Meet Miguel Camacho, a designer and illustrator based in sunny Andalusia, Spain. Just last year, Miguel left his full-time job which was completely unrelated to design. With the help of Manu Gamero, he became an illustrator at Sensa Design while also doing freelance work on the side. According to him, it’s been a dream come true. Check out his beautiful home office below and see what his life looks like now.
Where do you work? Tell us about your space.
I live in a small village of only 1400 inhabitants called Jabugo, located in Andalusia, Southern Spain. Even though I work from home, it isn’t uncommon to see me drawing with the iPad or sketching on a sheet of paper at a children’s playground. I’ve got a two-year-old daughter and she loves playing outside so I move my office wherever she finds the perfect toboggan or swing. One of my best pieces of work this past month was inspired by the bold geometry and vibrant colors of the child parks.
What hardware and software do you use to create your designs?
I use pencil and paper for primary rough sketching and I use an iPad Pro (with Pencil + Procreate), Adobe Illustrator, and Astropad as a core set of tools. I don’t follow a strict way of creation—sometimes I’ll start sketching on Procreate, and other times I’ll go straight into Illustrator.
Tell us about your routine (or lack of one.) How do you structure your days to get things done?
I’m always drawing things but as a professional and working from home, a routine is needed to be productive. So I wake up early and after two hours of work, I take my daughter to pre-school and I work another three hours until lunch. By the afternoon I go back to my desk and work until all is done. After all of this, I go to the park and I’m always armed with a piece of paper and a mechanical pencil. Before going to bed, I spend time sketching rough ideas and doodling.
How do your space, tools, and habits benefit you? What about those things do you think needs improvement?
It’s easy to talk about earning a living doing what you’ve always dreamed of. But I think the best tool for growth isn’t top-notch hardware nor brilliant software, but practice and consistency. Those are the two key things to keep you on the right track.
I’m always thinking about the next illustration. I do personal projects in illustration and design all the time, and not because I’m searching for Likes—it’s the personal satisfaction of creating stuff. I think that the feeling of producing things constantly benefits me a lot and lets me grow.
Practically living in the middle of the forest far away from city chaos, traffic jams, and stress helps me keep my mind fresh and ready for the daily creative challenge—I appreciate this a lot. From my desktop I can see birds building their own nests, storks feeding their babies on top of a tower, and then add a stunning blue sky as background…No, I don’t need anything more to be inspired. I feel lucky.
In terms of improving, I want to concentrate on being more productive, drawing faster, and becoming a great illustrator. I put all my efforts on improving these skills but I think that only consistency and practice will help me with this.
Want to keep up with Miguel? Find him on Dribbble, Instagram, Twitter and at www.miguelcm.com.
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