Drawn Together: Unedited Interviews
Kneil Melicano
Interviewed by Cliff Sawit
Can you tell me a little about yourself as an artist? Did you take formal lessons?
I’ve been drawing ever since I can remember. My first informal lesson in drawing was back in San Isidro, Nueva Ecija, when my folks started their jar business. I was exposed to colors and craftsmanship in the workshop everyday. Though I feel like nobody in the family nurtured my interests back then, aside from the the times I was allowed to draw on all the blank walls and wood panels of the house. I took up Fine Arts and majored in Visual Communication and Design in college and kind of took it from there.
Comparing the first piece you ever completed with the most recent one you created, how has your style changed? How have you evolved since you knew you were an artist?
I have evolved in the sense that I am now aware of the direction I’m heading towards. Most of the recent pieces I’ve been doing are very personal. I try to shut myself down from the Internet and let my mind wander and come up with the imagery. The web has an overwhelming amount of inspiration which I try to retract from time to time. Lately, I’ve been doing a lot of intimate experimentation with the elements I put on my illustrations. I think it’s important to let it come to you naturally. Though I’m a bit partial to the word “style,“ “I probably draw this way because I cannot do it the other way” to quote Yuko Shimizu. I am a great follower of other illustrators who have a bent imagination and can twist characters and realities to their respective exaggerated “interestingness.“ And I also appreciate a wide array of styles, from stick figure drawings to neueu art. But if you see me drawing an obscure face, it’s more likely that I’m used to drawing it like that, not because I’m trying out a style.
What tool do you use the most when you create?
I could probably get along with just a pen and ink, but alas, it is the modern age and lately I’ve made friends with my elusive Wacom tablet which has been sitting on my table drawer for months. I like my illustrations very personal, so I employ hand drawings (pen and ink) and combine color and composition on the computer.
How often do you make an illustration? How long does it typically take you to complete a piece? When do you create your best work?
If my plate is not full, I try to squeeze in more personal works as possible. It is a time when you can allow yourself to be a megalomaniac.
You forget about those vulnerable times when you have to do art-directed designs/illustrations from clients who are being impossible most of the time. I pop in my infinite playlist and I’ll be on my little corner for awhile. If I’m being more self-indulgent, I’d lock myself in for the whole weekend and order take-outs in between. It becomes unhealthy, but it is when I usually produce works that I am most proud of.
What are your major visual influences? How about those outside the visual arts?
It’s ironic that my major influences doesn’t really reflect my works, such as eBoy, Thomas Raimondi, and Paul Gaugin. I think it’s the flowing inspiration that I get when I see their works. It’s like blowing your speakers off with your Elvis record or whatever it is that trigger your natural highs. Influences outside the visual arts would definitely be music, of course. Auditory nerves is the next hyperactive organ sensitive to stimulus after all. Or is it? It’s not a fact, I just made that up. Well music and art has a cliche relationship with a proven formula. They are the Simon and Garfunkle of folk/rock. The Warhol and Edie Sedgwick of Studio 54, sans the drug/alcohol overdose.
Do you follow a certain quote/creed, line from a movie, song or something of the sort when you create your work?
No way. That would be suffocating and you don’t want that kind of restriction.
What are some of the challenges you face as a young artist?
It’s not very hard to find the right studio for a particular project on the Internet. Not to mention another talent being born every eight seconds, so the challenge is to try to keep afloat with these bevy of great, talented individuals. I started out professionally more than a year ago, and so far I have attracted a few publications and clients who have trusted me with the works that I do. Hopefully, I could continue to develop and grow more in this doodle industry.
How do you balance creativity and commerce?
You balance it by “tiptoe-ing” the line between personal works and commercial works. You have to know the difference. More importantly, doing it with self-worth and without losing your artistic integrity. And you don’t forget to have fun while you’re at it. All work and no play makes any other Juan a miserable boy with huge bags under his eyes, a non-existent social life, and a growing, unkept beard. And by social life, I don’t mean Facebook.
How do you know when a piece is ready or fit for exhibition/to be sold?
Parang “Paraluman” intro pag narinig mo sa radyo. Bago pa tumuloy yung lyrics alam mo na na mapapakanta ka. You just know.
What are you currently working on?
I’m working on a few pieces for a show in India this coming December-January with other illustrators (such as Lydia Ortiz, Dexter Fernandez, and Kristina Collantes) while trying to balance a day-job at SEGA and a few magazine commissions. I’m a busy guy. It’s all about deadlines for me. I secretly enjoy the hustle. If I’m not juggling anything in my hands, I’m probably not living.
How would you describe your illustration for Rogue? What inspired it?
It’s a look-back at the past, as well as the present direction I hope to evolve into; it’s a combination of my initial first love with graphic design and the bitch who made harbor on my shores and took away my heart named illustration.
