Where were you born? Where did you grow up?
I was born in Iligan City, Lanao Norte. It’s
located in the southern part of the Philippines. I
lived there until I was 19 yrs old.
Schooling? Art training?
I have a degree in Visual Communication.
How long have you been working professionally in
comics?
I've been working since June 2004. You do the math.
What things -- both in art and otherwise – have
you worked on, besides comics? Are comics a
full-time gig for you or part-time?
Besides comics, I also do some graphic design and illustration,conceptualizations, and
advertising stuff for local clients.I'm also into filmmaking, mostly short films.I also extra in local TV commercials, TV shows, and music videos.Comics is my full-time gig right now.
Talk about how you broke into the business --was
it easy? Hard? Ups? Downs? Any interesting
anecdotes? When you held your first published work
in your hands, how did you feel?
Well, it was hard. It took me one year
and 8 months to get in! I remember getting my
portfolio reviewed by David Campiti when he
conducted a seminar here in the University, and
to tell you frankly, I received the harshest
comments ever given to any of my work.
I was trying out as a Penciler back then. When I
attended his seminar the third time, I showed him
color samples. That was okay because he gave me
some mild comments. He referred me to GHG
colorist Rain Beredo.
Rain liked some of my stuff. And he gave me some
points to help me improve. Several months later,
GHG gave me some color tryout pages from Marvel. I
colored them and sent them to Dave. Two days
later, I got emails from Mike Kelleher of GHG and
Howard Feltman from Galaxy Graphix saying that
they liked my work.
Galaxy Graphix then gave me a pin up to color. And
that was the start! At first, I felt like it was
a dream. I'm just thankful to GHG for the
opportunity and the help they gave me. Nothing
happened to that Marvel tryout though because the
editor of the book was fired.Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get hold of some copies of my works. Oh well.
Did you work as an assistant to any other artists?
If so, please talk a bit about those experiences.
I assisted Mike Kelleher with some Transformers
pages and I occasionally do some flats for Rain
Beredo.
How did your parents take to the idea of working
in comics?
They're very supportive! They even bought me a new
computer so that I can work with no disturbances
from having my siblings share the computer. I love
them! The money I get from this job is also a big
help to our family’s financial needs.
How would you describe your workspace? Is it part
of your home, or do you go "to the studio"?
I work in the living room where my computer is
placed.
What job are you the proudest of? What's your
most embarrassing?
I'm proud of all my works because I know that I
really gave them an effort but the one piece that
I really like is the Wonder Woman piece I colored.
That piece got inspiring comments from Mike
Deodato, Jr himself as well as from Will Conrad,
David Campiti, and Rainier Beredo.
The embarrassing work would only be the first try
on the Galaxy Girl comic. Eventually, Rain and I
got it right the fourth time!
What are you currently working on? Comments on
that project?
I'm currently coloring The Dark Project for Trepidation
Comics and some pin-ups and covers for other
publishers.
Talk about your family: Parents, siblings, home
situation. Are you married?
My family have been very supportive. I guess my
friends are too, even if they’re always asking me
to treat them out come my paycheck. I’m single so
I don’t have kids and all.
My relatives even shook my hand when they got the
news that I'm coloring comics!
What projects do you hope to work on in the
future?
I hope to work on a Batman book or Superman. And I
would love to color a Jim Lee work, even if it's
for free!
Where do you see yourself in five years? ten?
Still working in comics. Hopefully, I will have been doing work
for Marvel or DC by that time.
What is the interest in comics where you live? Do
friends and neighbors know you draw comics for a
living? How do they react?
Some of my friends are also comics readers.
Two of them do flats for me.
Well, I'm not really the friendly neighbor type. I
don’t go out much.
I'm a homebody. So I wouldn’t know if my neighbors have
any idea on what I do for a living.
What's one thing you'll always find in your
refrigerator?
Water.
What's your favorite food?
PIZZA!!!! Oh, and my sister's Blueberry Pie.
What are your favorite interests --Movies? Music?
TV? Any hobbies? Sports?
I seldom watch movies. I listen to music everyday
especially when I'm working. Anything from Guns N
Roses, Nirvana, Boyz II Men, Coldplay... heck, I
listen to love songs and Gospel music!
As for hobbies, I collect comics. I used to play
basketball and badminton but now, with all the
work to attend to, I hardly play
sports.
Have you ever thought of writing your own stories?
Yep.
Ever been in a gang?
Nope.
What's an average day in your life like? Walk us
through a typical day.
Very mundane actually. My routine is basically the same every day.
That's one of the downsides of working in comics. It's reality! Ask any artist out there
and you get the same answer most of the time.I get up by 8am or 10am, have breakfast and then I work until 3-5am the next day, depending on the pages I'm working on. I only get a break during lunch and dinner.Getting paid for a crayola habit is pretty fun actually, but there comes a point when your creative energies are just drained.That's why I always try to give the weekend to myself or else I'll go crazy.
Any humorous or interesting anecdotes to tell
about the comics business?
There was this nightmare project where I had to
color 112 pages in 18 days! That was really an
impossible project!
But I took it and I colored 13 pages in two days.
Then I received news that some of the pages, some
4-6 of them which I already colored were going to
be redrawn and re-colored! I had 16 days until
deadline.
I did what any sane person would do -- I quit.
Do you have any great, unsold projects in your
files that nobody's gotten to see published?
I've got lots of stories! I hope that someday I will be able to start working on them and
share them to the world.
If you weren't a comic-book artist today, what
would you be?
An art director or a creative director in an advertising agency. I also see myself as a
film director, or a rockstar! Who knows?
Have you taught comic-book art or had any
assistants?
Before I got in to GHG, I used to teach and offer
coloring services to people who want to learn
about comic book coloring and stuff. They pay me
850 pesos for the whole module I made.
Now, I review color samples from aspiring
colorists who visit the GHG Manila office or the
ones who email me if I have the time. I only teach
what I know.
The single thing you'd most like to be remembered
for in your life is...?
I was the person who did not believe in the impossible, who dreamed BIG dreams,
and worked hard to fulfill them all.
Any closing words for your fans?
C’mon, I don’t have fans! Well, to all those who
aspire to get into the comics industry, just do
your best and don’t be discouraged when you get
harsh comments especially from David Campiti!
Seriously, you need to dream BIG dreams! Work hard to achieve them.
Do your best job and learn to accept criticisms because it can really help you
improve on your work! Best of luck, my friend!
LIST OF CREDITS As Colorist:
INTERIORS
15 Minutes: Good Ol' Days (Slave Labor Graphics)
Tokyo Knights promotional art (Topcow)
Kingdom Saga (Metron Press)
City of Heroes trading cards (Topcow)
VS! (Harcourt Achieve)
The Dark Project (Trepidation)
Vampirella Halloween Special 2006 (Harris Publications, Inc.) Vampirella (Harris Publications, Inc.)
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (Dark Horse/Lucas Books)
COVERS
Vampirella (Harris Publications, Inc.)
Avalon High: Coronation (Tokyo Pop/Harper-Collins) Hits and Misses (Real Buzz)
As Assisting Colorist:
Echoes of Dawn (Trepidation)
Jack Hightower (Dark Horse)
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