Tavo's rich portrait of the herpetologist is for a feature on his work identifying and protecting Ecuador’s reptiles and amphibians. Written by Humberto Basilio and art directed by Marcy Atarod, the article examines Arteaga’s contributions to species discovery alongside the controversy surrounding some of his methods.

For the commission, Tavo shows a defiant Arteaga alongside Ecuador’s native reptiles, carefully building each element separately to allow flexibility throughout the editorial process.