Drawn Together: Unedited Interviews
Brian Vallesteros
Interviewed by Gino de la Paz
Can you tell me a little about yourself as an artist?
I can proudly say that I draw for a living. On weekday mornings (and often weekends too), I work on freelance illustration projects for magazines, advertising, and children’s books. On afternoons and evenings I work as a illustrator/graphic artist for ABS CBN’s TV Patrol and News Central. Aside from some moving graphics, my primary task for the news is to illustrate news segments that lack visuals (mostly crimes stories). So on a typical day I would be drawing fun creative stuff in the morning and in the afternoon and evenings I would be drawing more serious stuff like crime, accidents and other unfortunate incidents.
Like some artists, I like experimenting with different styles. I never really liked the idea of having just one style that I can easily be identified with. I love trying out new things and I get easily inspired when i get to try new medias. The way I see it, each style I use is a different tool with different benefits. Based on what I’m doing the illustration for, I choose a style that I feel is appropriate.
Did you take formal lessons?
Yes—I’ve been drawing for a long as I can remember. My parents used to enroll my brother and I to summer art workshops at the Metropolitan Museum when we were kids. We enjoyed these workshops a lot so we kept going until high school. At first it was just drawing but then eventually we also took up basic animation, cartooning, sculpture, print making, and even installation art. Anyway, these workshops really sustained my interest in art and I believe a wouldn’t have shifted to BA Industrial Design in UP from Industrial Engineering in DLSU if not for these.
Comparing the first piece you ever completed with the most recent one you created, how has your style changed?
Compared to my first piece—by that I mean the first work I did for a client—my style is more line heavy now and more focused. My first ever project is a children’s book for Adarna House. I used acrylic paint mostly and the look I used is relatively ‘safe’ for a children’s book. I was still learning the ropes back then so I didn’t really get to play around with the look of the book. The last artwork I did is for a group show in PABLO. I used popular characters from fables and portrayed them fighting each other. These illustrations were inspired by recent boxing images I saw. I wanted to capture the intensity of contact sports and somehow put a twist to them.
How have you evolved since you knew you were an artist?
It’s hard to answer that question because there wasn’t really an exact moment where I just realized I was an artist. I guess it’s because I’ve been doing this for so long and I knew even when I was a kid that I would always be doing this. It’s just a question of what else I would be doing and if I would actually pursue it as a career.
What tool do you use the most when you create?
Well I use a lot of different tools when I create but the most frequent would have to be my mechanical pencils and my 0.4 Pilot G-tech. This, of course, aside from my computer and Pen tablet.
How often do you make an illustration?
I work on at least one illustration a day. On a really busy day I’d be doing one elaborate illustration for my freelance work in the morning and then around 5 to 7 illustrations for TV Patrol in the afternoon and possibly 2-3 more in the evening for another show at ABS-CBN.
How long does it typically take you to complete a piece?
It depends on the style I’m using. Sometimes it would take me 2 to 3 days to finish one of my more elaborate illustrations. For really simple illustrations for storyboards it would take me around 30 minutes to finish penciling one.
When do you create your best work?
It’s hard to say what conditions lead me to do my best work. Sometimes I could come up with something good after spending days on just one illustration. And yet sometimes the work I do when I’m being rushed can come out very spontaneous and natural.
What are some of the challenges you face as a young artist?
Is 30 still young? I guess that’s relative. (Laughs.) One of the biggest challenges for me is getting the work I’m happy with out in time. It’s hard for me to meet a deadline sometimes especially if I see that the artwork can be developed further. I wish I could really take my time with everything I work on. Of course that can’t always be. We all have to work with deadlines.
How do you balance creativity and commerce?
To be honest, lately I’ve been focusing more on ‘commisioned’ work.
What are you currently working on?
I’m working on something for Christmas and also some illustrations for Total Girl in Australia. I can’t really give details right now.
How would you describe your illustration for Rogue? What inspired it?
The illustration I’m working is actually an answer to your question about creating my best work. There are times when I’m working on something and everything just clicks and everything I add to an illustration just works out. I love moments like that because its almost like the artwork is telling you what to do and you’re just following it. So in the illustration I am portraying myself being controlled by my creations. It’s inspired by Jeff Soto’s paintings. I love his work. They’re just a lot fun to look at.
