This is our first post of our series "Paperlikers Insights", in which we'll feature Paperlike customers, especially from the digital art world. We love seeing our customer's art on social media, and we decided to find out more: what inspires them, what drove them to digital art, and what tips and tricks they may have for other digital artists. We're thrilled to uncover awesome artists and digital pioneers using the iPad Pro, Apple Pencil and of course the Paperlike.
Cholo Velas is a 25 year old digital artist and freelance illustrator from the Philippines. His Instagram feed is full of captivating girl illustrations that display his fine attention to detail while keeping a minimal style. Before becoming a full time digital artist, he was a chef in top-rated restaurants and hotels for 5 years. Now his customers are couples and models who ask him to draw their portrait. We at Paperlike wanted to find out more about the artist behind the beautiful portraits. That’s why we asked him a few questions about his work and advice for aspiring digital artists.
When did you decide to go "digital" with your art? Where do you get inspiration from?
I think it only started in October last year when I borrowed my brother's cheap pen tablet which is a Genius tablet I think? Like the really old ones. Then I decided to buy a Wacom Intuos but I had a hard time using it. So I used up all my savings to buy an iPad Pro and decided to become a full-time Digital Artist. I get most of my inspiration pretty much from Pinterest haha, just scrolling down in Pinterest would give you a lot of inspiration.
Do you have any tips for aspirational artists who are just starting with digital art?
Fun Fact: I was actually a chef before and making art was really just a hobby of mine, so I'm also just a noob in the world of Digital Art. But if you pursue what you really love, you will succeed. Right? So my tip for all the noobs out there just like me, don't let anything stop you from trying out something new that you've always wanted to do. Get out of your comfort zone, it's okay to fail, just try and try until you succeed :)
How does Paperlike help you in the process of illustrating?
Using an iPad pro with Paperlike really helps me a lot to control my stroke, it gives this insanely paper-like feel when you draw on the iPad like you're really drawing on paper. Can't imagine drawing on an iPad without it.
How long does it take you to finish an artwork?
If I'm in a good mood, I can finish an artwork in 3-6 hours straight, depends on the Illustration I'm working on.
Who do you look up to in the digital art world?
A lot of artists, like Ilya Kuvshinov, Eric Anthony Johnson and WLOP, there's a lot of them, mostly big on Instagram.
What does your ideal working space look like?
I currently have a PC-Gaming Setup which I plan to upgrade soon with a big monitor and behind it is my desk for traditional art like watercolour painting and pen art.
What are your favourite digital tools? What is your go-to drawing app?
Of course, the iPad Pro 12.9 inch with Paperlike installed. And I've been waiting for the new iPad pro hopefully comes out by the end of the year. The apps that I use on my iPad Pro are Procreate (My favourite), Adobe Sketch App where I create most of my Digital Watercolor Paintings and Adobe Draw for my Vector Artworks.
Thanks for talking to us, Cholo!
Make sure to follow @chovelasarts on Instagram to see his latest artworks!
