Artist Spotlight: Joshua Corpuz – Visual Artist

Joshua Corpuz – Visual Artist

His Artform

“I draw” is how I usually answer people when they ask me what I do. That’s because I’m usually too lazy to delve into details about what I do. But if we need to be a bit more in-depth, I do conceptual art and illustration for a living. To further elaborate: I design characters or creatures and prepare storyboards and animatics for pre-production work. And no, it’s not the same as graphic design. And no, I can’t and won’t draw you or your nephew’s face.

I enjoy drawing because I get to create and design things and tell stories with them, from things that exist to imaginary scenarios. What I love about it is that there’s exactly no end and limit to it except for your own imagination. Getting paid to draw dragons is pretty dope, though I prefer to work on my own stuff than a client’s. I work on a freelance basis only because I get the most satisfaction out of it, plus I don’t have to answer to anyone’s expectations.

His Process

Detailing how I work would require plenty of screenshots and about 10 or more additional pages, but here’s the gist of it:

1.) I figure out what I want to draw,

2.) I think about the context of the image,

3.) I find proper references,

4.) I work on it for 2 to 5 days.

Regrettably, I haven’t been working on a proper personal piece lately due to professional demands.

His Journey

I’ve been drawing since I was a kid, inspired by video games like the Final Fantasy series and Legend of Mana and anime like Digimon and Shaman King. I had my first freelance client while I was still studying: Paizo Publishing, which was quite a big and impressive account. Sadly, they dropped me after 2 gigs for not being able to meet the quality that they required at that time.  That was a very important learning experience for me. I’ve also had the privilege of working for Volta – an outsourcing studio that works on triple-A game titles. Getting to work for big companies is fun and all, but getting to meet and learn from all the people that I look up to has got to be #1 in my highlight list.

His Advice for Aspiring Artists

Keep at it. The more frustrated you are the better. Never be satisfied at your current skill level because you would risk stagnation. Remember that there’s always room for improvement. Though of course, it wouldn’t hurt to pat yourself on back once in a while for learning a new thing or two.

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