FAQ (english)

ABOUT ME

Where do you live?
Hastings, United Kingdom

How tall are you?
1.75 cm (yes, I'm super tall)


ABOUT WHAT I DO

Where and what did you study?
I studied a BA in Graphic Design at the Diego Portales University (Santiago, Chile).

At what age did you start illustrating? Have you always been good at it?
I started drawing when I was very little chubby girl. Back then, my main reference (and hero) was Sailor Moon. I became very good at drawing anime, but it was not until the third year of college that I decided to find my own illustration style and develop an identity. Here's a video explaining the whole process.

How did you learn to illustrate? Did you take any workshops?
I’m a self-taught illustrator, so if I could do it, everyone can! :D I don’t think you need to study ilustration per se, but if you really want to learn the process in depth, I there are several workshops and courses you can take. Just search on the interwebz and find the one that suits you!

What tablet do you use?
For 4 years I worked with the Wacom Bamboo. After that, I bought a used Wacom Cintiq 12.

What materials do you use? What are your favourite pencils?
When I'm working for agencies or doing commissions, I usually work with Photoshop. On my spare time, I like to paint with watercolors, ink and copic markers. Here is a video where I talk about my traditional materials and here is another one where I talk about my digital materials. Oh! And here I talk about my favorite pencils.

Where I can see more of your work?
Some projects and commissions I've done for clients are on my portfolio, but you can also check out my sketches and personal projects on my Instagram... if you want to.

How much should I charge for an illustration, art or project?
Oh my nerds, I have never felt comfortable talking about this. And it's not because it is a taboo subject or anything, it's just something that depends on too many factors: how much time will you invest on the project? how much experience do you have? how big is the illustration? how detailed does the illustration needs to be? when is the deadline? how much money do you need right now? is it a person or a company? So, in short, there are too many variables to consider. While I know how much I should charge, I can’t give an advise to someone else, because... it depends! I’m sorry :(

Would you please do a free illustration for my girlfriend? She’s your #1 fan!
No, I'm sorry! I don’t work for free. To illustrate something takes time, dedication and love. I charge because it’s my profession and with that money I pay my bills, rent and my cat’s food.


ABOUT MY ONLINE SHOP 

Where and how can I buy your products? 
You can order all my products through my Etsy shop.

Do you ship worldwide?
YES.

I’ve ordered something and it hasn’t arrived yet! What can I do?
Do not worry, some orders take time to arrive. The German post office makes sure that your package will be in your country on an average of 8 working days (depending on how far away from Germany you live), but it's usually the custom service from your country the one who takes quite some time on processing the package and send it to your address. This depends on post policies from each country. Unfortunately, I have no control over the postal system of your country, I can only make sure your package was sent safe. My advice? Be patient. Drink a cup of tea and relax. If you still want to know where's your beloved loot, call to your customs office and ask them if they have something there under your name. I'm pretty sure they do.


ABOUT YOUTUBE

What camera do you use to record your videos?
I use Canon EOS M camera with a 22 mm lens.

What program do you use to edit your videos?
Adobe Premiere... and Ed always helps me with the colors and the final details.


GERMANY-BERLIN

Fran: I want to go to Germany to study/live. Can you help me? How can I do it? Which universities/workshops do you recommend?
1. Have a plan A, B, C and D. Germans (masters of making plans and are being punctual) don't like people who come there without a plan, or people wanting to live here and not having an actual clue of what they’re going to do.
2. Come with a good level of German, at least B2. Even though in Berlin almost everybody speaks English, all the important paperwork (health insurance, immigration, working documents, residence certificate) are in German. ALL OF IT. ALWAYS.
3. Save money before you come here. The more, the better.
4. If you need to find place, apartment or studio, you can check out flats on WGgesucht or similar sites, so you can have a better idea of how much does the rent costs in here.

About Universities in Berlin I have zero information. Since I didn’t come here to study, I know nothing about what college is good or not, or what illustration workshop is the best. Sorry. :(

About German lessons, the cheapest is the VHS (Volkshochschule).

If you’re here for holidays or vacations (welcome!) and you need good places for visiting, please check out Sandra Juto’s guide to Berlin.

If you want to visit art supply stores (I love you), PLEASE go to Boesner (Prenzlauer Berg), Zeichen Center or Modulor.


LONDON

Hey Fran, I want to live/study in London, do you know how can I do that?

I JUST wrote a super complete blog post about it!



My lovely nerds: If you have any further questions or you need to know something about a specific subject, I also solve doubts about illustration on my youtube channel!