Rusty Banana Forge

My ahma, the loving Caroline Ong Chua Giok Bian (grandma on my father’s side) passed away January 22, 2007. She is now at home with the Lord Jesus (and my grandpa), she was 83, just about 2 months shy of her 84th birthday.

She was a basketball player. She practiced tai chi. She sang, drew, and socialized. I believe she lived in a simple and childlike way. She measured a cup-o-rice for her meals, and her diet was healthy even until the end. May her children (and grandchildren) make her proud.

I am keeping myself busy with Lampara’s Alamat ng Mangga.
I believe I am making good time in the illustrations - fleshing out 2 pages a day and then finalizing them when I’m no longer tired at looking at them.

And speaking of “Mangga”. I will be gathering material to launch a blog showcasing for Japanese manga style illustrators from the Philippines. I hope it will be an encouragement for the Pinoy artists who want to excel in Japanese manga-style illustration.

Generally though I want to also make Filipinos aware that animators aren’t the only ones who draw for a living. I feel illustration is somewhat neglected as a career and as a ministry.

I attended the Talents inC (in Christ) Arts & Media Summit 2007 just today at the Every Nation Leadership Institute. The theme was “CCC” Connect, Collaborate, and Captivate. (Reminded me of Culture Crash Comics.) Over 250 arts and media people were there - including award-winning actor Piolo Pascual.

I had one big expectation beyond the praise & worship, preaching & prophecy. I wanted to connect with PEOPLE. Don’t get me wrong, I believe God was glorified indeed. Being christian, I could connect to God anytime, really. But people? Considering the nature of my work and where I work, not often!

Right now I am wondering if I am the only one who felt that way. I should join the church’s Communications ministry.

Anyway, much of the connecting with people was really up to you during the 40 minute lunchbreak, 5 minute coffee break (chat with Ariel Atienza), and 30 minute chill-out (Sorry DJ Benjo, I didn’t stay for the chill-out.) If ENLI gave ample time and opportunity for the exchange of contact info for Christian businessmen & women that attended last year’s gathering of entrepreneurs, I hope they will also do so for the arts & media next year. Something like the Metro Manila Book Fair or the Komikon would be a great way for artists to network!

Someone mentioned it was like a mini comic convention was going on. The hottest names in Pinoy comic illustration stormed the Comic Odyssey, Robinson’s Galleria Mall to honor the dentist turned pencilling genius Jay Anacleto, now bigger but still good friend Philip Tan, and all-around comics & family man Gilbert Monsantoin a comic book signing event.

We hardly get to see Jay Anacleto, even less of Philip Tan (who only flew back to the Philippines from LA to visit his ailing grandmother.) Gilbert normally is busy with family and his company. They were all in high spirits and the room wasn’t quiet for one second.

(No, I am not Philip’s brother.)

Comic Odyssey soon got packed with fans and artists. (The place is just over 32 square meters) Some people were waiting for their turn for a sketch not only from the 3 gentlemen, but also from artists Gerry Alanguilan, Edgar Tadeo, Carlo Pagulayan, and Leinil Yu.

During the event I got to watch techniques as well listen in on prices and page rates - very intriguing. It was still a friendly reunion for the younger generation of comic book artists, especially for those who had the opportunity to teach and study under Whilce Portacio’s comic book art school “LEARN”.

A few quick videos of Jay and Gilbert doing their thing:

A big thank you to Sandy of Comic Odyssey for organizing the event and the after-event dining for the guests of honor.

Remember the 2006 Komikon? The 2006 Komikon was a fiesta! Very loud and full of comic book action and magic.

Tony DeZuniga’s art exhibit opening at Crucible Gallery, Megamall was no less exciting.

Being in the presence of the many seasoned (and graying) Pinoy comic book illustrators and painters is really something! It felt like a reunion, but for the small quirk that I hardly knew the older generation of artists and their many accomplishments.

Fortunately, Mr. Rico Rival was there. We had worked previously on Yun: The Heavenly Man. Rico introduced me several of his colleagues and I do believe I would’ve been star struck if only I had been breastfed with Pinoy Komiks early in my childhood. The relationship between these stately gentlemen reminded me of the relationships being made in Pinoy komiks today. We are still very much a tight knit family but with a larger range in styles now. (Do I hear “anime”?)

Mr. DeZuniga’s exhibit had just the right kind of atmosphere for such a family meet & greet. While a few 30-40 something komikeros (ahem…Gerry Alanguilan?) got to touch base with the older generation of artists, I felt more comfortable catching up with my old friends (that would be the 30-somethings) and their connections.

I got to meet artist John Becaro who will no doubt write about Tony DeZuniga’s exhibit here. As well as KC Cordero, founder & editorial director of Filipino Komiks from RisingStar Printing Enterprise. Plus the unusual suspects: Gerry Alanguilan, Randy Valiente, Edgar Tadeo, Leinil Yu, Leonard Banaag, Ner Pedrina, and Azrael Coladilla.

I took home a copy of Tony DeZuniga’s “Concept Designs” entitled “She Warriors”. These can easily be called black & white pinups, but who would pay Php250 for pinups, right? These days “concept design” is the buzz word, and Tony puts his New York graphic design education (and his knowledge in sales) to good use into his art book’s illustration & marketing. You can listen in on Tony’s wisdom on this most excellent video courtesy of Gerry Alanguilan

Ang Ilustrador ng Kabataan, the Philippines premiere organization for children’s book illustrators, is now open for new members.

Visit the Ang-INK site for details.

The key to admission is to be responsible and be eager to volunteer during the application process. So good luck! You may be able to make it into the 2007 Ang-INK Catalogue this February.

And speaking of our catalogue, I’m currently working on my artwork for it:

(the extra weight of negative space on the left of the illustration anticipates the binding)

I will testify that the INK exhibits and catalogue are directly responsible for a third of the workload I now receive. I’ve had the pleasure of illustrating 3 children’s books, 1 anthology cover, and selling 4 prints of my work.

The connection to the Internet is still pretty whacked. The connection problems have kept me from wasting my time online - preventing me from watching YouTube videos or playing Guild Wars. In spite of the fact that I should be getting DSL but instead only get slower-than-DIALUP speed, I’m doing okay.

I recently visited Fully Booked Rockwell. Very well stocked. I decided to spend a fair amount of money (around 3kPHP) on books. I bought the anthology of comics that is “Flight 3″, “Manga” published by Taschen, and Scott McCloud’s “Understanding Comics”. I tend to buy reference and books that would clearly teach me something, so I had to wrestle with myself to buy Flight 3. Taschen’s Manga was a real jewel. It used to sell for a whole lot more than 1,000PHP, and considering it came with an inspiring and educational DVD it was the best buy. “Understanding Comics” is a relatively old book, but I just had to have it as reference.

January has been pretty dry though. So I am fortunate that Lampara Books offered me another book project. (I illustratedAlamat ng Butiki for them.) This new book I’ll be doing is about the legend of the mango: Alamat ng Mangga. Both books have hearts - literally.

I understand that Alamat ng Butiki will be printed February this year.

My friend Enrick Geronia (maverick flash animator) also got in touch with me regarding animation projects we may be working on for the coming 3 months. More details will surface on Monday, but I appreciate the opportunity of working once again with the guy (as well as some hope for a steady compensation.)

And speaking of projects… I’m still waiting to hear back from a client corporation. I did studies of 5 different mascots and 2 “free” ones for them after the brief and a small downpayment. The “CEO” wanted a mascot that wasn’t a simple ball, wanted a Japanese theme, and it had to look “makulit” (mischevious in a good way - like Sponge Bob.) After doing the studies, the client was thrilled with the quality.

But then like most corporations, decisions are made and unmade. They wanted a ball mascot again. Yes, again. So I made it clear that to do studies for 5 ball mascots would entail the same fees and that they need to be clear regarding the name (ie. sex) of the mascot.

They haven’t gotten back to me for more than a week now. I should really give them a call.

It’s a new year! To start off my new year, I’ve made a new artwork.
Something I don’t often do just for fun - copy from a reference. Have you watched Vanessa Marcil on TV’s Las Vegas? I used a photo of her as reference:

Copying from a reference achieves much better results, and for 2007 I’ll be doing more and more artwork using references. I hope someone reading my blog (besides myself) looks forward to it!

Happy New Year!