A lover of art, the illustrator Alberto Alonso, decided to dedicate himself to his passion after he
spent some time working in what he liked least: stuck in an office. Five months ago he started
working as an illustrator despite knowing the difficulties of being an artist. On his Instagram
(@albertoalonsoart), he makes his illustrations available for the public to use in RPG (role-playing
games).
How long have you been doing illustrations?
Since I can remember hahaha. Since I was a kid I remember drawing in my school notebooks
between classes. It relaxed me and at the same time stimulated my imagination a lot.
How long does it take to make an artwork?
It depends a lot on the style. Right now I am in a phase where I want to innovate and experiment
with new styles and tools which takes more time. The illustrations I do are so varied that it’s
hard to say an average time. It can take from a day to a week
For example, right now I have to do an illustration that I estimate will take between 2 and 3
weeks (and I am an optimistic person).
Recently you decided to make illustrations for other people to use in their role-playing
games. Where did this availability come from?
Yes, I have a project running now where I upload free stuff like character blocks, paper
miniatures and many other things for RPG players. I do this as a way to say thank you to all the
people who are supporting me and helping to spread my art through Instagram. For me it’s great
because it’s a theme I love and enjoy a lot.
How long do you intend to continue with the initiative of illustrating for games?
As long as I can, as long as people like it. As a result of this project, I’ve been getting a lot of
requests from clients who want their own custom character designs with their faces or fantastic
illustrations in which they appear and it’s something that excites me because it means that what I
do makes sense to them and that they like it enough to want something more custom.
For the characters, did you take any references from movies or other games?
Yes, I think so. I’ve always played miniature, RPG and fantasy themed games, I just love them!
And of course, like many of you, I have also seen all the movies in this genre. I have always
been fascinated by fantasy world stories, character designs and settings because there is no limit
to the imagination. So after being continuously absorbing this kind of information, it is normal that I have many references in my head unconsciously and that they come out like a whirlwind when I pick up a pen.
There were great creators, painters illustrators, filmmakers… who captured beautiful ideas, ideas tha seeped into my brain, ideas that I liked and made me who I am. All of them, without exception, were my references and I owe everything I know to them.
What message would you like to leave here for the Brazilian public and Brazilian artists?
I want to congratulate the Brazilian public for having an extraordinary community of players,
very active and grateful. May we continue to enjoy role-playing games as we know them!
Thanks to social networks I can follow the trajectory of many other Brazilian artists, and I must
say that their work is impressive and full of personality. And that is the key to an illustration:
tell a situation in your own way, from the bottom of your being. You are a very intelligent, close
and energetic person and your best works are those that reflect your quality as a person.
