Comic book legend Whilce Portacio inspires in iACADEMY workshop

Just like the colorful, costumed heroes that grace the pages of our favorite comic books, the comic book industry has its fair share of superstars. And among Filipino fans, no name is as venerated as that of our very own living legend, Whilce Portacio. In his thirty long years in the industry, Whilce Portacio has been there and done it all. Starting on his career path as an inker, his unique and exemplary style eventually landed him the coveted penciling role for Marvel’s resident sociopath, the Punisher. And he has been drawing many of comics’ most prominent characters – from Batman and Superman to the Incredible Hulk and the X-Men – ever since. He even co-founded Image Comics, the publisher responsible for bringing us Spawn, Witchblade, and their most recent runaway success, The Walking Dead. If you love or used to read comics, chances are you’ve seen some of Portacio’s work – or, at the very least, the work of someone whose style has been inspired by his art. On April 29, the Information and Communications Technology Academy, or iACADEMY, rewarded its students – and this one, lucky writer – with the opportunity to meet Portacio in the school’s first art workshop for 2014. This workshop spearheads what will most likely be a series of similar, future events, the central idea being to invite important guest speakers – if not Portacio again – to each. But while all the attention was on the world-renowned Filipino-American artist as soon as he walked in the door, Portacio was quick to make it clear that the workshop wasn’t about him. It was about the students, and what he could do to inspire them to become the industry leaders of tomorrow.  

On April 29, iACADEMY rewarded its students the opportunity to meet comic book artist Whilce Portacio in the school’s first art workshop for 2014.

Being yourself Portacio had nothing but appreciative words for the Filipino, whom he considers naturally talented, especially in the creative sphere. What we Filipinos lack, however, is the confidence to be ourselves. “That’s what I want everybody here to understand,” he told the students. “Do what you want, what you know. Tell me who you are.” Being ourselves as Filipinos, of course, entails being proud of our heritage, history and culture. Sadly, we have a tendency to be ashamed or even scornful of the Filipino story and identity. “Most people throughout our history are medyo hiya with who we are,” he lamented. “We haven’t yet taken stories of ourselves and made them popular.” This was his challenge to the workshop attendees, and to our country’s artists: to create stories that will not only resonate with us Filipinos, but inspire us and make us proud of who we are and where we come from. “The world is waiting for those stories,” he said, citing the enormous popularity of Japanese and South Korean movies, television shows, and comic books. Also, there was Slumdog Millionaire – the Oscar-winning rags-to-riches tale set in India. Aside from developing a healthy perception of one’s identity as a Filipino, building confidence in one’s own strengths is also key to success. “I’ve known through the years, here and in the States, so many aspiring artists,” he stated. “Ang galing nila, magaling na magaling. But I never see them again. And I know something happened. I know somebody didn’t approve of their work, and they took it too personally. And they gave up. “You need to be very humble and very Pinoy, very respectful. That’s who we are as a people… But inside yourself you have to be mayabang. You have to love your own work. You have to understand your strengths. You have to understand your weaknesses. You have to be confident to know, ‘ito ang weakness ko. But it’s just a weakness for today. Kaya ko, I can make that into a strength later on."

 

Portacio made a quick digital sketch of Batman.

  Creating the perfect hero   So you have the skills and the self-esteem to be an artist. How then do you go about creating the perfect hero for your story?   By making that hero imperfect.   The inherent problem with an overpowered, godlike being like Superman is that he’s virtually indestructible. There is little in the universe that can challenge him, let alone kill him. This perfection is what makes it difficult for people to relate to him, which can be a huge problem if your intention is to keep your audience interested in your story.   “The greatest stories are about the guys who fall,” Portacio explained. “These are the stories people will remember. So you have to dig in and understand all that is good in the Pinoy and all that is bad. Because all the bad makes up who you are.”   The audience must be able to imagine themselves in the shoes of the hero – and for this purpose, it is best to keep the main character believable and realistic.   “Take what you know,” he advised. “Take your experiences with your friends. Take your experiences with your parents, your relatives. Place those experiences in your story. Make them real. That is what we do. We take impossible situations, impossible characters. And the only way to make them real is to infuse them with realistic emotions and thoughts and patterns that everybody can recognize.” The best time to be an artist Over the years, art has become increasingly fused with technology. One need look no further than iACADEMY’s facilities to see that this is true. Computers have taken the place of the sketchpad. Various software are now used to take drawing and painting into the digital realm, while the Internet allows us to share our masterpieces with the rest of the world – all in a matter of seconds. This is why the best time to be an artist is now.   “Put your stuff online, get yourself out there,” Portacio advised. “Assistant art directors, their job is to get online and look for people. They will hire you, virtually, online… If your work gets out there and your name is right there on it, somebody else out there – another publisher, another editor – will find you and give you what you’re worth. Once you gain your audience… now you have power, now you can do whatever you want. So I always tell everybody, get in there no matter what.”   For Portacio, real creativity is about communication.   “The real test of whether you are an artist, or whether you’re going to be an artist, is if you can communicate your ideas,” he explained. “It’s about taking an idea that comes from within and letting people know. So come up with an idea, come up with something that excites you and communicate it, and excite other people.”   So what’s the best attitude for the fledgling artist?   “Be idealistic,” he advised. “That’s your job: to push, to think out of the box, to be creative, to figure out different ways to make the Philippines better. You might fail, but so what? All the generations before you failed too. But you have to at least try.”   Dreaming big   Back in the late ‘90s, Portacio opened his own art school in Megamall. While he was sharing his knowledge and passion with his students, the experience also taught him a lot about himself.   “I learned that I could actually communicate my skills and my experiences to other artists,” he explained.   Meeting iACADEMY president and CEO Vanessa Tanco and her brother Jaeger made him realize that a lot more could be accomplished today, given their school’s modern system.   “When I met Vanessa and Jaeger, I saw the breadth of the capability of the infrastructure (of the school),” he said.   With his newfound partners, Portacio hopes that he can help Filipino artists achieve success.   “There’s so much local talent, it just needs to be guided a little… And I’m hoping, this time, that I can come in structured with my partners here in Manila, and actually guide aspiring artists in a structured, long-lasting way… I could teach them the standards, the disciplines, so that as they come out of school here, they know exactly what their future employers need… So that it’s easier for them to get hired and to get through.”   Portacio hinted at the possibility of holding more workshops at iACADEMY. “We [Portacio and the Tancos] are looking at all possibilities, different plans,” he stated   “The end goal is to get the talent here and get them up to discipline,” Portacio reemphasized. “It’s been my dream for a long time. And I never imagined it would happen just right now… And then just by chance, I meet up with them, the Tancos. And by chance it seemed we had the same dreams.”   Portacio is optimistic about the future of the Filipino artist.   “I’m the guy who believes that if you aim for the sun, but you only hit the moon, malayo naman yung moon. Just keep trying. It doesn’t mean you fail, it ends. Kailangan konti pa. Sige pa,” he said. — DVM, GMA News