Meet Lucas Riquenes | Illustrator and Visual Development Artist

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

Hi Lucas, what’s your definition for success?
I believe, success is achieving a goal, big or small. The goal may be finishing a piece of art or earning a promotion. Achieving goals are a measure of success for me, I believe people at times get deterred from reaching their dreams or goals because they are comparing their accomplishments to others. Thoughts such as, “I only have done this when another person has done so much more.” are detrimental. I choose not to have this mentality and strive on – I’m achieving my goals at my pace and style.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Well, I’m an illustrator and visual development artist. My style leans towards stylized realism. I’ll exaggerate proportions of objects or characters to provoke more personality or emotion for the viewer to read. An example would be making a character’s eyes bigger to make expressions stronger and more clear. I’d say I’m known for my fantasy illustrations and concept designs. I try to emulate realistic lighting in my illustrations so I can convey moods clearly for the viewer. The blend of lighting along with my stylized design language is what I think sets me apart from other artists. Like most artists, where I am today professionally is attributed to my portfolio. I have worked mainly on illustrations and background work for animated projects due to employers seeing the potential within my portfolio to provide a certain style to their projects. That’s how most artists get their gigs nowadays. You have to seek out people who are seeking you. The journey to where I am today wasn’t easy but I can’t say it was difficult either. I really enjoyed working up to this point in my career. It was challenging in an invigorating way. The lessons I’ve learned have always made up for late nights and long projects. Even working on projects I didn’t have a special interest in, I still gained valuable insight and experience. I’ve had my hardships before, don’t get me wrong. I don’t think any career is exciting without some bumps and bruises to teach you how the real professional world works. I consider my hardships powerful lessons that just make my life a lot easier afterwards! I’ve learned not to overthink about the decisions I make in my work. “Is this the right color?” “Is this the best composition?” “Should this be under light or shadow?” These are valid questions every artist should ask themselves- just not repetitively every 5 minutes while working on a piece. I’ve trained my self to just trust my own art direction and push forward without being so critical about everything. I heavily relied on others to check if my work was up to quality and for critique too often, some times losing my identity in the piece. Now I ask significantly less and trust my artistic vision way more. Learning to build confidence with my work was important to me. I’d want the world to know that I’m just an artist who wants to share their vision. My work is aimed to tell narratives both big and small. As an illustrator, I’m interested into trying to some how weave a story into my paintings. Be it through a pose of a figure or a trail of objects in an environment, the viewer is interested in a visual tale. That’s ultimately what I’d want the world to know about me. That I have stories to tell and the best way I can tell them, is painting a picture with some exciting colors.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If I had to take a friend somewhere for their first time in Miami, I’d take them to the Design District. I went to high school in that area while it was being developed so its wild to see what a unique, creative space its become. Its full of neat high end shops, art installations and galleries. I also can’t forget the graffiti art you can find every other block. Nearby is Wynwood, which is famous for its buildings covered in expressive and detailed wall art. Miami places a lot of emphasis on the arts and Wynwood is a prime destination to see that holds true.

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?
I’d love to shout out the illustration community at Ringling College of Art and Design. From faculty to the student body, The illustration department has shaped me into the artist I am today. I was a very self-critical student in college, always thinking about how to enhance my work. Sometimes I’d overthink! The community however helped me find confidence in my self to stop over thinking and trust in the process I was taught in class. My Illustrations instructors would give me exceptional advice on how to advance my portfolio and adjust my techniques. Peers in class would frequently critique my work, helping me find mistakes and understand better picture making. It all felt very generous and I appreciate it immensely to this day.

Website: https://www.lucasriquenes.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nice_tuchus_lucas/

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Twitter: https://twitter.com/CoconutHead64