Tavo Montanez

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Character Design

Conceptual

People

Robert Custer portrait with playing cards by Tavo Montanez

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Portrait illustrations for Sports Illustrated Mexico World Cup 2026 cover by Tavo Montanez

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Silver Patrón tequila limited edition box with colorful artwork and corked bottle

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Illustration of NFL players 49ers and Cardinals facing off Mexico Game

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Alexander Skarsgård artwork for LWL issue 93

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Illustration of an elderly man with glasses surrounded by formulas and people

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vo, an illustrator based in Aguascalientes, works between traditional ink drawing and digital colouring on a Wacom Cintiq.

Between hand drawing and digital process: Tavo combines detailed, realistic line work with colourful, expressive compositions.

Based in Aguascalientes in central Mexico, Tavo has always harboured a passion for image making. As a child he poured over encyclopaedias, illustrated books, movie posters, book jackets and more – drawing, drawing and drawing. Not realising illustration was an option, he trained in graphic design but kept drawing in his free time, built up a client base and today he works for household brands in editorial, sports, entertainment, educational publishing, footwear and more. Clients love the diversity of ideas Tavo puts forward at the start of a project, and his responsiveness to feedback during the creative process. He’s an artist who always sees positive ways forward to ensure his clients get what they’re looking for. Influences include music from Smashing Pumpkins to Hans Zimmer; artists such as Egon Shiele, HR Giger and Ernesto García Cabral; and weird botanical forms like mushrooms, wood textures, insects, seeds and crustaceans.

Approach

Tavo began his career drawing by hand in monochrome, and even today his process begins with making notes, sketching in pencil and inking the line work. Then he scans the image for digital colouring. However, he is equally adept at creating fully digital illustrations drawn with his Wacom Cintiq.

Key software

Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator

Style

Versatile and adaptable to his clients’ needs, Tavo can create highly realistic, hand-drawn monochrome illustrations with delightfully detailed shading. Equally, he can pare back the intricacy to produce colourful, expressive pieces with instant impact and appeal.

Languages

English and Spanish

Awards

2023 – Society for News Design – Creative Competition – Best Print Design

Impressions

Interview

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Interview

What led you to become an illustrator? I've always loved drawing, especially people and nature. After taking some Illustration classes during my Graphic Design studies, Illustration became a more natural way for me to represent how I see the world and people around me. My first influences came from street art, followed by the work of David Foldvari, Jasper Goodall and Nicholas DiGenova, immediately I fell in love with how their illustrations worked in the real world and that hooked me. Did you study illustration in college? No, I studied Graphic Design, and I had a couple of classes about Illustration in college, but my interest in Illustration came once I graduated. Where did you grow up? Aguascalientes City, México. Do you have a childhood memory relating to art that you hold dear? When I was 7 or 8 years old, every night, between dinner and bedtime, my dad used to draw whatever animal my sisters and I asked him to draw on sheets of paper. Also, at school, I loved making drawings for my friends and the girl I liked, and many other stories around drawing over the years. Can you remember when you first saw art used in a commercial context? Probably during my childhood in illustrated books and school books, even magazines and comics. Where do you live now and what drew you there? I have always lived in my hometown, Aguascalientes. Describe your studio for us After more than 15 years at a studio at downtown Aguascalientes, I’m currently customizing a brand new home studio. It is smaller but it's cozier, it has great illumination and it's very quiet. I have two stations, one for digital work, with a Wacom Cintiq, a secondary monitor, scanner and a Macbook Pro, and another which is for traditional drawing; with a drawing board, lightpad, a lot of paper, ink and pencils. Who or What is your biggest inspiration? First, my family, especially my kids. I wish for a future where they can still make art and have fun in an open minded world. In second place, as an illustrator, I find inspiration in movies, music, people and nature textures. I’m currently inspired by the artwork by Simon Prades, Mike McQuade, Teagan White, David Foldvari and Mercedes deBellard. If you could collaborate with another artist or creative of any genre, living or dead, who would it be? Right now I’d like to share a studio session with Mike McQuade, or collaborate with Damon Albarn. What’s your favourite way to spend a day off? An early morning walk. Waffles and coffee with family for breakfast, spend time outside, maybe camping. A wood-fired pizza with family and friends to dinner and watch a cool movie in the evening. What's your most prized possession and why? I don’t normally worship stuff but as an illustrator I’d say that my sketchbooks and original pencil drawings. What causes are you passionate about? I try to support any cause that promotes acceptance and inclusion and fights against discrimination of any kind, especially if we use illustration and art as a resource to make silenced voices heard and remind us that we are all human beings, simply seeking a better way to live on this shared planet. Do you adopt any environmental practices to be more sustainable? As a family, we've adopted habits of recycling, separating waste, and making conscious and responsible purchases. We've also built a bioclimatic house that doesn't require air conditioning or heating and collects rainwater for watering plants and flushing toilets.What is the first record you bought? “No Need to Argue” by The Cranberries. Who is your art hero? Saturnino Herrán. Who is your design hero? Paula Scher. Who is your music hero? Billy Corgan. What is your favourite book? I love to read random poems by Jaime Sabines, so I usually have a full anthology of his work on my bed table, but if I have to choose one book, maybe it would be “El Lobo Estepario” (Der Steppenwolf) by Hermann Hesse. What is your favourite quote? Memento Mori. What movie can you watch over and over? Reprise by Joachim Trier. What was the last exhibition you saw and loved? An illustration show/festival in Aguascalientes that celebrated local artists to show and sell their artworks and merch. What was the last concert you went to? Anneke van Giersbergen. If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would you go? Japan. What was your favourite assignment ever? I enjoyed being selected to do the artwork for a mural at Mexico City for last year's NBA Finals. If a client paid you enough money to take a year off and create whatever you want – an open brief - no constraints - what would you deliver? A set of large format abstract artworks based on portraits and botanic pieces, using pencil drawing and collage, or maybe an illustrated book about Mexican Monsters. Is there a type of job you haven't done yet, but would love to do? I’d like to make an illustrated book for my kids, or maybe an official movie poster for Joachim Trier or something related to any of his movies. Is there a work lesson you’ve had to learn the hard way? Having a contract to secure the full payment or even an upfront payment. How has your work or practice evolved over time? I have become more organized and have developed a more systematic process. I have paid more attention to the details and editability of my digital illustrations, without leaving aside traditional drawing. If you were not an illustrator, what would you be? Filmmaker or writer. What is the most challenging part of being an illustrator? Keeping a consistent balance between work, healthy habits, leisure, and family time. What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given? As illustrator: how to manage projects in small tasks and organized time blocks based on the Pomodoro Technique. Do you have any tips/advice for other illustrators? Enjoy every part of the process, and every day, carry a sketchbook with you everywhere, in which you can take notes, record ideas, doodle, or record images that catch your attention. Also, keep exercising, eat healthy foods, and get as much sleep as you can. What do you listen to when you work? It depends on the task. When I have to do research, read, or brainstorm ideas that require focused concentration away from words, I usually listen to instrumental music, like Yann Tiersen or soundtracks by Hans Zimmer, John Williams or Siddharta Khosla. When I'm drawing digitally or on paper, depending on my mood or the weather, I usually listen to jazz, surf, progressive rock, triprock, shoegaze rock or indie.

Favourites

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