Meet Sergio Dosal | Illustrator & Creative

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sergio Dosal and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sergio, what is the most important factor behind your success?
I’d say I base success in three pillars:

First one is to keep yourself curious. I always try to discover new series, music, food, places, artists… that could inspire myself. I love to learn new things and to challenge myself in doing things that I never did before.

Second one is to surround yourself with good people. I think if you’re doing your own business – in every kind of area -, you need to be surrounded by people who can not only help you when needed, but make your process enjoyable and cheerful. I’d say PR is a big part of having a project, and while contacts are super important, you will need a closer circle of people who understand your situations and encourage you when in lower times.

Third and last one is do good. We’re all trying our best, and of course you need to look out for yourself, but especially in creativity, it is important to help other ones and be nice with them. It definitely speaks out for you as a professional and a human being – and next time, it could be you needing some help!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
As an illustrator, most of times people asked me how I got here, and the reality is… somehow it just happened.

I grew up in a working class family in a small town in northern Spain. My parents worked a lot, they used to have a restaurant and I spent every single time outside school in there. As a kid, I remember drawing all the paper tablecloths in the restaurant. Since I’m an only child, drawing was a way of entertain myself, and then it started to become a bit of a meditation: when in a needed reconnection to myself, I would get some paper and pencils and started drawing. I also think visually, so drawing was also a tool to understand life better in that way.

I’ve been doing this ritual forever. Drawing during classes, during spare time, during lunch… And also everywhere: noteboks, tables, clothes, walls… (yes, sometimes these things got me into trouble!) I would say I was curious about art, culture and crafting.

At university, I tried to get into Art School but I wasn’t accepted, so I started Drama as a degree. When finished, I moved to London and worked directing theatre shows. At that time, I kept drawing, again, everywhere and everytime. So when the pandemic started and we all got locked in, I went back to my family house in Spain and started thinking about applying all the conceptualising and visual creation tools I had in my job as a director to a new project, drawing in a professional way.

I moved to Barcelona (main city in Spain for design and creativity), where I live now, and started developing my actual style while working on retail. My illustrations are big, colourful, cheerful and naive. They represent chill and cute characters enjoying their day to day life. More than a representation of my world, they’re kind of a wish for what I’d love my world to be!

When I gained some new clients, I thought it was the moment to make it a bit more pro, so I came up with an online portfolio, left retail and started knocking on doors: I used to spend one day per week searching for emails of companies, agencies, clients, businesses I’d love to have featured on my portfolio. I would email them saying I’d love to work with them, and although some times I had no answer, other times worked.

I surely worked hard for it and came up with a plan to get to some places, but at the same time I think in some way it just had to happen!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Can you believe I was never in LA? But no worries, since you might have read about all the places in LA, here I got some 5 Barcelona spots you can not miss when visiting the best city in Europe! You’re welcome!

– Bar el Pollo, for some tapas and beers. If I were you, I would not miss the tortilla clásica. Great to meet some friends and catch up.
– If you’re into clubbing, get yourself to a Nitsa party in Apolo on a Friday or Saturday for the best DJ lineup every weekend in Spain!
– Although MACBA is the most known museum in Barcelona, CCCB Museum is just next to it and it’s way much better! Every single exhibition they do is simply amazing. Best plan for a date though!
– Don’t get yourself to La Barceloneta beach; instead get the train to Sant Pol de Mar, a 40 minutes away from Barcelona little town. Best spot to disconnect yourself from the rush of the city! The beach is simply great there, and it’s way much cleaner!
– Fancy a cocktail and some amazing tapas? Go visit La Frugal in Gràcia. Not only great food but the place is really cute. Also best staff ever!
– If you’re into coffee, my fav ones are ThreeMarksCoffee, Departure Coffee and El Federal Café!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Since I grew up in a small city, being an illustrator and live out of your drawings was something that felt quite distant for me. It was in London where I met Isabel Muñoz, a children illustrator (from my hometown as well!) who offered herself for a coffee and a chat when all this drawing thing was just a dream to me.

She encouraged me to take risks, and helped me with all the starting process and all those tasks unrelated to drawing – like invoices, budgets, freelancing as a lifestyle, and all that boring but definitely necessary stuff!

She’s not only a great illustrator but a greater colleague!

Website: sergiodosal.com

Instagram: instagram.com/sergiodosal

Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/sergiodosal

Image Credits
César Segarra