CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

A brief history of Karla Otiz’s rise to the top, in her words…

1 Karla’s first break

“Back then I was doing a lot of odd jobs like body painting at pool parties, concept work for indie comics and figurines, and I was posting my student art on a forum, Carolina Tello was following my progress, and when a junior position at Ncsoft Paragon Studios opened up, she was like, ‘Hey, do you want to, like, interview for us?’”

2 Making it in film

“I went to this workshop Brom and Iain Mccaig were hosting in Seattle. Having worked hard paid off, as when I showed Iain my portfolio he was like, ‘You’re hired!’ and I was like, ‘Oh my God! Hired where?’ And he was like, “I don’t know, but you’re hired!”

3

Moving to Marvel “Doctor Strange was my first project at Marvel, and for my work to be given such praise so early on, felt good because you don’t often get victories like that – it takes time. But when Ryan called me and said, “Hey Karla, Congrats! They chose your design”, I screamed into his ear on the phone and apologised.”

4

Never say Nevers again “I’m a big fan of Victorianera design, and a lot of my personal art tends to have callouts to the aesthetic of that time. I was one of a few concept artists on that project and got to be in the writer’s room – the cast and crew were amazing.”

5

Life as a fine artist

“One of my most meaningful shows was Amour Et Légende, a duet show I got to do with my friend and mentor, Iain Mccaig in Paris in 2017, at La Galerie Arludik. We got to fill two gigantic rooms with around 60 or so pieces. It was amazing.”