In both client and personal caricature projects, Freelance Illustrator Maria Picassó Piquer had always worked on individual and couple portraits. She wanted a challenge, to go beyond that and make a collection. Maria thinks that working on a collection is a good exercise because homogeneity is an additional key factor to take into account.







I chose making a Game of Thrones themed collection, not only because it happened during the preseason hype but also because the cast is so colorful and full of singular faces. I began with choosing a limited color palette that would work on all characters skins, hair and clothes and then proceeded to sketch one by one and turn them into vectors.

-Maria Picassó Piquer

I use to say it’s geometric vector portrait. But I think it also fits the category of “design caricature”. Because of my architecture and design background, when doing portraits, my process is all about getting likeness by arranging shapes in the right sizes, colors and proportions, a process which can be somehow compared in designing the optimal distribution of a living room on a house plan.

-Maria Picassó Piquer

Regarding my inspirations, apart of being a fine art aficionado, I am a huge fan of all kinds of design, from Bauhaus graphic design to post-modern furniture and brutalist architecture. I’m not sure if it all reflects on my work, but they are definitely an influence.

-Maria Picassó Piquer

I enjoy getting inspiration from past styles, artists and designers but if I had to name some of my most admired -and alive- artists I’d go for Robin Davey, Mads Berg and Thorsten Hasenkamm in illustration and Hanoch Piven, Miki Kobayashi and Nate Kap in caricature.

-Maria Picassó Piquer

I’m very grateful for having a classic art training (anatomy, perspective, shading…). I think that having a certain domain of reality before going to more abstract ways gets you a more solid work as a result. I’d advise any artist to never give up. Some choose art as a career, some as the best hobby ever, this depends a lot on one’s personality but if you’re fortunate to be able to create something beautiful, please never stop (and please share, if possible!).

-Maria Picassó Piquer

About Maria Picassó Piquer

Maria Picassó Piquer is a former architect and professional illustrator based in Barcelona. As a freelance artist, Maria have a wide range of clients, from children books editors to the darkest metal bands. She have worked for diverse media and brands such as Pearson, McGraw-Hill, Samsung, and various Spanish and US press, she’s currently immersed in a huge video game project. Maria have always been fascinated by human faces and what makes each one of us unique. She debuted in the 00s on the website rocktoons.com and since then she’ve crafted private and live commissions in many different styles of portrait and caricature. During the last years, she’s been developing her own recognizable vector geometric style where she combine illustration and design techniques in order to picture diverse subjects, specially faces. See more of her works on Behance or her website.