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I'm Maribel Castells and I'm an Illustrator & Graphic Designer based in Mallorca, Spain.

I grew up in a tiny village in Mallorca close to the mountains, surrounded by holm oak forests an open meadows. I spent most of the time exploring the countryside, building things, drawing and reading all sorts of books.  

Today, as an illustrator I still practise my favourites hobbies, using my own stories and images to talk about the themes I feel close to: Joy, nature, simple life, sense of belonging and building meaningful memories.

Children's books are one of my main passions, but I also find inspiration in old stuff, folk art, vintage aesthetics, music and the many places I dream to travel to some day. 

I attended Escola Massana Arts and Design Centre (Barcelona) and Escola Superior de Disseny (Palma de Mallorca).

MEMBER OF:

PRESS

Society of Children Book Writers and Illustrators

Society of Children Book Writers and Illustrators

Julie Hedlund's 12x12 Challenge

Julie Hedlund's 12x12 Challenge

Women Who Draw

Women Who Draw

 

FOLLOW ALONG ON INSTAGRAM

#snake #serpiente #characterdrawing #characterillustration #drawinganimals #createeveryday #artsy #artist_4_shoutout #instadrawing #illustrationdaily #illustrationgram #illustrationartists #illustrationart #ilustracion #illustration #booksforchildren #portfolio #showyourwork #creativewomen #picturebook #kidlit #kidlitart #makemoreart #visualstorytelling #makeartthatsells #makemoreart #bookillustration #makearteveryday #childrenillustration #illustratenow
🦀 THROWBACK THURSDAY! I was filing old finished work when realized for some reason I forget to post this one, from january 2018!: A series of 9 illustrated maps for @zafirohotels, a 5* and 4* star-hotel chain in Mallorca & Menorca. The project was commissioned by the Animation department, which needed an illustrated pirate-themed version of the hotels maps. There are two flagship elements for children in every one of these family hotels: a pirate ship with aquatic slides and a Pirate themed Miniclub, headed by Yzzy the mascot, a friendly pirate koala - here’s where the maps eventually would be used. That’s why the first rule of this work was to infuse a pirate style in every hotel map. Simplifying the whole layout, leaving only the main interest points & services for children, but filling them with lots of pirate, sailor imagery, and classical treasure hunt map vibes. It was a huge and cool project that required organization and efficient workflow to achieve style consistency among them, despite the different hotel layouts. You can swipe right to explore 3 stages of the creative process, and some final maps. 1️⃣ An example of one original hotel Vector map.  2️⃣ The first sketch, based on the previous vector map. I drew this using a tracing lightbox and the original vector map below, as a guide to ensure proportions.  3️⃣ Final illustrated map. This one is for Zafiro Palace Alcudia 5*. 4️⃣ Zafiro Palace Palmanova 5*, 5️⃣ Zafiro Can Picafort 4*, 6️⃣ Zafiro Cala Mesquida & Park Cala Mesquida 4*, 7️⃣ Zafiro Menorca 4*, 8️⃣ Zafiro Palmanova 4*, 9️⃣ Zafiro Tropic 4*. Notice how every ground & buildings are different from each other, but they share icons and elements. 〰️ This is the approach I use to illustrate any map, which I recommend if you wish to do the same: working layer by layer, starting from the background - where commonly the big shapes, roads are- and finish on the top, where you can fill empty spaces and enrich the whole with unexpected details. 🖤 I hope you all like these huge project as much as I enjoy drawing floorplans and maps!
Sketching/ character studies. Esbossant estudis de personatges. .. .. #illustrating #illustration #illustratedlife #kidlitillustration #kidlit #kidlitartist #sketchbook #sketchbookart #sketching #kidlitart #portfolio #picturebookillustration #picturebookart #picturebook #picturebookillustrator #instadrawing #doitfortheprocess #creativityfound #characterdesign #createeveryday #createmakeshare #showyourwork #thenativecreative #makemoreart #makeartthatsells #artist_4_shoutout #booksforchildren #artist #ilustracion #ilustracioninfantil
🌹Tradicional foto del recull de llibres de St Jordi 🌹2019 #santjordi #santjordi2019 #diadadesantjordi #diadelllibre #marionatolosasistere #beigbeder #mariahesse #valeriethomas #poeteca @marionatolosasistere @mariahesse
Jaia Corema 🖌️ #jaiacorema #collage #illustrations #illustration #mallorca #jaiaquaresma #creativelifehappylife #creativity #cutpaper #papercut #papercutart #artsy #artoftheday #artwithkids #diyforkids #artwork #calendario #calendar #folkillustration #folk #folkart
✨These have been my #topnine2018 so far. ✨ + Thank you all so much for joining me in my illustration journey, liking 💖 and supporting 💪 my art throughout the year!! + #mytopnine #illustration #illustrator #mycreativebiz #makersgonnamake #artwork #artsy #creativelifehappylife #creativity #calledtobecreative #surfacedesign #patternlove #patterns #foodillustration #illustratorsoninstagram #best_of_illustrations #childrenillustration #kidlitillustration #illustrating #illustratorart #makeartthatsells #makearteveryday #ilustracion #ilustracioninfantil #patternlove #carveouttimeforart #draweveryday #folkillustration #portfolio #igartist
Warm up. #illustration #illustrator #illustratedlife #art #artsy #artoftheday #calledtobecreative #childrensbooksillustration #createeveryday #creativelifehappylife #illustrationgram #illustratorsoninstagram #makersgonnamake #portfolio #showyourart #showyourwork #makersmovement #animaldrawing #kidlitart #childrenillustration #doitfortheprocess #carveouttimeforart #colormehappy #artislife #artcommunity #illustragram #ilovecolor
Today I'm the featured designer at @patternobserver website. (Thanks Michelle!). Read the full article with my story and some of my surface design work and patterns at Pattern Observer's profile. + + #illustration #surfacedesign #illustratedlife #illustrator #illustratorsofinstagram #designinspo #patterndesign #patternobserver #patterns #repeats #art_dailydose #artist_4_shoutout #artwork #artistsofig #artistic