We have a wonderful interview for you today! Thank you Iván Villegas aka @papihueso for being our Artist spotlight of the week.

Hello! Please can you give us a brief little introduction about yourself?

Hello everyone! my name is Iván Villegas, I’m a Mexican graphic designer, aspiring illustrator and musician wannabe. I graduated from the Faculty of Art and Design (formerly know as the National School of Fine arts). I’ve drawn for as long as i can remember (good or bad, that’s up to you!). As a kid, I would always ask for something related to art or music for Xmas . I have one book published written by Elena Dreser in 2003, but due to some budget problems the book was printed in black and white and the illustrations that I made were monochrome, some were all red, some were blue or yellow, so imagine the result of that! But my editor told me that the kids loved it, so even though I wasn’t satisfied with the final product, i think it did the job.

I’m a big fan of comic books, movies, science fiction and fantasy books…well, you already understand, I’m a geek!

What inspires you?

Well, maybe this sounds like a cliché, but i think that’s life itself, you know? when you’re walking in the street or talking with a friend or family and then… boom! A great joke or something more profound appears and deserves to be put on paper.

Also the work of so many artists that I admire and who have indirectly taught me a lot! And of course music, what you hear influences the way ideas flow on paper or iPad or whatever media you use.

What is your favourite thing to draw?

I like to draw cartoons and funny creatures, monsters and culture pop references (but in my own twisted style!)

What art goals do you have for this year?

uff! I think my art goal is the same as always, you know? Raise my level, understand color better, learn more… I think i have a long way to go before I can say that my doodles have some artistic value, and of course I would love to illustrate a children’s book again!

What techniques/supplies do you use?

Well, it depends. For the Friday doodle club I use my iPad and Procreate because I can learn how to use the program and polish my digital technique. In October, as all of you know there is a lot of art prompts, so I use a Pentel pen for things that involve ink, and watercolors and copics for things that need color.

What advice would you give to another doodler/artist?

Don't draw for the “likes”! It’s very easy to fall into that trap and measure your quality by the number of followers, comments or likes. That is not necessarily true, there are millions of artists out there that are astonishing but have only 10 likes in their posts, but that does not define the quality of their art. Draw because you like it, practice, ask for feedback and don’t take it personally if that feedback is not what you expected, but most of all, express yourself! Leave something of you in everything you create, experiment with all the art challenges that exist all over the internet! Have fun!Bbe kind with your fellow artists and never stop drawing!

Where can people go to learn more about you or see more of your work?

You can find me as @papihueso on instagram, I hope you like what you see there!