Whilce Portatio, Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer of HALO HALO Corp., has both a celebrated career in the world of comic books and a lifelong passion for supporting his fellow Filipino creatives; he has worked on over 50 different comic book series between his work at Marvel, DC Comics, and Image comics. Born in the Philippines and raised in Hawaii, he started his love for art with a pursuit of painting, but changed his focus to comics in early high school. His big break came at San Diego Comic Con in the 1980s, where he caught the eye of Carl Potts from Marvel.
Initially starting as an inker in 1985 working on Marvel's Longshot, Whilce carefully studied how to incorporate storytelling techniques to bring his pages to life, eventually advancing to his first penciller gig on Punisher. One of the highlights of his career was co-creating the popular character Lucas Bishop, a mutant policeman from the future who can absorb and release psionic energy, while working with writer John Byrne on The Uncanny X-Men. Whilce later co-founded Homage Studios and Image Studios.
Now that we've set the stage, let's jump into our interview with Whilce Portatio himself:
What initially drew you to the arts, and how has your Filipino or Asian heritage influenced the themes and styles in your work?
Whilce: As a child, I would notice that the tree in front of our house looked different at different times of the day and the year, but it was the same tree. I realized it was the light shining on it, or not shining on it.
I was so interested, I tried to draw it. I slowly figured out I could crudely draw what I see. My ability was noticed in 6th grade where my art teacher taught me things about light logic my classmates could not understand. Then as I went to different schools, my art teacher introduced me to my next grade art teacher. In that way I got tutored throughout my school years.
In high school, I wanted to gain influence from my culture. In the 70's there was almost no information on Philippine culture and arts. So living in Hawaii, I absorbed Japanese culture and arts. There I learned both simplicity in design and the observation of minute details. Details you can and can't always see. Internal ideas and concepts.
Even then, I realized the "hole" in me of not absorbing my Filipino identity.
Can you share some cultural or societal hurdles you encountered when pursuing a career in the arts, and how you overcame them?
Whilce: The Arts, including the comic book industry, had very very few people interested in it. And even fewer people with the skills to do it properly. So, because of the hardworking ethics instilled in me by my parents that made me work hard, when I got my first comic job I always did my best to show my editors that I was capable of giving them what they needed.
So I climbed very fast within; there never were any obstacles in my way at all. I was also a tech-head. Buying my first Amiga 2000 computer in the 80's so that I could learn CGI. Those two skills, art and tech, gave me the skills and vision to see what exactly is happening today in art. I was deemed an important cog, and was therefore allowed to do essentially whatever I wanted to...my favorite hobby...experimenting in both art and tech.
How have collaborations shaped your artistic journey, and what obstacles did you encounter in finding the right collaborators? At HALO HALO, we're innovating ways to connect artists and writers. What tools or features would have been game-changers for you in forming creative partnerships early in your career?
Whilce: Because the comic book field is so small, it was easy to find like minds. Also the convention circuit allowed me to travel to meet people I would never have had a chance to meet and brainstorm with. So collaborating with top pros happened so easily.
When artists get together, two things happen. Most artists are competitive, so when I would meet another good artist, I would want to draw better. I would absorb anything of their skills or style that were better than mine; I would improve as an artist much faster than just studying by myself.
Then, you both begin trying to solve the same problems together. And again you solve those things faster...and better yet, come up with solutions that neither one of you would naturally think of alone.
So, when the opportunity came to get into these situations where there were multiple artists together, that was heaven and I would do anything to enable that.
Therefore, I got into Homage Studios, then Image comics, then Wildstorm comics, then Avalon Studios which then became a studio I formed in Manila called Starfire Studios on Balete Drive!!!
The most important thing about working with other artists, especially in your formative years, is over coming your shyness. Almost all artist start as shy people. The thing that separates a good artist and a successful one is exposure.
The goal is to get noticed by an audience and editors so you can earn a living at art. Therefore, you have to be able to allow your art to be seen, so you can be discovered and recognized as an artist. The only way that can happen is to allow the world to see your art.
Getting into a small or large studio is the best way to achieve that. While other artists are overcoming their shyness and getting noticed. Most importantly, dealing with people loving--and people not liking--their art. You can watch that process happen to them, and prepare for when it happens to you.
What are your preferred tools for creating art? Do you lean more towards digital mediums or traditional methods like paper, and why?
Whilce: I am a tech-head so have tried every tech tool since the 80's. Digital tools today are amazing, but they are not perfect. They don't yet "feel" exactly real.
So today you need to use both real world and digital tools, each for what they are best for.
I draw layouts and my roughs on a computer, because it's much more time efficient to correct anatomy, layout, composition, and proportions. Then I print out the layout in blue ink, on an art board. I take that and I use the blue layout as a guide to do the final inked drawing with ink and markers and pens. This allows me a "safety". I can attack these blue layouts with black ink, because if I make a mistake, I just print out another blue layout and start all over. You quickly do this until you have a finished product.
Who are your favorite artists, or which artists have influenced your style the most?
Whilce: I really don't have a favorite artist. I have some artists that have influenced me more that others, like Neal Adams and Jack Kirby. But I don't believe in idolizing artists, because that subtly gets you in the mind-frame that "this artist is my idol and I can never surpass them."
All throughout my training years I would find an artist that, for instance, drew better anatomy than me, and then i would study that artist until I absorbed the correct anatomy. Then I would find an artist that did a certain technique better than me, then absorb that. So I would discover better artists, absorb their better skills, then not think of those artists again because I am absorbing the next artist...that's how you grow and find your own style.
What essential advice would you offer to aspiring artists looking to break into the industry?
Whilce: The essential advice is to discover you. It's quick and easy to rise up for a little while mimicking a popular style today. That style is popular because of the popular artists that made that style popular. So editors and producers would rather hire those popular artist. If they hire you, they will hire you cheap, because you are not those artists.
Remember, the goal is to be able to earn a living throughout your lifetime. You only do that by making your own style popular, even if your audience is not huge. Once you form an audience, if you are faithful to giving them your art, they will be faithful to you.
I absorbed and learned the skill sets of many artists in my time. I learned through them how to solve artistic problems. Once I learned what I felt was enough of the basics, I actually locked all my favorite comic books and art books away in a closet and consciously stopped looking at them.
From that day on, I would create art everyday, but make all my decisions on my own. I would consciously not ask my memory, okay, what would so-and-so artist do for this drawing. I would just let myself draw whatever first came to my mind. I would force myself to solve all my art problems on my own, with only the memory of the skills I "learned" when I was studying other artists.
This is a hard and lonely path, but in the end, you find you...and when you find an audience, you will still be you to them...
What's your favorite Filipino food?
Whilce: My Uncle's embitibo, my Mom's pancit Luglug. My Auntie's shrimp/crab/Philadelphia cheese Lumpia, sisig, isaw, balut, maiz con yelo, chicaron bulaklak diniguan....
Be sure to check out Whilce's new stories on HALO HALO, download our app today!
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