The making of comic book artist Rysa Antonio

Flipping through the pages of Carlo Vergara’s highly-adapted Zsazsa Zsaturnah, or Gerry Aranguilan’s international award-winning Elmer, she looks like a regular comic book fan raving on these local graphic novels—you wouldn’t have guessed that she was also a comic book artist herself.

A newcomer in the comic book scene, Rysa Antonio (IV, CAM) is already making a name for herself in the industry. Although she is still a college senior, she has already produced works such as Josef Miggy and Yaya Karol and Voltes: Five Days with the team of Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo, the same pair that brought the highly anticipated Trese series to life.

From back seat to front row

Before she officially started doing comics one year ago, she shares that she was indeed a typical comic book fan, doodling at the back of the classroom. “I wasn’t doing art and calling it art,” she reveals.

Rysa’s first foray into the world of comics was through reading manga when she was still a kid. In fact, it was only in college that she discovered the vast pool of homegrown artists. Manix Abrera’s Kikomachine was the first local comic book to make a true impression on her. “Simple lang yung layout, pero full of substance“, says Rysa on the influence of Abrera’s minimalist style.

It wasn’t until she had to choose for her thesis that she realized her passion for drawing. While most Communication Arts majors choose the path of filmmaking for their thesis, Rysa decided to break away from her original group in order to pursue a graphic novel alone.

She admits this wasn’t very easy, and all the more when she was trying to get in touch with people in the comic book industry. Later on, she would cross paths with Baldisimo and Tan and work as an assistant illustrator.

Her comic book stint certainly didn’t have to end after her practicum. “Gusto mo ba gumawa ng comics?” Rysa still remembers the beginning of her first comic book together with Baldisimo and Tan, entitled Josef Miggy and Yaya Karol. From then on, the team has been working together on collaborative efforts such as the limited edition TRESE: TRIPTIK prints, along with other upcoming works to be exhibited in comic conventions.

Wisdom from the Comic Book Fathers

Working with what she considers the ‘comic book fathers’, she admits that the feeling of “Meeting your heroes and realizing they’re [also] real people,” still hasn’t sunk in yet.

Even with her promising career in the local comics scene, Rysa still considers herself a novice who has yet to learn more about the intricacies of comic book making. “I was trying to learn the rules and break them at the same time.”

The longer she works on her thesis and with the Trese team, the more Rysa learns that comics is more than just a sequential art, and making one is far different from making a novel or a film. It is, she explains, “communicating besides words.” A well flowing story with visual clarity is what makes good comics, and this is exactly what the Communication Arts major wants to achieve in her work.

Currently, Rysa is in the process of developing her own style—her own visual trademark, so to speak. She experiments with transition types by mixing and matching styles from the different comics she read growing up. She tries to combine scene-to-scene paneling, which is more common in Western comics, and moment-to-moment paneling, which is found in Asian comics, like manga. Noticeable also in her sample works is how she often makes use of female characters as leads. “I wanted to make strong female characters that are relatable.”

But above all that she has learned so far, Rysa is very grateful for receiving guidance from her mentors. She has accomplished writer and well-known Literature professor Vicente Groyon as her thesis adviser, Baldisimo to help her with layout and illustration, and Tan to train her in scriptwriting. “Let’s make more comics together”, Rysa remembers Tan’s remarks.

During her practicum, she was also mentored by writer slash artist Carlo Vergara, one of the many great artists that she looks up to. When asked about the most striking advice she received, she says it was “to have other sources of income”—tough advice, but true once she realized that making comic books may not be entirely sustainable as a career yet.

On grassroots graphics

This emerging artist is aware that despite the burgeoning local comic books community, appreciation of this medium in the Philippines is still minimal. She explains that aside from the reason that most artists don’t get to promote their works because of limited resources, the market that the comic book industry is exposed to is very small.

She remains hopeful, however, that appreciation for comic books will not stay limited for long. “Pwde din pang-masa [ang comics]. May mga comics naman sa tabloids at newspapers, but they can still level that up and support artists by buying comics.”

Rysa further shares that industry veterans are observing a new phenomenon. More and more Filipinos are being turned into comic fans as a new generation of comics is emerging from fresh faces in the industry. “At kasama na ako dun sa mga biglang nagkainterest sa komiks, then suddenly, gagawa ng work and market it to people my age who will be able to market it by word of mouth.”

Advice to budding artists

Her advice to aspiring artists out there is simple yet striking: “Don’t sell yourself short.”

Rysa believes that artists should never think of their art as something that doesn’t deserve appreciation because, in her words, “It’s what you’re capable of”. She continues,“Kahit na ayaw ng ibang tao sa gawa mo, mahalin mo pa rin yun, kasi baby mo yun eh, niluwal mo iyon.”