Wacom Featured Artist: Armand Serrano
Just google Armand Serrano, and instantly you will find his name at the top of the search results. He is well-known for his various works and projects with Walt Disney Animation Studios, Sony Pictures and the Bible Project, and is also recognized internationally as a seasoned lecturer in the field of animation and design.
Let us find out more about Armand’s creative thought process, must have work tools and where he finds inspiration!
1. Tell us more about yourself i.e. where you are from, the work that you do, the style that you take, etc.
I was born in Manila, Philippines but living in the US since the 90s. I have been in the animation industry for the past 30 years and I work as a Production designer, Art Direcotr and Visual Development Artist.
2. What are three words that best represent your work or style?
Authentic, Believable and Functional.
3. What inspires you? How do you pen down ideas from your inspiration to the final piece? Walk us through.
I have different workflows in order to attain the right illustration I wanted to do. The common one is 1) Do research 2) Build Mock up 3D in VR if needed 3) Paint over in PS using Wacom Cintiq Pro.
4. Which Wacom tablet is your everyday go-to?
Wacom Cintiq Pro 32.
5. How has Wacom been an enabler to your creative process or work flow?
I’ve been using Wacom products for years from my very first Graphire Tablet 20 years ago, Intuos Tablet, then the first generation Cintiq, Cintiq Companion, to the most recent Cintiq Pro 16 and 32. Wacom has been my brand choice for my digital works whether personal or professional artworks. The pen pressure, durability, and the recent 4K screens are
unprecendented by any of the competitors’
products.
6. Any useful Wacom tips or hacks to share with fellow artists?
I use it the way everybody does!
7. Who were your biggest influences during your creative journey?
There’s a lot of artists I look up to that inspire me: JC Leyendecker, Dean Cornwell, David Roberts, Waterhouse, JL Gerome, Tom Lovell, Alex Nino, Sergio Toppi and Paul Felix to name a few.
8. Every creative person is bound to get a creative block one time or another. What is your process to overcome this? Share a recent experience.
Honestly I haven’t encounter any creative block lately. But when this happened in the past, I would just take a break and open the books for artists that inspire me. I would also at times draw a subject that I love to draw when I was a kid like tanks and uniforms.
9. Best advice you have received?
“We are just making cartoons!” and “Keep your skills sharpened.”
Aside from his personal projects, Armand and his wife, Bing, together with the Animation Council of the Philippines co organized this annual event; ICON Manila which is targeted for creative enthusiasts in the entertainment design industry.
This year’s speakers feature an impressive list of world class and seasoned artists, with decades of proven experience in their fields of expertise.
With this much wealth of knowledge, ICON Manila aims and hopes to push a stronger impact on the entertainment design industry in Southeast Asia.
Most importantly, all proceeds from this event will go towards humanitarian, educational, and medical missions in the country as well as other parts of the world.
Due to the pandemic, ICON MANILA 2020 will be an online event instead of the usual offline event. This will be conducted online starting on August 15 through August 16 and August 22 through August 23.
To find out more about this year ICON Manila and the line-up of speakers, pls visit https://www.iconmanila.com/