Gabriel Alcala’s illustrations pack a punch. Known for his whimsical characters, drawn with exaggerated features, his illustration style is undeniably cool, without trying too hard.
“Ultimately I want my illustrations to have the same kind of impact that a great Mitch Hedberg one-liner joke has, haha,” he remarked once in an interview with Amadeus Magazine. “Really simple, hits you hard on contact, yet can stick with you for a really long time.”
The end result is often stripped down to the bare essentials: bold color combinations, minimalist shapes, and a message that’s easily discerned. But more often than not, the simpler the message is, the harder it is to arrive at it, and Alcala admits that his creative process requires time and patience.
“It might not look like it because my illustrations tend to be pretty simple, but the most simple drawing could have hundreds of sketches beforehand,” he says. “A lot of it is just boiling down ideas until the drawings are totally efficient.”
With clients like Apple, Nike, and The New Yorker, as well as thousands of followers online, we’re pretty sure his messages come through loud and clear.
