西班牙插画家Blanca Gomez采访

Where are you from originally?

I am originally from Madrid and that is where I currently reside. I am always saying that I’d like to move somewhere else for at least a while, but here I am. I suppose underneath it all Madrid isn’t so bad.

你祖籍哪里？

我来自马德里，这是我目前居住的地方。我总是说我想到其他地方看看，但我还是在这里。可能是我觉得马德里还可以吧。

When I was little I would draw all day long like many kids do and my parents enrolled me in a painting academy. I would always say that I wanted to be a painter, but as I grew older I didn’t see it as a feasible option and the idea faded.

When it was time to head to college I wasn’t clear what I wanted to do with my life. I had always considered drawing a hobby, but never imagined it as one that could earn me a living. Instead I chose to study Publicity because I thought it would lend itself to creativity and aide in my professional development, but I soon realized that Publicity was not for me.

I continued my studies, but explored other alternatives like photography and film through my fourth year, which I spent in Milan. It was in Milan that I became interested in graphic design. I remember attending an eye-opening exhibition of Milton Glaser’s work and somehow finally figuring out what I should do. When I returned to Madrid I enrolled in evening classes at a design school while I wrapped up my publicity studies. I was in classes all day until 11 P.M. and it was very exhausting but well worth it in the end.

One month after finishing college and my design coursework I began working for a small graphic design studio that was mainly dedicated to the production of business literature. That is where I learned to work in a very rigorous and precise manner. I’ve been working for graphic design studios for seven years now.

和我们分享一下你的教育背景吧，比如你在哪里上的学？

小时候我像其他很多小孩一样整天画画，我的父母就把我送进了一所绘画院校。我总是说我想成为一名画家，等我慢慢长大，我发现这有点不切实际，这个想法慢慢就淡化了。

在我上大学的时候，我很迷茫，不知道今后会做什么。我一直认为画画最多只能算个爱好，不可能成为我的职业。于是，我选择了学习宣传， 因为我觉得他会对我的创造力有帮助，但我很快意识到，宣传并不适合我。

我一边继续我的学业，一边学习一些其他的东西，比如摄影、电影之类的，就这样我在米兰度过了我大学的4年。正是在米兰，我开始对平面设计感兴趣。我记得参加了Milton Glaser的作品展，这个展览让我大开眼界，不管怎样我终于找到了我的方向。我结束我的宣传学业后，我回到了马德里并且报了一个设计院校的夜班，我拼了命的学习，每天基本都是晚上11点才走。但是现在想想那是必要的而且是值得的。

大学毕业后一个月，我在一个小工作室工作，主要做一些商业书记的生产。那里教会了我严谨、细致的工作方式。现在我已经在工作室工作了7年。

When did Cosas Minimas begin and how has it grown?

Cosas Minimas got its start several years ago in a very curious way. I was working for another graphic design studio at the time and was in the habit of constantly drawing on post-its. Most of the drawings ended up in my wastebasket and my boss would tell me that I should do something with those drawings, but I never paid much attention. One day he simply told me that he had chosen a name for my website and purchased it for me. So it just naturally morphed out of what was once merely a hobby at work.

What was initially meant to be a personal project gradually and naturally turned into a professional project. Having a site dedicated to my personal projects forced me to learn more and more. As time went on I began dedicating more time and effort into Cosas Minimas. That is how my first commissions and collaborations came about, always via the web, until finally my hobby became my primary job. It’s not like I had a plan or predetermined objective, it just happened. These days Cosas Minimas continues on its undefined path; dividing my time between personal projects, the store, and commercial commissions.

你的工作室Cosas Minimas是如何开始？又是怎么一步步成长的？

Cosas Minimas是在几年前很奇妙的开始的。那时侯我在另一所工作室工作，喜欢在一些便签纸上涂鸦。基本上这些画都被我丢掉了，我的老板曾建议我不要丢掉他们要用他们做点什么，但是我还是那样。有一天，他说他给我的网站起了个名字，并把我的画作放上去卖。就这样，很自然的完成了从爱好到工作的转变。

最初只是自己的一些练习作品，慢慢的很自然的就转变成专业的商业项目。这个网站给了我学习的动力，慢慢的，我开始把大部分时间和精力放到Cosas Minimas。这就是为什么我的合作或者委托都是通过网络的原因，直到最后，我的爱好成了我的主要工作。并不是说我有一个计划或者目标，他只是这样发生了。现在Cosas Minimas仍在他未知的道路上前行，我也把我的时间花在我的个人项目、商店、商业合作上。

What inspires you most?

To be sincere, I’m not too certain what inspires me. I suppose that everything that surrounds me and everything that I like inspires me inevitably. I’m a huge collector of objects and books. Picasso said something along the lines of it being best for inspiration to find you working, I happen to think that’s good way to put it.

什么东西对能给你灵感？

坦白说 ，这个我也不太知道。我觉得我身边的一切和我喜欢的一切都不可避免的会给我灵感。我是巨大的东东和书籍容器。毕加索说，something along the lines of it being best for inspiration to find you working（大师的话，不敢乱翻，自己理解吧*^_^*），我忽然想到用这句话来形容很贴切。

Which artists/designers do you admire and/or are inspired by?

Given the easy access we have to thousands of good artworks today, it
is impossible for me to recall all of the artists that interest me. Moreover, the Internet has produced an interesting phenomenon thanks to sites like ffffound, and I believe that many works have come to
eclipse the very artists that produce them. It seems these days we are more likely to recognize an image or style long before we know the artist. I find this interesting because in the end it is the work itself that matters most.

Let’s try anyway: The French illustrator Sempé has stuck with me since I was little and read Nicholas. I love the tenderness and humor in his illustrations. Other illustrators that are among my favorites include Dupuy and Barberian who also illustrate comics. I’ve always been very interested in Comics. I also like many Japanese illustrators. I recently discovered Tatsuro Kiuchi and the simplicity in his drawings, especially those in black and white, I found to be very impressive.

As far as designers go, I am clearly a fan of mid-century design, above all else people like Alexander Girad(especially), Olle Eksell, And Bruno Munari. Presently, I am smitten with Vostok, a Catalonian studio that employs unimaginable printing techniques. Another illustration favorite is illustrator and designer Cristobal Schmal who also happens to be a colleague.

哪个艺术家/设计师，让你钦佩或者给你启发？

现在我们很方便的就可以看到数以千记的好作品，回想我感兴趣的所有艺术家也成为可能。而且网络产生了一个有趣的现象，比如得益于ffffound网站，许多作品比他们的作者要出名。我们一般在知道这个作品或风格后很长时间，才知道他背后的作者。这很有意思，因为到最后最重要的还是作品本身。

不过让我想一想：法国插画Sempé让我印象深刻。我喜欢他插画的温和与幽默。其他我最喜欢的插画家，比如Dupuy和Barberian。我也喜欢很多日本插画家。我最近发现 Tatsuro Kiuchi 的插画，简洁明了，尤其那种黑与白方式，让我印象非常深刻。

至于设计师，我很显然是中世纪设计的粉丝，像Alexander Girad，Olle Eksell和Bruno Munari。现在，我正迷恋一个加泰罗尼亚叫 Vostok的工作室，他们有着你难以想象的印刷技术。另一个我最喜欢的插画设计师是Cristobal Schmal，他很巧的是我的一个大学同学。

You mention your love of mid-century design and that’s clearly an affinity you share with Grain Edit. Would you agree that during that era of design it was much easier to identify where work was coming from than it is today or can you identify any regions around the world that have made their work unmistakable?

Although it is evident that it is becoming more difficult to identify where work is coming out of I think there are certain countries that continue to hold personal characteristics that are very identifiable. Clearly this is my own subjective opinion and without any solid backing. For example, I think that the design from the Nordic countries of Europe maintain a style that is recognizable and all their own. Their illustrations maintain certain characteristics that are common to their work. There is a common simplicity in style with great expression underneath it all. There are also many Japanese illustrators, especially for children, that when you see their work you know that it can’t be from any where else in the world.

你刚刚提到你对中世纪设计的热爱，你觉得那个时期设计的地域性特征比现在明显吗？

这是显而易见的现在你很难区分出这个作品来自哪里，但是仍有一些国家保持着他们明显的地域特征。当然，这只是我个人的猜测，并没有做过什么调查。比如，来自北欧的设计，你很容易就会认出他属于哪里。他们的插画普遍带有某种地域特征——简约不简单。也有许多日本插画家，尤其是儿童方面的，当你看到他们的作品的时候，你就会知道他不可能来自世界上任何地方，除了日本。

You say the Internet has brought about interesting phenomena and that your first commissions and collaborations found you via the web. How has the Internet influenced your work and how do you think it will continue to evolve?

Not just at the beginning, today my clients continue to find me via my website as the Internet helped mark a significant point of flexion in my career. If it weren’t for the Internet I would probably still be working on more corporate type projects because at the time I lacked the confidence needed to contact potential clients to present my personal work. Moreover, if I had to promote my work in other ways it never would have occurred to me to do so outside of Spain. Today, the majority of my work is done for foreign clients and that truly widens my professional horizons.

I also have an online store and I communicate with clients via email. And thanks to the Internet I have met colleagues that I speak to on a daily basis who keep me from going crazy as a result of working alone. My blog is another way that I get feedback about my work.

In any case, what I am saying is rather obvious. I suppose that in the future things will continue to evolve and I don’t see myself working any other way. Sometimes I think that in the future I would like to interact more directly with my clients, but then I remember the closeness of clients when I worked at an agency and realize that it’s possible to be much closer to a client thousands of miles away than face to face.

你说互联网带来了一种有趣的现象，以及您第一个委托也是通过网络。那么互联网是如何影响你的工作，在网络的影响下你觉得你的工作会如何发展变化？

不只是开始，就是今天我的客户仍然是通过网络找到我，我觉得网络是我职业生涯的转折点。如果不是网络我也许还在做一些商业类型的项目，因为我没有自信去发掘我的潜在客户更不会去向他们推荐我的个人作品。此外，就算我要推销我的作品，我也决不会推销到西班牙以外的地方。但是今天，我的大部分业务都是来自西班牙以外的国家，这真的扩大了我的视野增强了我的专业水平。

我也有一个线上商店，我通过邮件与客户沟通。而且多亏网络我能够和我的同事见面说一些日常事务，避免我因一个人工作而发狂，我的博客是让我知道人们对我作品的评价。

很明显，我相信在未来业务仍会继续发展变化，暂时还没有发现其他的工作方式。有时候我想，今后我要和客户更直接的沟通，但我想起以前在一家机构工作时和客户的直接程度，我发现比起面对面，几千英里的距离反而会更好。

Can you tells us about any projects you’ve been involved in that you’re particularly proud of?

It’s not a project in the strictest sense, but I was very flattered that Janine Vangool chose an illustration of mine for the cover of the first issue of Uppercase Magazine. I had never before seen my work featured on the cover of a magazine much less the first issue and now I fear I won’t see it again. The best part is that my work was on the cover of a fantastic magazine, but I feel honored more than proud.

On another note, I’ve just finished a series of greeting cards for Carrie and Hal of Red Cap (they’re lovely people). They asked to use existing works, but when I proposed new illustrations for them they accepted and gave me free reign when it came time to work. I think this will be obvious when you see the final results. I am very happy with the final product and recently had a chance to view some samples. They left a great impression and I can’t wait to see the real thing. Generally I feel most proud of my personal projects over my commercial projects.

你最引以为傲的作品是？

严格来说这并不是一个项目，但我感到非常荣幸Janine Vangool 选择我画做 Uppercase Magazine杂志的创刊号封面。 我的作品从来没有上过杂志的封面上创刊号的杂志封面更是不敢想像。我觉得这再也不会发生了。最重要的是我的作品上了一个奇妙的杂志封面，我感到非常荣幸和自豪。

另外，我刚刚完成了Carrie 和Hal of Red Cap的一系列贺卡。他们让我用现有的东西就可以，但是当我给他们新提案的时候，他们接受了，而且让我自由发挥。结果是很明显的。我很喜欢最终的产品，最近我也看到了一些样品，让我印象深刻，我已经迫不及待的要看到实物了。总体来说，我觉得比起我的商业作品来说，我更喜欢我的个人作品。

It sounds like you’re involved in a lot of fun and interesting projects. Is there anyone you’re interested in working with or for?

I am lucky to have a collaborative project pending with some friends that aside from being my friends also happen to be really great at what they do. The less positive side is that the project is currently stalled because of me. In reality, the paradox is that I am rather individualistic in my work and I’ve been used to working alone for a long time. On the other hand, I would like to collaborate with so many people that I am incapable of naming just one.

I would like to see my work in other arenas and in mediums that at first glance appear distant from my own work, a line of skateboards, wooden toys, or textiles for example. So if anyone out there would like to reach me you know where I am!

听起来你参与了许多有趣好玩的项目。是否遇到过你感兴趣的人？

我很荣幸和我的一些朋友合作了一个项目，但是不幸的是这个项目因为我的关系被搁浅了。说实在的，我在工作上太自我，很习惯一个人工作很长时间。另外，我经常和许多人合作，很难从中选择一个。

我很想我的作品出现在各种不同的领域通过各种不同的媒介，哪怕他乍看好像离我的工作很远，比如画板、木玩偶、纺织品什么的。所以任何想知道我的人，就会知道我在哪里。

Blanca’s 工作室

Can you walks us through your work flow?

While my process for commissioned work is very disciplined (whenever possible), I don’t have a predetermined process for personal projects because I work chaotically. The following work was commissioned, but has a very personal touch. The client gave me free reign in the production of limited edition prints for his store. The store specializes in music posters so my first idea was to make a fake poster billing for a fake concert. The turning point came about while listening to the song Autumn in New York, I decided then I would do something Jazz inspired with New York as the backdrop.

你能跟我们分享下你的工作过程吗？

我的商业委托工作是很规律的，但是我的个人项目就比较随意，没有什么预定的步骤，可以说很混乱。下面这个工作是一个商业委托，但是搀杂了很多个人因素。客户让我为他的商店设计一款限量版的印刷品，让我自由发挥。这个商店 主要经营音乐海报，所以我就想到做一个虚拟演唱会的宣传海报。当我听到 Autumn in New York这首歌曲的时候，工作出现了转折，我决定以纽约为背景用爵士乐做些创意。

Sometimes I sketch on paper and others I start sketching in Illustrator. In this case I decided to start drawing (in Illustrator) the character playing the trumpet in basic shapes. The first character was too silly or caricature like for the idea I had in mind. I eliminated the trumpet and began to style him. Once I have a clear idea of form I begin experimenting with various brushes. I also experiment with fonts for the text.

有时候我在纸上画手绘草稿，有时候在Illustrator里做草图。对于这个海报，我决定在Illustrator里大概画一个吹喇叭的人物。第一个形象太傻太滑稽，不是我想要的。我去掉了喇叭，开始为他造型。一旦我形成一个清晰的想法，我就用各种各样的笔刷去尝试。我也尝试加不同字体的文字。

Once the character is defined I begin to work on the background and play with color. The title of the song inspires a melancholic image (blue) and I decide to experiment with a palette of cool colors. This process can be somewhat chaotic and I can have as many as 20 different versions in one document, but here I’m sharing fewer samples.

As I work on the background I incorporate the character into the composition and move him along the landscape. I lose the fake poster idea because at this point I’m aware that the illustration has overshadowed the design.

人物塑造好后，我就开始在背景和颜色方面动手脚。歌曲的调子给人一种忧郁的感觉（蓝色），于是我决定用冷色调。这个过程可能有点混乱，我作了20个不同的版本，但这里就分享这几个吧。

我把人物融入背景城市景色里。我放弃了虚拟音乐会的想法，因为图形本身淡化了这个创意。

After several hours of trial and error there is nothing I like. I decide to leave the computer and sketch on paper. These sketches are quick and rough in order to get some idea of the composition of the elements. When I do this I recognize what is wrong, the character and the background are too similar and this is confusing and the character is lost in the background. I decide to reduce and contrast the color palette and also change the size of the elements. I reduce the cityscape and make the character more prominent on a first plane. Now it is night in the drawing and there is a protagonist in sight. I think this will work much better.

经过几个小时的尝试修改仍然没有我喜欢的。我决定放弃电脑开始在纸上素描。这些草图很快而且粗糙，目的是想得到一些元素组合的想法。画草图后，我终于发现了问题所在，人物和背景太像，以至于人物被背景弱化。我决定增强颜色的对比度，变换元素的大小。我减弱了城市景色部分，让人物处于明显的主导地位。现在画面是这样的，一个城市的夜晚，主角站在夜景中。这样就好多了。

I normally finish my illustration in Illustrator before I begin working in Photoshop, where I complete things with brushes and textures. But that wasn’t the case here. Once I had a clear vision I began working with various elements that I already had, collage style, directly in Photoshop.

Now we have the background of the illustration.

Once the background is defined I copy and paste the character from Illustrator. Evidently, the contrast of the vector character with the background is very ugly. It is time to find textures and to apply brushes to the character.

I choose the appropriate texture and silhouette the character. Then I duplicate and adjust the layers until I find a result that I like. I also color certain parts so that the result is not too plain.

背景完成后，我就把人物从Illustrator里粘贴过来。但是很明显，人物和背景的对比很丑，是时候加纹理应用笔刷了

我尝试为人物添加纹理变换人物的轮廓，我复制图层，应用笔刷和纹理，直到我满意为止。我为了不让画面太平，在一些地方添加了一些颜色。

Finally we have the illustration, but it could use some life because it appears dark and sad. I add the stars that I started with in Illustrator and that is that last touch that it needs to come to life.

最后，插画基本成型了，但是好像缺点生气，于是我就在Illustrator里添加了一些星星。

最后客户选择了我提案的另一个版本。