Illustrator in the Spotlight: Jacqueline Alcántara

Are you an illustrator or an author/illustrator?
Woohoooo! As of February 18, 2025 I’m officially an author/illustrator! Tíos and Primos is my eighth book but the first that I have written, as well as illustrated, and I’m very proud to finally have it out in the world! Like all books, its been a long time in the making.

And what is your preferred medium to work in?
I really try to follow my mantra of “let the story lead the style”—meaning I really like to think about what materials and mediums might be best for each project. That said, I usually start with marker or watercolor, add gouache, and then finish digitally in Photoshop. Some books are heavier in one part of the process or other and some incorporate collage or pastel as well.

Tell us a little about your beginnings and journey as an illustrator.
In 2011, I was laid off from my teaching job and never looked back! I took an illustration intensive summer course at Parsons in New York, then some continuing studies classes at the Art Institute of Chicago. I learned about the industry, read tons of children’s books, identified the illustrators I was most drawn to, created a lot, and experimented with different mediums to figure out my “style” (which I hope is ever evolving and therefore never quite figured out).

I quit my full-time job in 2015 and have been illustrating ever since, along with having plenty of part-time gigs. My first book was published in 2018 titled, The Field, and I’ve been incredibly lucky to have now worked with almost all of the major publishing houses and some fabulous indie publishers and amazing authors, including Alicia D. Williams, Tami Charles, Angela Joy, Baptiste Paul, and currently Margarita Engle.

Please share an illustration and give us a brief “step-by-step” of your process.
For Tios and Primos, I worked on Arches Hot Press Watercolor Paper. It has quickly become my favorite paper. I used to work on a large Canson Marker paper but it was discontinued and I’m still a bit heartbroken about it, but this paper holds marker, watercolor, gouache, and basically anything else just beautifully.

I first did a wash of yellow ochre watercolor or gouache. I wanted the streets/background to have a bit of a dusty feeling and felt that changing the base color to yellow could help with that. Then I layered marker on top. I use Copic Markers and just love the vibrancy and luminescence those markers have. I really love using them for skin tones and clothing.

I kept layering marker for the buildings, plants, car, etc. Then I added gouache to fix some things that were not looking right, add nice texture, and fix some of the values that maybe got too dark or undefined. I kept messing up the clouds so I had to add them digitally at the end because I was just frustrated with how they were turning out with the gouache.

I created the spot illustrations on the left page separately with marker. Then I scanned everything, combined it all in Photoshop, added the speech bubbles, and did a lot of cleaning up to correct some colors and values.

While I love to start illustrations on paper, I usually am always doing some degree of tweaks on Photoshop at the end. I love digital tools just as much as traditional ones, but since books are long projects, I love to at least start traditionally so that I’m not on my computer the entire time. Plus real life art supplies are just so much fun.

Do you have favorite themes or characters you return to in your art?
Yes, I think it was a bit subconscious but I think there are palm trees in almost every book I’ve illustrated. I’m also drawn to stories where there is a musical or rhythmic element incorporated in the text. I love drawing characters dancing, playing, in some sort of action—and I love big family party scenes in books.

Do you ever tuck little personal homages or details into your illustrations? Please give us a peek at one of your favorites.
My dogs are in most of my books. :) It’s truly the thing that gets kids the most excited at school visits, so I will always sneak them in somewhere. I hope I can come up with a way to make them the main characters soon. I’m dying to do a book with just dogs... and palm trees.

What inspires you creatively, spiritually, or emotionally?
Not to be too cliché, but I feel like I can find inspiration in anything. I was very daunted with the idea of “being an artist” which is why I gravitated towards illustrating for other people. Being given a manuscript is a beautiful jumping-off point for creating your own art. I’ve only done books where I really feel connected to the story and instantly know there won’t be any trouble in finding inspiration for the illustrations. But the research part is so much fun—I love the time learning, sketching, discovering and then letting my own imagination connect all the dots—usually this incorporates emotional, spiritual, and creative thoughts in combination with manuscript.

Where can we find you?
You can find me walking around Pilsen, getting cookies at Levain Bakery, teaching at Columbia College, cooped up in my home studio or on Instagram at @_jacqueline_alcantara.

JACQUELINE ALCÁNTARA is a freelance illustrator and educator spending her days drawing, writing, walking her dogs and planning her next adventures. She is fueled by dance music, carbs, and coffee. Jacqueline studied Secondary Art Education and taught high school art and photography before transitioning to illustration. She is also an adjunct professor of illustration at Columbia College Chicago. She has illustrated many books and is excited to be releasing her first author/illustrator debut in February 2025.