Mexican American Artist Behind Karol G’s Album Art Says Working Together Was ‘Magic’

Bichota szn is upon us now that Karol G, 32, just released her new heart-stopping, perreo-ready album. And while “Mañana Será Bonito (Bichota Season)” is the banger we were hoping for — peep the Selena-inspired track “Mi Ex Tenía Razón — the album cover art is just as good. Pink, doodle-inspired, naughty-and-nice, it comprises everything Karol G stands for.

Both the covers of “Mañana Será Bonito” and its new follow-up album were designed by Mexican-American artist I Scream Colour, otherwise known as Humberto Cruz. The artist spoke to mitú about the design process, and we’re fan-girling again.

If you’re not familiar with Cruz or I Scream Colour, the artist is one to watch. He was born in California but lived much of his life in Tijuana, Mexico, growing up on the border. While he once split time between working at a grocery store and painting, he has since collaborated with Target, Zara and La Bichota herself.

As Cruz wrote on Instagram, he is “super happy” about designing Karol G’s new album cover, calling the experience “so amazing.”

In his caption, he wrote directly to the singer, saying, “Congratulations! Que chimba! Let’s go for an ice cream. What a crazy dream!”

Similarly, the artist told mitú that designing this latest album cover “felt like magic.” In fact, he shared all the details of the design process with us, including her vision and a special request. Here’s everything to know!

Cruz designed the cover of ‘Mañana Será Bonito’ before creating the new album’s art, too

As Karol G explained to Associated Press earlier this year, she initially brought on artist Humberto Cruz to design the cover of her album “Mañana Será Bonito.”

Of course, that album artwork is iconic, with Karol G writing on IG in February: “This is the cover of my album. I present it to you with all the love and pride in my chest.”

She told AP that month that Cruz “is an artist she has followed for a long time.”

“I wanted people when they saw the cover to see me, my soul, my heart, and my mind, including crazy things,” she explained. “It’s like that because I think when we were kids, we were happy no matter what.”

Of course, both the album and its artwork were major successes, catapulting Cruz and his “I Scream Colour” artwork to fame. He told ArtRKL then, “Working with her was the best experience ever.”

“The wait for this dream [of an album cover] to come true was totally worth it and doing it with her was even better,” he said. “Especially because she’s a Latina. She’s from Colombia. I was very happy about that.”

Fast-forward to the new album, “Mañana Será Bonito (Bichota Season),” and Karol G asked Cruz to work on her cover art again.

Cruz recalled to mitú, “I designed this cover a few months ago. Karol and I worked on this together.”

“She shared with me her vision; she wanted the opposite of what we did with ‘Mañana Será Bonito’ that came out in late February,” he explained. “A little more dark, but cute at the same time. And she requested pink like her hair color.”

Cruz told us he traveled to Medellín with Karol G’s team and felt ‘like a part of their family’

The artist also described to us what it was like working with Karol G and her team this time around.

“It’s been so fun and easy working with her team,” he said. “I had to travel to Medellín to finish all the artwork in a few days.”

However, although he had worked with Karol G in the past, he found himself feeling a bit “nervous” this time around.

He described, “At first I was so nervous because I didn’t know if I was going to feel inspired but I did.” The artwork is downright-perfect for the album, so we’re so happy inspiration struck. Here’s a video of him putting his I Scream Colour spin on Karol G’s cover:

Cruz also described how he traveled to Medellín, Colombia to work with the singer’s team and finish the designs for the release.

“Being surrounded by the team that made me feel like a part of their family, by listening to the new songs and being in Colombia for the first time, it felt like magic,” he said.

The artist excitedly added, “I’m so happy that ‘Mañana Será Bonito (Bichota Season)’ is out now!”

As Cruz explained to ArtRKL, no doubt his Latinidad comes into play when designing his rainbow-brite artwork — whether for Karol G, or beyond.

He told the outlet, “[Many] don’t know about the richness of Latin American culture. That just motivates me to continue doing art and represent all the people that have dreams like the ones I have.”

We’re obsessed!