Spain

Maru Godàs

Maru Godàs (Barcelona, 1966) is an illustrator, urban sketcher, and former graphic designer known for her bold use of gouache and acrylics. She trained in design at IDEP and Llotja in Barcelona and ran her own graphic design studio, collaborating with major publishers like RBA, Planeta, La Vanguardia, etc.

Over time, her passion for illustration and painting took center stage, leading her to fully dedicate herself to sketching and teaching.

Joining the Urban Sketchers community opened new creative paths, allowing her to develop a unique approach to capturing urban landscapes through color and shape synthesis. She has led international workshops in cities like Chicago, Lisbon, New York, Buenos Aires, etc. sharing her expertise in urban sketching and mixed media techniques. Today, she balances illustration commissions, book projects, and teaching while remaining deeply connected to the world of design and visual storytelling.

Human layers: People, places & the pulse of the city

Workshop language: English

In this workshop, we will explore architecture and nature as a backdrop for the human figure, learning how to integrate people into their surroundings. We will focus on capturing the essence of human presence through quick and expressive techniques, using dry media such as Neocolor pastels, colored pencils, markers, and wet techniques like watercolors or gouache.

These fast and versatile materials will allow us to emphasize movement, posture, and interaction with the environment, creating dynamic and engaging urban sketches. Through guided exercises, we will experiment with composition, contrast, and layering to bring life to our drawings and enhance storytelling within the urban landscape.

Key skills:

Learning Goals:

  • Develop confidence in drawing people
  • Improve line and stroke control by practicing gesture and movement in human figures, using a variety of techniques
  • Explore character and personality by using exaggeration and stylization to create unique and expressive characters
  • Integrate figures into their environment by composing scenes where people interact with their surroundings. Work on visual depth, grouping, and scale to create engaging urban sketches
  • Refine composition and storytelling by using thumbnails to plan a strong double-page layout. Apply concepts of visual weight and rhythm to guide the viewer’s eye through the scene
  • Use mixed media techniques for sketching people, experimenting with both wet and dry textures
  • Develop a personal approach to drawing people, gaining confidence to sketch them in real-world settings with spontaneity and ease

Suggested material:

  • Basic colors of gouache or watercolor (is optional): Cyan, magenta, yellow. Black and White. Small tubes, and empty plastic palette for mixing. The workshop will be focused on dry techniques, but participants may use gouache or watercolor for basic color shapes
  • Basic selection of water markers like Tombo or Ecoline for basic color shapes. Proposed colors: orange, pink, ochre, turquoise, light green, etc.
  • A sketchbook suitable for mixed media techniques size A4 hot pressed (190-300 gr)
  • Collection of acrylic hair brushes (rounds, flats, rigger, filbert…)
  • Soft Colored pencils like Luminance, Prismacolor, etc. (Not a selected box, take single colors: ochre, pink, blue, turquoise, orange, etc) add black pencil and/or Pitt oil black pencil
  • Neocolor II crayons matching the color palette of your color pencils (light cobalt blue, turquoise, pink,. salmon, etc)
  • graphite pencil soft (6B or similar)
  • bulldog clips
  • foldable stool
  • water container