Hello! My name is Julia Bereciartu (Juliabe for short) and I’m a freelance Spanish illustrator. I was born in San Sebastian, a beautiful coastal city in the north of Spain surrounded by the sea and mountains. Since I was a little girl my biggest passion has always been painting and drawing, even if that meant ruining my parent’s new couch with permanent markers. I also loved reading books and dreamed of painting the illustrations that accompanied them when I grew up.

After graduating from Communications and studying a Master’s Degree in animation, I moved to Madrid and worked several years as a graphic designer. But I kept drawing in my spare time and building a portfolio, and in 2009 I decided it was time to pursue my childhood dream of becoming an illustrator. Since then I've worked as a freelance mainly in children’s picture books and middle grade books and cover illustrations. I also love working in advertising, editorial illustration, apparel, and the occasional animation.

I work both digitally and traditionally (mainly in gouache and colored pencils) and with every new project I like to challenge myself to try new techniques and keep my style evolving. I love giving life to quirky, sassy characters with humour and sweetness , creating organic textures and using a warm color palette.

After many years living in Madrid, I’ve moved back to my hometown of San Sebastian where I currently live with my husband and Maggie (the cat). I'm a compulsive knitter, a proud cat lady, and I spend much of my spare time riding my bike, cooking, baking sourdough and watching movies. You can find updates of my work and inspiration bits on my Instagram or subscribing to my newsletter.

Please say hi at julia@juliabe.com