I am always awed by the beauty of Paris. So today, we feature a simple yet elegant illustration designs of Paris by a Mexican freelance illustrator, Javier Medellin Puyou. Take a look at his illustrations and be inspired. Enjoy!

I was commissioned by PLUMA DESIGN to come up with a panorama of Paris to be printed in big scale for a wall in a french restaurant called “The French”. It needed to show some of the famous places and buildings in the city, such as Champs Elysées, La Bonne Mere, Marseille, Montmartre, Mur de Zidane, Seine River and Sacre Cour. I also added some other secondary elements to make it a bit more fun, like Marcel Marceau, the metropolitan…
- Javier Medellin Puyou

Paris is a great inspiration itself: just by looking at all those places is very pleasant, but also I was inspired in some architectural perspectives made with watercolour. I decided to use the same technique to illustrate Paris. I thought it’d look perfect to use a more traditional medium.
- Javier Medellin Puyou

I firstly sent a couple of sketches showing the main composition of the work to the client, and after some corrections and suggestions, one final sketch was made. Then I proceeded to draw a more detailed version in pencil. I used a slight fisheye perspective with some vanishing points, so it helped me to include all the elements in the visual area. When the pencil phase was accepted, I applied the technique (watercolour). It surely took me time to finish it, but it was worth it.
- Javier Medellin Puyou

About Javier Medellin Puyou

Javier Medellin Puyou a.k.a. Jilipollo is a freelance illustrator from Mexico city. He struggled at the beginning when he decided to become an illustrator as he never really studied anything related with arts despite the fact that he is an architect. He was not really much at that stage to take an advice from someone who knows how to succeed as an illustrator including the fact that his ex-girlfriend didn't trust him that he could make it as one and make a decent life out of it because he was quite broke that time. He was about to quit trying illustration but he happened to won a national Coca Cola illustration prize which gave him the confidence and trust in himself that he could make it as an illustrator. They said you have to fail, and you have to fail often to being successful in life. That's what he learned in those days, and he learned from each of those failures to become better in the field that he is so passionate about - illustration. His works are inspired with 70’s and other retro stuff. He likes to use humor when possible, girls, clichés and some classical icons from everywhere. Then, he tries to construct an image with all of this and tell a story in it. India ink with brush and watercolours are the techniques he use the most. You can find more of his artworks on his Behance profile or website.