Bored Panda reached out to Sergio to learn more about his creative process and himself. The artist shared what initially drew him to illustration: "When I was about 17, we had to do a free project in art class. Everyone could do what they wanted - painting, photography, sculpture. There were no limits. A few weeks before, I was in Venice with my family and wanted to draw the canals using multiple vanishing points. When I showed my pencil drawing to the class, they were shocked—even my closest friends. I remember them saying, 'YOU did that?' They had no idea that I liked to draw, and I had no idea that anyone would ever be interested in or even like my drawings.
"That experience pushed me a lot; it was the first time I had thought about a career in the creative industry. I started to learn about graphic design and illustration, so years later, I studied graphic design in Dusseldorf, Germany. The study was so diverse. I learned about corporate design, web design, animation, photography, and more. But I always gravitated back towards illustration. The only problem was that I didn't believe I could make a living just by drawing. After all, drawing was like playing to me. And no one would ever pay me for playing, I thought.
Until I found the courage to go on a journey to the other side of the world to meet established artists, designers, and illustrators. I visited creatives from Australia, Southeast Asia, and China for four and a half months. You can read some insights about it on Behance.
These conversations taught me so much about creativity and its business. So when I returned home, I only had one goal – to make a living doing what I love the most: illustration."
We were wondering if Sergio has some rituals or habits that help him get into a creative mindset. The artist revealed that over time, he developed some personal hacks to start a project:
Start immediately
"I don't mean to dive into the deep, creative act right away. Instead, I think of the smallest possible step I could take immediately, like reading the briefing, drawing an initial rough sketch, writing down my first thoughts on the process, or simply creating a folder structure on my computer. It's like a door opener to the process. I'm already in the middle of it by doing something related to the project, even if it only takes a few seconds."
Change the workplace
"I work from home, and for me, it's the perfect place to execute the illustrations while listening to a movie or a podcast. But when it comes to actually generating ideas for the illustration, it's the worst place. It feels too quiet, too still. Then, I go to any coffee store, sit down, sketch, write, and research for a few hours. In times of the quarantine during Covid, working on ideas was quite tough, and it made me realize that I feel most creative around strangers."
Music as a trigger for creativity
"I always run the same playlist when looking for ideas for my Mindshot illustrations. Sometimes, I even start with the same song for months (currently, 'Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence' by Ryuichi Sakamoto). It seems to help me switch my mind into a kind of creation mode. Most of the time, I listen to instrumental music, like movie soundtracks or video game tracks (By the way, I believe that video game soundtracks are great to work creatively because they are designed to accompany and not to distract)."
The artist shared that the way we handle social media and social content is a constant topic of his illustrations. "The idea for the illustration Lemmings came around 10 years ago. I was sitting in a bar with my friends. Six guys were at the table next to us, all staring at their phones most of the time. It felt like a scene from a weird science fiction movie. I'm not free of guilt. The illustrations help me to observe my own addiction, too. Especially when I started posting them online, the likes and comments felt just good and encouraging. Instead of creating more new stuff, I found myself following the social media stats on old stuff. Maybe that's how the illustration Obsessed emerged years later."
The earlier mentioned drawing of Venice was almost 25 years ago. Since then, Sergio has learned a lot about creativity, visualization, and the creative industry. The artist told us that in the last few years, he has found so much joy in talking to and with students about their dreams, fears, and thoughts on the creative process. "I'm currently figuring out the most effective way to share my personal experiences and learnings to help aspiring creative professionals on their own paths. Furthermore, I look forward to creating new Mindshot illustrations again, soon."
