Meet Claudia Baquedano, illustrator, architect and the featured contributor of Toffu!
A quick introduction
My name is Claudia, I’m 26 and I’m an architect from Spain. I finished my Master last year in Madrid and then I moved to London to start working as an architect. I love photography and to travel, but since these two things have been difficult to do this past year, I reconnected with my childhood hobby: drawing.
Deciding to be a content maker
For my final project in University I needed a very specific vegetation and people to represent the context as real as possible. I wanted very detailed and delicate graphics to express my ideas, so I decided to create my own.
Doing that, I realized how much I loved it, I enjoyed the research and drawing every little detail to add to my final panels. So I kept doing it! In my opinion, the graphic content you use in your drawings defines your project, they bring life, detail, context, carefulness to your plans and make them unique. I always look for this kind of content over the Internet, and I’ve been following Toffu for a while, so when I saw that they were looking for contributors, I couldn’t resist!
Getting inspired
I like to represent the real context where the project would be built. The people that would live there, the furniture it would have, the nature around it… So, once I have an idea about what kind of vibe and atmosphere I would like, I start looking at photographs and I spend A LOT of time in Pinterest. I also love botanical illustrations and anatomy drawings.
Content creation process
First I do some research over my photos or Pinterest to create a base. Later I take them to Procreate and doodle a sketch, which then I put over Illustrator to create a vector file.
Tips for beating the designer’s block
Designer’s block has always been a huge problem to me, the most difficult thing for me is getting started, finding the idea so I can draw it.
“ Recently I started doing this that someone told me: just put something on the tv and start drawing what you see, it activates your mind and it’s a good drawing exercise! ”
Bonus facts
Illustrator / Photoshop ? Illustrator, vector drawing is the best!
Mac / Windows ? Mac, I love working with my laptop and iPad at the same time
Podcast / Music ? Music, I’m always listening to music while working!
Morning person / Night owl ? Neither hahaha… I love to sleep. If I can, I don’t wake up early nor stay super late…, so afternoon person?
Want to catch up? Follow Claudia’s Blog , Instagram and store on Toffu
Read more interviews on Toffu Blog