Journalism student sells unique portrait drawings to buy laptop for online classes

A journalism student is selling his unique portrait drawings to buy himself a laptop for his online classes this coming school year.

In Oscar Oida’s “24 Oras” report Thursday, Roimhie Damiano said he discovered he could draw realistic images of people using damaged or leaking pens.

“Na-discover ko siya dahil nga sa hindi ko alam paano gamitin ’yung mga ball pen na nagdudumi, ’yung tumatagas,” he said. “Sabi ko sayang naman kung itatapon ko.”

Instead of using just one pen to draw the portraits, Roimhie would sometimes use more than three at the same time.

He even named the different styles he used for drawing.

“Chopstick style ’pag dalawang ball pen ang hawak, three-line art pag tatlong ball pen ang hawak.”

Roimhie said he used to give away his drawings for free but began selling them when the pandemic hit.

Apart from saving up for a laptop, he also wanted to raise funds for jeepney drivers who lost their source of income because of the lockdowns.

Roimhie has drawn portraits of his loved ones and popular personalities, including GMA-7 reporters Sandra Aguinaldo and Oscar himself. His favorite among his artworks is his rendition of the Beatles.

He revealed that a foreigner wanted to buy the portrait of the Fab Four, but he hoped to sell it to a fellow Filipino.

A personalized portrait from the student starts at Php 300.

Roimhie said he hoped to graduate on time this year so he could find a job and help his family. – Kaela Malig/RC, GMA News