My full name is María Fernanda Lares Sánquiz, but don't freak out you can call me Mafe. I was born and raised in the city of Caracas-Venezuela. I'm a Latin girl; that explains the length of my name. Currently, I'm living in Chicago, Illinois.

I have spent my life creating. I've played the role of a creative copywriter in advertising agencies, and an artist, sitting at my drawing desk illustrating while my cats steal my pencils.

Although I have a pretty solid background in advertising, I have always had a passion for the visual arts, and all its forms; photography, design, and especially illustration. For that reason, when I moved to Chicago, I followed my heart and decided to put aside for a while my creative copywriter life and focus my efforts on studying and learning shapes and figures.

I enrolled in the illustration program at the International School of Comics in Chicago, and it was a great experience!

Finally, I'm happy because now I'm able to express my concepts and ideas using my hands to write, but also drawing.