Amaia Arrazola
Amaia Arrazola Otadui was a Spanish Basque illustrator and multidisciplinary creator, also described as a muralist.
Arrazola studied Advertising at the Complutense University of Madrid and worked in a Madrid advertising agency as an art director and illustrator. Subsequently, she moved to Barcelona, where she aimed to move away from advertising and focus on illustration. In Barcelona, she also studied design at Elisava. Arrazola worked as a freelance illustrator, collaborating with various brands and institutions, including Uniqlo, Nike, the University of Barcelona, the Barcelona City Council, and the Provincial Council of Biscay. Her work appeared in national and international publications, including magazines and newspapers.
Arrazola died in Barcelona on 5 November 2025, at the age of 41, following a rapid progression of cancer.
Works
Arrazola was the author and illustrator of several books, with the book Wabi Sabi marking a turning point in her career, as it was the first publication for which she created both the text and the images. Prior to this, she primarily illustrated texts by other authors or external projects. Wabi Sabi was designed during a one-month residency in Matsudo, Japan, at the Paradise Air headquarters, based on illustrations from the Amaia was here project. Her work was executed on a wide range of media, including walls, tobacco packages, plates, surfboards, and tarot cards. In 2021, she participated in the Asalto Festival in Alfamén, an art intervention project involving the creation of murals in a rural setting.Other individual works include:El meteorito, which addresses her experience with motherhood.Totoro y yo, an illustrated biography of Japanese film director Hayao Miyazaki.
She also provided illustrations for various publications by other authors, such as:Corazón robot by Iñaki Oliver.Cosas que nunca olvidarás de tu Erasmus by Raquel Piñeiro.Pequeña y grande: Audrey Hepburn by Isabel Sánchez Vergara.Pequeños grandes gestos en el deporte by Francisco Llorca.En el patio by Arrate Egaña.Sin bragas en el cajón by Isabel Sánchez Vergara.El futuro es femenino by Sara Cano.