Today we’d like to introduce you to Sofia Lopez.
Sofia, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I was born and raised in Colombia and spent the majority of my childhood and teenage years living in the mountainous city of Manizales. Growing up I was that one shy kid with the weird interests that would be always drawing in the corner. I always had it clear in my mind that I wanted to pursue an artistic career, nothing else seemed to light up that spark inside of me quite like drawing did.
Like thousands of other artists I had to face the constant bombardment of comments from family and peers about how pursuing an artistic career was a waste of time and money, specially now and specially in Colombia. Thankfully, I’ve been blessed with supportive parents and a father that despite our economic hardships, has given everything to help my dream of coming to study illustration at SCAD.
I’ve always been a firm believer that its better to study what you’re passionate about even if its risky rather than spending my days at a job I have no passion for, wondering about what could’ve been. Now that I’m in Atlanta and nearing the completion of my degree, I’ve been dedicating my efforts on building a portfolio and preparing myself for the great challenge that is finding a job.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It’s been a real bumpy road from the day I finally made the decision of coming to SCAD. As much as I adore my country, The options for universities were few, not to mention the lack of art oriented careers that weren’t being a school teacher. Alongside my father we decided that I should come to the United States, which opened up a whole new world of possibilities and a whole lot of new challenges.
Art school is crazy expensive, no surprise there. Since beginning my studies I’d say the main struggle has been trying to afford it, taking out loans, studying and working as much as I can to help my dad in any way I could, he’s been giving all his effort to help me and there’s nothing I want more in this world than to be able to return the favor and make him proud.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My illustrations are heavily character oriented, as I find the human form beautiful and majestic. Because of this passion I’ve specialized my degree on conceptual character design where I aim to tell stories and create worlds through how a character dresses, how they look and how they act.
I’d say I’m known for my art style, specifically my characters. My work has been greatly inspired by the Art Nouveau movement, as I adore illustrating ethereal, flowing, feminine figures, embracing the feminine and combining it with the fantastical. I’m definitely proud of this style as I feel like I’ve come to learn how to express my voice as an artist through my work.
What I think sets me apart as an artist are the themes of my art, All my works have deep personal meaning to me, they’re often reflections of my desires, thoughts and experiences transformed through a lens of fantasy.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
I’d say it was the first time I ever saw the snow. It was always a lifelong dream of mine since I can remember, every time I saw snow in the movies it seemed so beautiful and fun and I remember I used to be so jealous of people who lived in places where it snowed.
I think I was around 13-14 years old when I finally saw snow for the first time, I had traveled to Pennsylvania over the winter to visit some cousins for the New Year and I was ecstatic. I remember so clearly when they took us to this hill to snowboard and I had no idea what I was doing. I was just a mess, getting stuck on the ski lift and falling every five seconds ’till I ended up rolling down the hill like a rag doll, it was the most fun I’d ever had.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://sofilopez.myportfolio.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sehvven
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sofiacelislopez
Image Credits
@shokaivision
