An Interview with Illustrator Eumir Carlo Pongasi Fernandez

I mentioned in a previous post that I had an interview lined up with the illustrator of my book, The Magic Telescope, the immensely talented Eumir Carlo Pongasi Fernandez—and here it is, folks!

Eumir, thanks so much for your time. I really appreciate you. I know you’re a busy guy.

1. Tell us a little about yourself. (where are you from/where’d you grow up, that sort of thing)

-I’m an illustrator from the Philippines who loves fantasy and video games.

2, How would you describe your style of art?

-I have a hard time describing my art style. It is a mixture of influences from my childhood media and interests. My favorite games and artists are in there. But it is also influenced by the subject/nature of the commission.

3. What was your first job as an illustrator/graphic artist?

-I was an illustrator in a publishing company for 2 years. I was hired in 2010.

4. You illustrated my book, The Magic Telescope (quite beautifully I might add). What’s your favorite illustration from the book?

-There were a lot of things I really liked about the brief. But among them, my favorites would be the hole-in-the-sky scene and the one where the child was being brought to the city in the trees.

5. How many books have you illustrated?

-I have worked on so many I honestly could not count.

6. What have you worked on since?

-I have worked on games, board games, and card games. I am not at liberty to say or name most of them. But among those that I can. LAIR the board game is one of them.

7. Did you always want to be a graphic artist?

-Since I was a kid I always wanted to be a comic book artist and animator due to watching a lot of Anime. But it changed during art school. When I got hooked into playing Magic the gathering. After seeing all those wonderful illustrations. I wanted to work on the same cool projects.

8. What’s the best part of your job? The worst part?

-One of the best parts of my job is getting transported into worlds and universes. When you are working on them, especially in the conceptualizing stage. You imagine yourself being in those worlds and are like a movie director, picking shots and angles that suit the world best in portraying it.

-The worst part of it, especially when I still used to work from a company as an illustrator is that I don’t get to finish illustrations how I want them to. More often than not it has this rushed or unfinished feel to them. When I got out and started doing freelance. The worst part is getting rid of that rushing/unfinished habit of doing work.

9. What’s your favorite medium to work with?

-I gotta say it has to be digital. I love working on oils and acrylics and watercolor. But it’s in digital where I am the most free. I don’t have to worry about drying time. Fixing mistakes is very easy. It allows me to think more on the idea than trying to figure out how to approach things ahead of time.

10. Who was your favorite artist when you were a kid? Has that changed?

-I will answer the second question first, yes it has changed. When I was a kid a lot of the artists I aspired to be were more anime related. Each anime was an inspiration. But when I went to art school it changed drastically. From legends like Frank Frazetta that loves big chunks of shadows in his pieces. To a lot of magic the gathering artists that were also into big chunks of shadows like Daarken and Greg Staples. During my younger years I loved Dark and Moody renders. But as I got older to the present day. I am now loving a more colorful palette. And that is what I am trying to incorporate into my pieces now.

11. Writers sometimes get “writer’s block” is there such a thing as an “illustrator’s block”? If so, how do you overcome that?

-Yes there is. And there is also burnout. I don’t know how to overcome it really. I try a lot of things from taking a break to consuming other forms of media to get my mind off of the pressure. And just because it worked before, doesn’t mean that approach will work the 2nd time around. I even stopped illustrating for a while. It did remove the block but it also made me rusty where I ended up having to refresh myself with the skill. We all deal with things in different ways. And it really varies in effectiveness.

12. Would you say art is a talent you’re born with or a skill set that anyone can learn?

-Definitely a skill. Anyone can learn. But mastering it is like an athlete doing the Olympics. You have to practice your entire life to get really good. And despite that. You have your ups and downs. Somedays are just off days. I think that was one of the frustrations that caused my burnout. I wanted to get really good. But I never stopped to ask myself why I wanted to get really good. You just have to be satisfied with yourself and your capabilities.

13. What advice do you have for aspiring illustrators?

-There are a ton of things I can advise them. But to me, I think it’s better to teach them these few but very important things so they do not make the same mistakes that I did. Be nice to yourself. Having a high standard is good, and it can help push you to do better. But it will also wreck your mental health because you will be too hard on yourself and in the end, you will burn out and lose passion. Observe, is the other advice I would give. I get a book with a picture of the piece my favorite artist has. I stare at it for hours and sometimes days. It is good to observe how they approached the piece and deconstruct it in your head. Appreciate how the artist did 1 stroke to achieve that to look like the real thing. While it may have taken you 5 strokes to achieve the same. Observe real life as well. It is important to read and study how other people interpret effects in real life and translate it to their illustrations. But first-hand experience will still win out over something that was just explained to you. Experience life and enjoy it.

14. What do you feel is your masterpiece at this point in your career?

-I cannot say I have any. Because when I think that the piece was good. Half a year later. I have improved so greatly as an artist that it now sucks in my eyes. So yeah, no masterpieces yet.

15. What is your ultimate goal as a graphic artist?

-To make enough money that I can start working on pieces that I really love. Without having to post it online to improve my portfolio or to make money out of that project. I just want to create freely and can drift into obscurity. Living life and enjoying it.

If you’d like to check out Eumir’s work or find out more about him, visit his sites:

http://theartofeumircarlofernandez.daportfolio.com/

http://theartofeumircarlofernandez.blogspot.com/

I hope this interview inspires you, dear readers, to follow your dreams and work towards your goals. Keep looking up! You can do this.

God bless,

~T