In the following article, we will show you an exclusive interview: Artists who inspire Ulises Diaz Lopez Part 1.
A young and creative cartoonist, who is already working for the biggest companies in the world, Ulises Diaz Lopez (Behance: LucyWayne / ig: lookdyl).
He was born in 1991, in Buenos Aires, studied at the National University of the Arts, traveled to Canada, and has worked in different artistic media, getting to develop in depth, in the field of storyboarding, and character design.
Check out his story, his experiences, and learn his secrets. Continue reading!
A professional artist you should learn from
Welcome back to our exclusive interviews for TFC!
Today, we will navigate in the amazing creative universe of a young artist, who is already working for the biggest companies in the world, Ulises Diaz Lopez (Behance: LucyWayne / ig: lookdyl).
Born in 1991, in Buenos Aires, he studied at the National University of the Arts, traveled to Canada, and has worked in different artistic media, getting to develop in depth in the field of storyboarding and character design.
Throughout the interview, he will narrate his beginnings, tell us about his experience working for a studio, and give us his knowledge about the different artistic media in which he has ventured, pay great attention to this professional artist.
How did you start your artistic career?
I don’t know very well the age, I think my 24 years, mark more the professional part, which was when I entered my first studio, and there I started doing storyboards and illustrations, everything before, were very sporadic and skipped things, like murals, or illustrations on demand.
For companies, it was generally commissioned, companies that wanted a brand, but the first part was not very constant, I think what I did the most, was studying at the University of the Arts.
And when did you start drawing?
I have memories of my mother telling me to paint the wall, or when I drew my father’s ID card in kindergarten, they told me that I drew very well for my age, that I could handle volumes, it was strange for someone small, they told my mother that, and for a while I didn’t do much with that.
I kept drawing until I was 15, when I said, “Well, maybe, I want to learn a little more” and there, I started at a drawing school, I started with comics, because apparently, the drawing course wasn’t there, I don’t know what was going on, and in the comics course they did accept me.
So I said “I’m going to start with this”. With comics, I had no approach, suddenly I got there and said “I like it, it’s like telling things with drawings, how to sequence them”. And that’s when comics came up.
Did you start reading comics from then on, or did you already read them before?
Before that, I read very mainstream stuff, I don’t remember at what age, but I was a little younger, when I discovered that there were Marvel comics in the neighborhood kiosk, I think I must have been about 12, when I saw that there were comics and started to consume Marvel.
More than anything, it was what arrived, then DC stuff started to arrive, but I always liked Marvel much more because of the stories, then, at the beginning, I had a reading focused more on American or industrial comics, and later, with the comics course, I became more familiar with Moebius or Corto Maltese, because my teacher sent you to read graphic narrative and European comics.
It’s good, because if you don’t, you’re stuck only with Daredevil or Spider-Man.
How was the change from drawing comics to making storyboards?
I entered the studio, just for an advertisement of the River Plate club, where they launched the new t-shirt, it was an advertisement for Adidas, then, I had to do the whole approach drawn, because it was more than anything a 3D advertising.
At the same time, it was very crazy, because the River Plate t-shirt had to be sculpted in 3D, it’s not that they used the real t-shirt, so all that had to be done.
The comic, has a question of counting with images, and sequentially, but for the storyboard, you have to make a passage closer to the video and film, there, you have a factor that is the audio, there are also resources such as camera movements, or movements themselves, which will also affect the work, as the movement within the frame.
In comics it is much more “static”, you can have movement, but in another way, they are different tools, they are analogous languages and brothers, but each one has its richness.
Did you notice that learning to make comics helped you with the storyboard work?
I think that in itself, we have a whole consumption of films and visual arts, where we learn, in addition, in comics, we learn a kind of basic part, like the framing of the cameras, which is also shared with cinema.
So, I had that a little bit, what proportion of the frame you are using, what you are occupying it with, how much air you leave, the composition, and so on.
To that, maybe you have to add other things, I had to do a lot of storyboards for what is called explainer, a video that explains something, generally, companies ask for it to explain things.
What is most important in an explainer is to make dynamic transitions, so that you don’t get bored listening to a video that explains how Coca is made, do you understand? Each storyboard has its own thing, but they share the same base.
Did you have experience in concept art?
I did, but more of the grayscale type, yes I did a lot of character design, I also like it a lot, I think what I did more in proportion, was storyboards, character design, concept, illustrations, and all that kind of stuff.
Are the character designs personal projects or for companies?
I’ve been asked to design for the studio, for advertising pieces, that kind of thing, now that I’m remembering, at one point I also did set design, but, for example, when we were in the studio, MTV came and said, “We have this award show, we have to propose ideas for set design”, so we put it together and thought of ideas.
It was all very conceptual, because I didn’t choose the type of wood that would go on the stage.
So much for the first part of the interview, read on for the second part and discover some of Ulises’ tips for designing characters, the tools he uses, the way he teaches at the university, among many other things!
Conclusion
Ulises tells us in detail about his beginnings, the different artistic media in which he has ventured and his experience drawing as a child, and then in his adolescence he moved from drawing to Storyboarding.
We suggest you read the whole interview, as it is very interesting, his experience, his experiences and ways of working are worthy of admiration.
Don’t miss soon, the 2nd part of this wonderful interview!
