Full of Sweets
Full of Sweets is a children's story written by Noelle Viscaina about a live Piñata who travels through Mexico City at night, eating candies and experiencing pieces of Mexican tradition and cuisine. Through her story, Viscaina hopes to bring awareness and appreciation to Latinx culture within a children's book—a medium in which this culture is underrepresented. I had the pleasure of working with her in illustrating spreads of her story as a project for my illustration class.
I wanted to fulfill the author's desire for the story to be a celebration of Mexican culture, and aimed at creating illustrations that were both respectful and fun for kids to read. I gathered inspiration from the styles and color palettes of famous Mexican artists like animator Jorge Gutiérrez and Pixar's 2017 film Coco, and designed a colorful fantastical version of Mexico City to fit the story. I took the text of the story further in the artwork by adding details like the Piñata’s flight, ancient Aztec ruins, and the Piñata’s tail growing longer the more candy he eats.
