This week’s artist’s spotlight focuses on Ricardo Lopez Ortiz, whose art beautifully captures the heart of his sketchy style.
The Artist’s Spotlight is a Hypable weekly feature that will focus on someone who has caught our attention for fandom-related art, whether it be drawings, songs, crafts, or more! Every week you can expect a new talented artist we think you should be aware of!
Hypable: Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Well, I was born and raised in Puerto Rico. I moved away to New York City at 18 to study Illustration at the School of Visual Arts and I’ve been living in Brooklyn ever since.
How did you get started with your art?
To be honest, I wasn’t sure what I was going to do once I graduated High School. I knew I could kind of draw and I loved anime, manga and comics, so it made sense delve deeper into that.
You have a very loose and sketchy style. Did anything or anyone influence that?
Definitely, I really dig ’60s Illustration so people like Bernie Fuchs, Robert Fawcett, Bob Peak and many others are huge for me. That “Loose and Sketchy” style of work just feels so honest to me, so people like Sergio Toppi, J.C. Leyendecker, Yoji Shinkawa, Otomo, Naoki Urasawa, J.P. Leon, Moebius, et al., – just speak to me in ways that other artists can’t.
How do you typically approach a piece when inspiration hits?
I just work through things, I don’t have time for inspiration. There’s a problem that needs solving and I have to work to get it done. But spending time researching and gathering reference makes things much easier, my first step is always research.
Is there anything about the creative process that you struggle with?
I spoke about this with Amy Reeder not too long ago. She classified me as a starter and herself as a finisher. Which is true, I’m really good at just getting things going, but the more I work the harder it gets for me to finish something. I enjoy problem solving, once I feel like I have solved the problem I can get bored pretty easily. So it’s very important for me to keep things interesting as I work and figure them out as I go.
How do you feel you’ve evolved as an artist since you first started drawing?
It’s weird, I keep getting looser in certain ways and much tighter in others with my drawing. I know that my work is constantly changing as my interests and point of view change. It has definitely become more focused.
Do you have a particular superhero property that you love to draw?
I’m not the biggest superhero fan, but if I had my pick it would be either Batman, Flash, Wolverine or Constantine.
I got to meet you briefly at New York Comic-Con. Do you have any memorable experiences from conventions?
Seeing the honest excitement of people that like your work. It’s something that always catches me by surprise and I really appreciate it.
What piece of advice would you give to aspiring artists?
Draw everyday, draw from life as much as possible, go to museums, study art history. Don’t just look at comics, try to find what speaks to you in as many different places as possible.
Do you have any upcoming projects or pieces that you’re excited about?
I’m currently working on a Mini-Comic with Zachary Clemente that I’m pretty excited about, Expatriate with Chris Irvin.
You can find Ricardo on his website, and through his twitter account. Go and let him know which piece of his art you love best!
Ricardo also has some of his artwork for sale through his shop. If you want original pages of his comic Zero, this is the place to go.