José Rosero: The Infinite Possibilities of Illustration

Editorial is just one of the many fields in which José Rosero feels comfortable working as an illustrator

José Rosero (@rosero) is a Colombian visual artist whose graphic talents are so varied, it’s impossible to list them all. While he has worked as a painter, in theater, teaching, management, and research, it is as an illustrator that he has achieved his highest levels of success and built up an impressive career.

This choice of career path has never narrowed his work opportunities, in fact, it has done the opposite. He considers being an illustrator a bit like being a platypus–in that it's made up of different parts of other animals–since you have to be able to speak different languages, all at the same time.

Here’s how Rosero has used illustration across different mediums:

Editorial Illustration

The way José Rosero plays with meaning makes his approach and style very appropriate for channeling ideas explored in a text, whether that be in the format of a journalistic article or a novel. Throughout his career as an illustrator, he has had the opportunity to work with great publishing houses such as Fondo de Cultura Económica, Random House Mondadori, Carvajal, and Babel Libros, and his works have been featured in national and international newspapers and magazines.

Illustrations and animation

Not the medium we are used to seeing an illustrator work with; however, Romero’s multidisciplinary nature means his work perfectly suits the dynamism of animation. Both Bogotá’s Philharmonic Orchestra and Colombia’s Ministry of Culture have enlisted Romero’s vision for different projects.

Fashion and art

In 2013, a collection printed with José Rosero’s illustrations opened the runway at Colombiamoda, one of the most important fashion events in Latin America–an opportunity for him to experiment with new mediums.

Along this line, the Colombian artist focuses on developing a range of personal projects that have resulted in him exhibiting his work in various galleries, not just on paper, but once again, experimenting with different, less conventional mediums.

Events and organizations dedicated to illustration

Rosero directs various projects that celebrate illustration and serve as a point of connection for professionals, emerging artists, and students.

One being CasaTinta, a space dedicated exclusively to illustration that also explores education. Through this initiative, José meets and works with different illustration experts and gets to know students while exploring alternative teaching methods that combine different conceptual and technical aspects.

The International Congress of Illustration (Fig)–also directed by José–is one of Colombia’s most important illustration events. It has brought together over 90 professionals of the highest-ranking from more than 21 different countries.

José Rosero teaches the Domestika course, Illustration Using Mixed Techniques: Fantastic Binomials, in which he shows you how to create magical illustrations uniting opposing concepts.

English version by @eloiseedgington.

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