Getting Hooked
So last Tuesday I stumbled upon this Carles Minarro Garcia guy while scrolling Instagram. His poster designs stopped my thumb cold – those crazy color explosions and shapes looking like melted candy. Figured why not dissect his brain? Grabbed my sketchbook and cheap markers thinking “how hard can this be?”
My Messy Attempt
First I tried copying his weird floating shapes. Drew these blobs that looked like rotten potatoes. Then smeared marker colors together – ended up with muddy brown every single time. Got frustrated when my “abstract” shapes just looked like lazy scribbles. Even spilled coffee on my favorite page. Total disaster man.
The Lightbulb Moment
Watched an interview where he showed his junk drawer. Dude collects candy wrappers, broken toys, street garbage! Started gluing my gum wrappers and parking tickets onto paper. Rubbed crayons over textured walls outside my apartment. Suddenly got these wild patterns! Realized it’s not about fancy tools – it’s about stealing textures from real life like he does.
Putting It Together
Tore pages from old cookbooks and stuck ’em crooked on cardboard. Layered my sidewalk rubbings over them with tracing paper. Smashed oil pastels sideways like Carles does – no more careful coloring. When shapes looked too perfect, I’d smudge them with my elbow on purpose. Made a total mess but finally saw that raw energy popping through.
What Actually Worked
The big takeaways? Three things change everything:
- Forget art stores – raid your recycling bin first
- Messy beats precise – intentionally screw up neat lines
- Texture hunting – anything bumpy is your new brush
Now my walls look like a toddler’s art attack but hey, that’s the point. Carles ain’t about polish – it’s about slapping life onto paper. Still can’t draw for crap though.