Meet Valentina Berdegué Saenz | Illustrator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Valentina Berdegué Saenz and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Valentina, why did you pursue a creative career?
I’ve always enjoyed drawing; it was something I did naturally without even thinking about it. I never felt particularly talented at anything, and even with drawing, it wasn’t like I was Picasso or received a lot of praise for it—I just enjoyed it. I loved creating characters, choosing their clothes and hair. I remember as a kid, I loved flash games where you could create avatars or decorate rooms. It was so much fun dreaming up a whole story and bringing it to life. I liked that I could see my progress in my art; it was concrete and visible.

When I entered 11th grade, I had to decide what I wanted to do with my life, and I had no idea. So I asked myself what my strengths were, what interested me, and what I could see myself doing. I had two choices: therapist or artist. I then asked myself what made me happy. The answer was drawing.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My art and career as a freelance illustrator are still in the early stages. I’ve just graduated with a BFA in Illustration from SVA. I’m currently working at a creative agency and trying to get freelance illustration gigs. Which is basically just cold emailing art directors and getting ignored, but you have to keep going! There’s still a long way ahead, but when I look back it’s nice to see how far I’ve come. I think it’s important to recognize one’s growth and hard work.
My origin story is that I’ve always enjoyed drawing, I was constantly doodling in class when I should have been paying attention. My passion for anime, cartoons, and comics began at age 7 when I accidentally rented an Inuyasha movie from Blockbuster. This fascination with Japanese mangaka’s unique styles, distinct from formal fine art, fueled my desire to draw. During my pre-teen and teen years, I also discovered the elegant and creative illustrations in old Vogue magazines, which inspired me to paint copies of them. This period was marked by experimentation with markers, paints, watercolors, and eventually digital media when I received an iPad for my birthday.
College was a journey of self-discovery and artistic exploration. When I entered college I let go of my “anime” style and search for a different way, I felt the anime style constrained my potential, and many teachers discouraged it. Surrounded by incredibly talented peers, I felt driven by competition, anxiety, and the recognition that I needed to do more. This led me to experiment with various mediums and styles. In my final year, after extensive exploration, a professor rekindled my love for old Vogue covers, and I began to incorporate that style while maintaining elements from other influences. I found my niche in creating almost overly girly, fun and bold pieces with a risograph printer.
I believe that your muse, message, identity, and personality manifest in your style. College, a time of personal and artistic experimentation, helped me find my identity. I am a proud feminist with interests in psychology and fashion. I am a very optimistic and energetic person, from a very colorful country, and so my style is very colorful. Risoprinting has been a significant part of my work, helping me regulate and really think about my color palette. I enjoy drawing beautiful women because they embody complexity and simplicity.
This journey has taught me to grow, be honest with myself, experiment, fail and learn from mistakes, and remain open. Despite the challenges, I’ve learned valuable lessons and continue to evolve as an artist. I still have many lessons to learn and a long way to go, but I’m excited about the journey ahead.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I am the biggest foodie- I plan my trips around food. Food is one of the reasons I love New York; it encompasses the diversity, the mix and fusion of different flavors and ideas into a new dish, a blend of the old and new that sweeps you away! My superpower is that I’m very good at finding affordable and delicious restaurants and I’m extremely proud of this! So of course I would take them on a walking food tour of East Village, China town and Greenwhich! Right now Korean food is having a moment so I’d take my friend to a cool Korean or Chinese restaurant, especially since México doesn’t have good Asian food. We would of course walk as much as possible so they could take in the ever-changing sights and street art of NYC and feel that unique, high-tempo energy! Plus, there are always such cute shops you can stop by! I’d also take them to the MOMA, my favorite museum, and central park (it’s a classic for a reason). Recently my parents visited and we rode around manhattan in citi bikes, walked the Brooklyn bridge, got on citibikes again all the way to greenpoint where we ate at Laser wolf, got some icecream from cafe panna, and rode the ferry back to Manhttan where we caught a movie at the Angelika, which always has amazing films- all in a day! We had the best time.

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?
My family for supporting my dream and always being there for me, I truly would not be where I am without them. I also want to thank all the talented artists and creatives that inspired me.

Website: https://vberdegue.myportfolio.com

Instagram: @doodlecadet

Linkedin: Valentina Berdegue

Image Credits
All Illustrations by Valentina Berdegué Saenz