Daniel Baltodano

Overview

Animation, Illustrations, branding, packaging, fine art and painting – Daniel Baltodano tried a whole range of disciplines before settling on Graphic Design. The feeling you get from drawing with a pencil on paper is like no other for him, and so he launched his design career in 2010.

From an early age, he’s taken inspiration from comic books - everything from Ninja Turtles to Akira, and some of his earliest memories are of copying out pages of Playboy in colored pencils.  Film is another big influence; it’s the story telling element that he likes to portray in his art. Music is always playing when he’s working.

Training

Daniel Baltodano spent a couple of years studying Media Arts & Animations at The Art Institute of California- Costa Mesa specializing in Animation and Character design.  He developed many of his illustrations skills from the animation background.  Than he continued onto Graphic Design at The Art Institute of California- San Bernardino and finished his Bachelors degree soon after.

Approach

Daniel usually begins traditionally with pen or pencil on paper. The drawings are scanned and colored digitally, with textures imported and layered over the line work, before he tweaks the image until he gets the result he’s looking for.  Exaggeration is visually noticeable through many of his drawings. 

Style

Daniel figurative style is influenced by fashion, but applied in all kinds of contexts from editorial through to advertising and online. It’s something he’s always developing, both in terms of technique used and the overall look. As his own tastes have changed, so has his aesthetic.