breathe and enjoy that peace that only a place like that can bring you.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Well, my artistic journey started when I decided to study graphic design, which was not the best idea ever. It was a combination of my worst personal experience as a student, having my first bouts of anxiety and depression, mixed with one of the worst stages of my life in terms of mental health.

Then, I decided to study illustration, which was the best thing that happened in my life after the graphic design fiasco. I could breathe again!

There I learned a lot about different techniques and styles, and it was when I began to develop my cartoonish style, thus having more variety to develop my art.

After my illustration studies, a wonderful world opened up to me and that’s where I started working on my own idea for an animated series called “The Never Seen”, which together with my most recent idea,”Ghost of Revenge” are my two most beloved projects and in which I am currently most focused on.

Although I have been in the world of animation-illustration for more than 6 years, working on my personal projects and as a freelancer, I usually have quite negative thoughts, lack of self-esteem, not being worth enough and the famous “Imposter Syndrome” that It has done so much damage to artists.

I think that little by little I am controlling these thoughts, but it’s difficult, and I know that many artists suffer from this and it is quite difficult to fight, but it is possible! Never give up! You can do it!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Well, my best friend already knows my city, but let’s imagine that she has never come to visit it.

First of all, I would invite her to take walks around the city, which although it is small, you can see many establishments such as museums, galleries, the cathedral, some shops,… We can also walk around the bay, which has one of the most beautiful views you can find, especially when it’s sunny! The sea is bright, and the water is crystal-clear!

When it comes to restaurants, we would go to my favourite, called “La Barruca”, their food portions are huge! Sometimes it’s even difficult to eat it all! Normally, people usually take it to go.

The following days I would plan excursions to different villages in the area such as Comillas (from my point of view, one of the best places to visit in Cantabria), Potes, Lierganes, Liencres,… In these villages the food is excellent, and the aesthetic is very medieval too, all full of stone buildings, full of green areas. I’m dead serious when I say it looks like something out of a fairy tale!

Finally, after spending the week from town to town, I would invite her to a natural park called “Cabarceno”, which is well known in Spain. You could say that it’s like a sanctuary for wild animals, such us cheetahs, elephants, lions, tigers, hippos, ostriches, eagles, and more! Where you are the one who has to move and go around the entire enclosure to see the different animals. It is an unforgettable experience! And finally, after all that workout, I would take her to a little place called “La Oca del Oceano”. It’s a little, gorgeous restaurant full of beautiful details. Their aesthetic is a mix between Art Nouveau and dollhouse-like, somehow? Honestly, really breathtaking. Not to mention their food! You can drink scrumptious milkshakes and cakes, presented on stunning plates!

I know for sure that my best friend would absolutely love every piece of those cakes haha!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would love to dedicate this shoutout to the people who have always been there for me, who have always given me their unconditional support and who have always supported me in my dream of becoming a great artist! I would like to dedicate it to my dearest mother, with her eternal patience, to my little brother, who has taught me to have that patience, to my partner, who is the most charming and luminous person I have ever met, and to my best friend, that although we have known each other for 3 years, it is as if she were my sister from another mother.

I would also like to dedicate it to all those people who give me their support, no matter how small, they make my day.

Website: https://artofclaudiabarros.squarespace.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/odimori_art/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/claudia-barros-ba75a41a5/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/YMori_Art

Other: Behance: https://www.behance.net/OdiMori Artstation: https://www.artstation.com/yurikomori