Artist Showcase 002 / Rafasakta - Madrid

Back in November I took a Tat Trip to Milan and linked up with Gore Sporano for my first artist showcase. Now its time to introduce you to another incredible illustrator this time from the Spanish capital. 

Rafa or as he goes by on Instagram @rafasakta is an illustrator, based in Madrid. I first noticed his work after a mini series of colourful, re worked football mascots popped up on my grid and it was love at first sight. After my Tour De Tat trip back in April to his home town it only felt right to reach out and ask him some questions about his inspiration and background behind his wild artwork. 

@rafasakta - ASL94 Custom Piece

Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you started out as an artist / illustrator?

My journey as an artist, like most of us, started when I was a kid, drawing Dragon Ball and South Park look-alike characters for hours in my room, I can remember having towers of A4 papers full of sketches. Since the very early days, the idea of being an artist was pretty clear. I would say the journey started back in 2018 when I opened my Instagram account and I started developing a real style after fully discovering digital art but it wasn't until around 2023 that I started seeing my art portrayed in places I really wanted it to be.

What or who’s your biggest inspiration when it comes to your work? 

My first clear inspirations were from pop culture characters I loved, but I always draw big influences from fashion, music and sports, specially football, it is what I consume all the time, so I feel like that should be the things that drive my work, simple as that.

Who’s your favourite other artists / creatives currently? 

I can drop you dozens of names, but If I had to give you a few, the real deals for me are illustrators like the italians Aloha Project or Daniele Vanzo, Japan based illustrators Johnny Terror and Fred Bread, and of course the British artist Dan Evans. Theres so many so i'm sure i've left a few people out. But if you hav'ent heard these names before I highly recommend checking out their work. 

@alohaproject

Who would you like to work for in the future? 

The drive behind my current work is working on lots of musical projects, but one of my dreams is to work on more editorial stuff, football magazines like Mundial Mag or Panenka are places I would love to see my work in. I also think my work would translate well into the clothing world, seeing my designs on t-shirts or other pieces is a very natural path I see for my art, and obviously working for Adidas, Nike or Carhartt among others would be the highest goal. In general, those are the fields I want to keep growing in if I can. 

What’s your next project or goal as an artist? 

I wouldn't say my goals are highly ambitious in the short term, I trust the process of growing organically as an artist in a very personal way, because I believe day by day work and developing an unique style are the main keys to reach the big stuff, and I've been experiencing this with time. But talking about personal projects, the next in queue would be a fanzine about football team mascots and retro jerseys, I definitely think I can give a nice perspective on this topic in a way that might not of been seen before so keep an eye out for this as im exited to share it with the world. 

@rafasakta

What music would you soundtrack your work with?

In two words, Fifa songs, for me this should be a music genre by itself, we all know what I'm talking about, it may not be the type of music I listen the most, but it's a style I love and if my art had a soundtrack, it would be this one. Some names that come to my mind would be White City by Willow Kayne, Wake Up by Young Franco and Master Peace, Thierry Henry by EV or Headspin by Finn Foxell. 

A huge thanks to Rafa for answering the artist showcase questions this month.
There is a handful of his brilliant El Clasico prints that he made for our pop up in Barcelona in May still avaliable on the webstore * Just click on the Image above to be taken to the store.