Argentina-based Daiana Ruiz uses colour and shape to depict strong female characters

For Buenos Aires-based illustrator Daiana Ruiz, illustration is a “very primitive way of expression” and a medium she’s found easier to work with than words. With practice she says she’s developed a more personal aesthetic by using digital and graphic techniques. “I guess the first thing that catches people’s attention is the fact it’s colourful. I like to draw simple shapes, shiny colour, which gives me expressive and optimistic illustrations,” explains Daiana. 

Some of Daiana’s references include artists like Hockney, Matisse, Gaugin and the Memphis Group. “I’m also very attracted to the Maya and Aztec plastic arts, the way they manipulated shapes and colours drive me crazy,” she says. “Then there are the smaller things, where I see a leaf on a tropical plant, an exotic animal or people getting on the bus and I really feel like drawing them.” 

All of Daiana’s illustrations first start as sketches on paper, which she then digitises and applies colour. There’s an array of sassy female characters in the illustrator’s portfolio, all colourfully clothed and set against an equally bright backdrop. Simply detailed but thoughtfully composed, it’s really interesting when Daiana starts to incorporate moving image into her works. “I want to represent an image of women today and capture them doing everything like dancing, taking a selfie, driving a car or just having a rest,” Daiana says. “I try to speak my point of view and fill the world with strong women, like the ones I love to hang out with.”