Javier Zabala was born in León, Spain, and from a young age he knew that his purpose in life was to continue learning. Like many illustrators, his life path did not begin in the arts, and he abandoned his studies in veterinary medicine and law studies in order to pursue an education in the Graphic Design and Illustration Programme at the Oviedo Art School. Zabala found great success in the realm of illustration, and he moved to Madrid in 1989 in order to begin working for Spanish publishers and magazines. Presently, Zabala has illustrated over seventy books, some of which he has written, and his books have been translated into fifteen languages.