Description

ILLUSTRATION WORKSHOP: Finding Your Own Voice with Javier Zabala

DATES: June 18, 19 & 20, 2026

SCHEDULE: (Spanish Peninsula Time)

Friday: 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM
Saturday: 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM and 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM

Sunday: 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM and 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM

Duration: 18 hours

Location: La Galería Roja, Calle Heliotropo, 4, 41003 Seville, Spain

LANGUAGES: Spanish and English

INFO: info@lagaleriaroja.com

Finding Your Own Voice. In-person course.

Our voice has been there since we were children; it has always been there. We just have to recognize it and allow it to become visible.

Everything we will do in this course will be geared towards enhancing that encounter, the encounter between your graphic voice and you.

We start from the idea that artists work from within, and precisely for this reason, we need to know our most intimate voice, which is always distinct, unique.

Just as we have a digital fingerprint that differentiates us and makes us unique, we have a graphic voice that makes us different, recognizable.

This isn’t the first time we’ve offered this course. We’ve already held several editions in online and in-person formats in different countries.

It’s my favorite course of all the ones I’ve done because I believe it’s the one that contributes the most to our growth as creators.

Our voice defines us as artists and enables us to communicate with the world. Before embarking on a project, we must connect with our voice. Without recognizing it, we cannot begin anything serious that we can truly call our own.

Our voice is related to our artistic style, but also to the techniques and resources we use; to the fundamentals of drawing and painting, to graphic rhythm, to the compositions we create… It will also define our characters, how they move, how they feel… These are the channels that will help us recognize our voice and are also the resources we will need to find it. It is related to our personal way of seeing and interpreting the world.

Your voice is recognized through hard work, I won’t deny it. But you have to know how to ask yourself the right questions to help shorten the path.

Your voice changes just as we do, with our travels and experiences, our mistakes and successes. It’s always good to be aware of these changes and not betray your voice because of market demands, trends, etc.

All we ask is that you’re willing to work and enjoy yourself.

You can start from scratch, but if you’re developing a personal project, you can bring it along. There’s nothing better than a course setting to analyze, develop, share, and resolve any doubts.

So, if you’d like, we’ll see you in Seville.

Best regards!

Javier Zabala

PARTICIPATING MATERIALS:

Important: Use the materials you deem appropriate and/or that you are most comfortable with, or that you would like to improve your skills with, or simply prefer.

You can also bring other materials/things not on this list that you consider interesting or useful.

The choice of materials and techniques is an important part of our creative process and one of our first decisions.

In these workshops, we will use techniques that allow for a certain speed of execution.

ESSENTIAL MATERIALS:

– You can bring a finished sketchbook, if you have one.

– A sketchbook of your preferred size.

– 20 sheets of A4 paper, minimum 250 gsm.
– Your preferred papers.

– Black Pentel brush pen.

– 3 tubes of acrylic paint. (Gouache is also acceptable)
– A set of watercolors.

– Pastels.

– Oil sticks (1-2 colors are enough to see how they work)
– Brushes, graphite pencil, Conté crayon…

OTHER OPTIONAL MATERIALS. (These are only SUGGESTIONS.)

– Glue stick, magazine clippings or colored paper,

bottle corks, dried leaves, scissors and a craft knife for making collages, monotypes, etc.

– 1-2 tubes of etching ink (for engraving), water-based or oil-based (water-based ink dries much faster, if you can find it).

– Your favorite nibs.

– Etching rollers. One small and one larger. (They come in very cheap and very expensive versions. The cheaper ones are sufficient.)
– 2-5 sheets of A4 acetate.

– Rags (1-2)
– Erasers. We won’t need them!