Martina Curiotto — Argentine Character Illustrator

“His face was a picture” is one of those throwaway sayings we use whenever someone’s surprised, but with Argentine illustrator Martina Curiotto each face she draws is more than just a picture. She has a rare talent for capturing expressions that can tell an entire story. Happiness to horror, innocence to bliss, surprise to sneakiness – she covers the full gamut, but if you work with her what you feel might just be adoration With studies in both animation and design, Martina is able to see the project holistically, beyond just the drawing. Her goal is to convey emotions, feelings, and situations without using words, so that the viewer feels empathy for her characters while also experiencing curiosity and a sense of wonder. APPROACH Martina sketches her ideas loosely but clearly, usually digitally, before refining the drawing. She paints it digitally with solid colors, which helps her differentiate the various parts before bringing them to life through color variations, textures, gradients, and noise. She finishes her work with retouching of contrast, shadows, highlights, and final details.

When working with a client, Martina’s focus is on great communication – understanding what’s required and delivering it creatively. In 2024, she completed her first full children’s book and her career has taken off from there, backed by character design skills honed as she completed her degree in Digital Design and Animation at Universidad Siglo 21. She’s adding to that with a degree in Visual Communication Design at Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Part of the charm in Martina’s imagery lies in the fluid lines of her gestural approach to drawing, and the depth she brings to each illustration, with an artist’s appreciation for light and shadow. Her influences range from JRR Tolkien to Rococo and Victorian art, as well as the contemporary illustrators Megane Lepage and Taryn Knight.

Approach

Sketching digitally, Martina establishes her line art before painting in light and shading values, carefully bringing an image to life with gradients, textures and detail, along with brushes that mimic natural media such as coloured pencils, watercolour and crayons. Sometimes she strays outside the lines to bring spontaneity to the finished illustration.

Key software

Procreate and Adobe Photoshop

Style

Martina takes a stylised approach to the human form, with realistic proportions. Some features are exaggerated, others simplified, helping her bring just the right feeling to a character’s expressions and body language. Her unique style is compelling and full of vitality.