Your Full Name
Johann de Venecia
Tell us about you
Growing up in a small town in the Philippines, I’ve always been known as ‘that kid who likes to draw.’ A pencil was all it took to keep my happy. No flat surface remained clean, the walls of our house bore witness to the trail of crayon grease and graphite I left in my wake.
At present I live in Long Beach, much older and wiser. Office guy by day, freelance illustrator by night – my childhood enthusiasm for illustration keeps me going. I now draw on paper and tablet and intend to keep it that way.
In your opinion, what would be the secret ingredients to become a great illustrator?
Imagination, Identity, Discipline.
Where are you located?
Long Beach, California. I would like to move some place wetter (and colder) like Seattle. Alaska sounds nice too.
What is the most fascinating part of being an illustrator?
It gives me pleasure to create a snap shot of something that used to exist only in my imagination, put it down on paper or up on the screen for everyone to see and hopefully enjoy.
Where do you get inspirations from?
A lot of things. Music, stories, dreams, people, places, seasons, foods. There are also more literal inspirations like works of art and their authors.
How do you promote/ sell/ showcase your work?
A website and a few art portals are my primary means of sharing.
What is your long range goals in your life?
Live happy, die happy. Draw up a storm along the way.
What types of assignment/ project are you attracted the most? Why so?
Book illustration and concept art with emphasis on characters. There’s something about putting a face behind someone’s imaginary hero or giving a glimpse of a murky dream that I find rewarding.
Who is an illustrator that you look up to? Why so?
I look up to a lot of illustrators and painters, I feel it is proper to mention the ones who have made the most impact on me. Yoshitaka Amano, Akihiko Yoshida, Justin Sweet, Olivier Ledroit, Arthur Rackham, James Jean, Zdzislaw Beksinski and Milo Manara. I adore and respect Mr. Amano with extra fervor. His imagination is without limit, his images are mysterious and beautiful, there is a divine balance between his textures, shapes, spaces and colors. More importantly, in a world of painterly painters, the strength and grace in his line work gave me confidence to continue mine.
Describe a difficult work/ project situation and how would you overcome it?
One where goals stand atop a quivering mass of uncertainty and half-baked thoughts. I would overcome it first by making sure my communication with the client is at least dependable. There are no bad ideas, just wrong ways of presenting them. As long as I have a clear idea of what they want, I’ll know what visual to give them.
What do you think about the Internet and how it is affecting our lifestyle?
The internet has changed the way the world thinks. Borders are crossed, islands are undivided, earth is the size of a pea, the pea is as big as an ocean. Mystery is becoming obsolete in the blaze of high-speed enlightenment. Some would argue how his can be bad or good. I argue for good. It’s a powerful, life-changing tool. How we make the changes is entirely up to us.
If you could turn back time, how would you do things differently?
These days, I’m happy with my life and feel that everything I’ve done in the past has uncannily lead me to where I am now. I wouldn’t change a thing. Other days, I feel absolutely wretched and give in to the would have’s and the could have’s. This is when I castigate myself for not listening to my mom who wanted me to become a doctor.
How do you keep your work fresh? Do you need to consciously adapt your style or does it progress naturally?
I try not to think of it in terms of, “How can I keep it fresh?” If I adapt my style to what is currently hot, it may lead me down a road of trendism. Having an identity as an illustrator is important to me. I let my style evolve on its own for the most part. To prevent stagnation, I keep myself open to new experiences, they build up my stock knowledge for later use. I also go out of my comfort zone once in a while, just to explore different ways of working.
Name 3 of your favorite (art) books/ magazines.
I don’t own very many of those. Most of the inspirational artworks I have are tucked away in my file folders. Thanks to the internet, more sources are just a click away. There is one book I always have on my drawing table though, and that is Andrew Loomis’ Figure Drawing.
What is your life motto?
A champion is someone who gets up even when he can’t.
In what kind of a work environment do you do your best work?
A little, quiet corner, headphones, a comfortable chair. My drawing table or computer station comes to mind.
What do you like the sound of? Why so?
The sound of rain, a strong wind blowing tiny spaces, my cat’s purr. I am genetically programmed to enjoy these things.
If you have online portfolio, what is the URL?
http://johanndevenecia.com/
—–
—–
[.]
