Meet the Artist! Introducing Julia Lillo

by Julia Lillo

Julia Lillo

I am a freelance artist based in the beautiful city of Granada in southern Spain. I started drawing professionally in 2012 after training and practicing as an architect, starting with popular history magazines. Later, I combined my drawing with my passion for fashion and portrait illustration and began working for ICON El País, a well-known men’s fashion magazine from Spain, where I developed an enthusiasm for drawing characters and clothing. Alongside ICON El País and Karwansaray Publishers, I have also worked for Instituto Geológico y Minero de España, Future plc, and British National Trust, to name but a few.

Since 2015, my interest in art and education has led me to work as a teacher in an art school,and I am currently working on a doctorate in arts and education, using my own career, as well as my experience in architecture, as research tools.

When illustrating for Ancient History and Ancient Warfare, I invest a lot of time looking for reference images. A wide selection of reference images helps me bring the final image to life and to be as accurate as I can be with the smaller details.

I do not have a particular ancient historical period that I prefer illustrating. I enjoy every commission and the challenge that researching each provides is very interesting.

My favourite artwork I have done for  Karwansaray Publishers is the reconstruction of the Temple of Asclepius from Epidaurus for Ancient History number 12, ‘Healthcare in the Ancient World - Practicing the Art of Asclepius’. I like this piece in particular because it was the first architectural piece I did for Karwansaray Publishers.