Tag: event

SPECIAL GUEST PROFILE:

Name: Sherry Lee Baet-Zamar
Age: 31
Course & School: Bachelor of Fine Arts Advertising, University of Santo Tomas
List of Works:

• Carpool – comic strips plublished in The Manila Bulletin
• Carpool First Trip
• Carpool Second Wave
• MWAHAHA
• KOMIKS Atbp.
• BOINK

1) When did you start making comics?
When I was a kid I drew in old notebooks and I’d narrate the story to my family. My grandfather was a cartoonist but I never got to see his work. I wanted to be a cartoonist because of my grandfather. First set of comic strips I did was in college for friend in UP and later for our church newsletter, The Scroll. For fun, in July 2002, I made strips based on my friends after college and that is now known as Carpool.

2) How did you begin making comics as a profession?
The dawn of comic and Anime Conventions and the release of Culture Crash Comics inspired me and my friends to go into comics. My friend released his indie comic and I was just the salesperson. I released Carpool strips online and later compiled it as an indie and sold it in conventions. Stanley Chi (artist of Chopsticks) encouraged me to submit my work to Roni Santiago (Planet op D Eyps) of The Manila Bulletin. My first strip was published on February 14, 2004. The first book was published in March 2005.

3) If you weren’t an artist, what would you be doing now?
I’ll be working as a graphic artist in some company (as what I am doing now)

4) Is it a big deal being a female artist?
I didn’t think it was until Lyndon Gregorio told me, “You are the first female cartoonist to ever publish your own book!”

5) Any advice to female cartoonists, or aspiring young artists?
Comics is fun…but it never hurts to be practical. So..just have fun!

SPECIAL GUEST PROFILE:

Name: Tepai Pascual
Age: 23
Course & School: Bachelor of Fine Arts Visual Communications, UP Diliman
List of Works:

• Maktan 1521
• MARK 9verse47
• SULYAP: A Collection of Choice Independent Works 2010

1) When did you start making comics?
I started making comics when I was 4 or 5 years old. I doodle on every paper I can get my hands on. A Four-panel story based on mermaids and princesses– well, mainly because I was exposed to Disney that time. Later on, I was inspired by The Adventures of Tin-tin which me and my older sister used to read.

Then when I was in my 6th grade, I had this urge to tell long stories like the anime that I always see on TV. I ended up owning my first manga, which was a chinese version of Rurouni Kenshin A.K.A Samurai X. This opened a new door for me– the door in making my own manga.

I crafted a lot of stories and comics during my high school days. I made them and let my friends and classmates read it and asked them for comments and suggestions. If I’m not mistaken, I made a graphic novel about the knights of the round table but it gotten so long that I got tired of it. I still have it though. 😀

The journey continues when I made a graphic novel during college. It’s a slice of life type, with Pinoy sense of humor. It’s still in manga type. I haven’t really gotten it out of my system and I think I don’t want to. This was also the time that Maika Ezawa told me about her story about a blind man and there will be battles between angels and demons. The best part was, earth will be their arena! Yeah~ It stuck to me so bad that I was able to make character designs for the story. Maika loved it and we decided to make it into a graphic novel — eventually. Then thesis came. It was my fourth and last year of college and I promised that I will make a FINISHED graphic novel in full color. I challenged myself with this thesis. I wasn’t able to finish my comics for so long and I wanted something to call my “finished work”. So MAKTAN 1521 was born.

When I started working and have sufficient funds for my um… comics needs. I got serious with it and asked Maika [writer] to make the MARK 9verse47 comic series and came out at the first SUMMER KOMIKON as an indie comics under the name MEGANON Comics. Later on, DRAGFLY joined our team as an editor and became an all-female group. After a year, I released MAKTAN 1521 which later on featured in SULYAP anthology [it’s an honor, by the way, to be in this anthology with Ian, Macoy, Josel, Omeng, Mel and RH.] which was launched November 2011 by KOMIKON Inc. (View Tepai’s Video Interview for Sulyap)

2) How did you begin making comics as a profession?
It’s not really my profession. I’m actually working in the advertising industry and making comics is my way of an “outlet” so to speak. Making comics is my passion nonetheless, and to be frank, my job keeps my comics alive. Since I’m dealing with two different fields, I just make sure that what I learn from the other, I apply to the other and vice versa. It’s like a whole new school for me that’s why I take them both seriously.

3) If you weren’t an artist, what would you be doing now?
I would be in the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI and studying the mind of the criminals. Yeah~ that or I’d be baking cakes, cookies, pastries in my own coffee shop– in Japan. Char~! 🙂

4) Is it a big deal being a female artist?
Women is power!!! Just kidding! XD For me gender isn’t an issue but if I think about it, men dominate this type of field. I don’t know why and I can’t justify it because I don’t know it’s statistics. Hahahaha! But there are some cases when they see my art, they automatically think that I’m a man. O_O And when they meet me in person, they would go– “Babae ka pala?! Asteeg!” hahahaha! That’s the time when you kinda have that “bragging rights” in your head but being male or female isn’t really what people wanted to see but the work of the artist. If it’s good, whether you’re a boy or a girl, it’s still good and that’s what matters.

5) Any advice to female cartoonists, or aspiring young artists?
For female artists, we know that it is still a paternal world out there but again, gender isn’t the issue. What’s important is we, as a good person, do our best on everything we do and never get tired of learning no matter how young or old we are.

For the aspiring artists, observe situations, gain knowledge and do the best. Practice. practice and practice. NEVER quit. If something holds you back, deal with it. If you think you’re not good enough, try harder. It’s never too late to be an artist.

SPECIAL GUEST PROFILE:

Name: Steph Bravo-Semilla
Age: secret
Course & School: Bachelor of Fine Arts Advertising, University of the East
List of Works:

• Inquirer
• Junior Inquirer

1) When did you start making comics?
I started making cartoons professionally in ’96 for a Phil-Canadian Publishing company; in ’98 for the Inquirer and ’04 saw the birth of Fullhouse in JI.

2) If you weren’t an artist, what would you be doing now?
My first choice was VetMed but I didn’t like the sight of blood.

3) Is it a big deal being a female artist?
It is because there are so few of us!

4) Any advice to female cartoonists, or aspiring young artists?
When I started, I wasn’t aware that it was a predominantly male profession and I was always surprised when they say that it’s a novelty to meet a female artist. Maybe it was because of this that I didn’t feel intimidated or felt less sure of my ability – in fact I think I reveled in it – Go girl power!

SPECIAL GUEST PROFILE:

Name: Carmina Fajardo Romualdez aka mina, mimi, mingming
Age: 24
Course & School: Bachelor of Fine Arts Advertising, University of the East (Caloocan Campus)
List of Works:

• Frogpond, Manila Bulletin 2004-2006
• MWAHAHA comics
• BOINK

1) When did you start making comics?
Since i was a kid pa, nung gradeschool mga…naalala ko every school year pagbibili ng notebook pang-school may extra ako na isa, pang comics kung anu ano. hanggang ngayon buhay pa naman ung iba.

2) How did you begin making comics as a profession?
nagtry, nung nursing student pa ako nun sa Lyceum, malapit lang ang Manila Bulletin sa school. Nagtry ako mgpasa comics twice (nagpatulong ako sa isa pang artst na tiga MB). Ayun na.

3) If you weren’t an artist, what would you be doing now?
..mumu

SPECIAL GUEST PROFILE:

Name: Armida Francisco Rad
Age: 48
Course & School: Bachelor of Fine Arts, Far Eastern University
List of Works:

• comics illustrator for Carlo Caparas comics
• illustrated children books in Qazvin,Iran

1) When did you start making comics?
I started making comics when I was in 4th year high school. My uncle, Ading Gonzales – famous comic illustrator, taught me to become comic illustrator. I am a loving working in comics, my first love. It was incredibly fun.

2) If you weren’t an artist, what would you be doing now?
If I were not artist, I would be teaching art and showcase my works done here and abroad. For me, art is life. It affects all the things around you. I got back into visual arts, and I focused on painting and exhibiting my paintings here and abroad. Art is my passion, I’ve been lucky enough to have some successes in life. I can be able to do something that I love, and to earn a living from it.

3) Any advice to female cartoonists, or aspiring young artists?
My advice for the young aspiring artists- believing yourself, not to worry about other things, some will like it, or some won’t…,just believe on yourselves and always thanks to God !