Julian Sebastian Agana

Graphic Design

Julian Sebastian Agana is a freelance graphic artist who studied under a Fine Arts degree. Julian has done internships, multiple commission works, and was a head of an Art Division for a local production.

How did you get into making graphic art and digital paintings?
“For the most part I am self taught, mostly through online courses or guides. I was lucky enough to grow up in an environment with a lot of creatives guiding me along the way though.”

We’re a bit curious, what inspired you back then? Did anyone influence you?
“For the most part, it was the games and toys I used to play with. Back then when I was kindergarten, my teacher showed off my drawing to my dad. After that, that’s when I started to draw on my own. Eventually, yeah definitely I was inspired by anime and TV shows like Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure or even One Punch Man.”

Why did you start creating graphic arts? Any reason why you decided to stick with this kind of artform?
“To be a little blunt, it was because it was one of the only few things I was good at so I decided to pursue it.” Julian in his interview further stated that he felt more motivated to continue honing his skill in creating graphics once he realized he could create a career out of it back in his high school years.

Julian further stated that his experience in using his skills in art as a career has led him to be far more competitive to gain more commissions. Despite that, he has worked on digital posters and graphics for personal work and recreational purposes, something to destress him from constantly creating art for work.

“It sounds cliche, but really it’s just a way to express yourself sometimes, like screaming into a picture and visualizing it haha. But other times, I do it for recreation and enjoyment.”

For other artists out there, maybe those wishing to be more competitive in their line of work, what advice can you offer to them?
“I’m unsure if this is unique, but what I like to do is create mood boards of ideas I get. Like, I sketch it on paper, but sometimes I just start drawing from the get go. If it works out and if I like it, I render until I’m happy with it. If not, I try other ideas and see if I can bounce back or not.” Julian leans more to a trial and error strategy for creating ideas, often experimenting and working with different concepts before seeing which ones can work for him. He further talked about several tips in creating artworks that he wishes to share with other artists out there.

“I do traditional art sometimes when I feel like it, so usually I use synthetic brushes, and yeah pencils of course. For mediums I use oil pastels, watercolor, gouache, but for digital works I use a Wacom pen lab. That, I use it when makin gart in either Krita or Adobe Photoshop.”

Do you have any final thoughts to share before we end?
“You know, don’t get too attached to your work. Sometimes it just doesn’t work out. It’s not exactly motivational, but I keep these words in mind a lot when I’m in the process of making art. To a lot of artists that need it, I think it helps ground us and see the bigger picture of what we’re trying to convey or create.”

Wish to leave Julian a message? Leave a comment below!

Enzio Rodriguez
Writer, Editor
Seth Oranga
Photographer, Interviewer