FAITH IN THYSELF: How an Ilonggo artist’s passion reaches international comic industry

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By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

Can you recall what you aspired to be when you were a child?

As children, most of us had a clear and straightforward vision of what we wanted to become when we grew up. In our innocent minds, we may have imagined ourselves donning a white coat and a stethoscope, or perhaps sporting a hard hat and steel-toed boots. Alfred Cabillon, on the other hand, dreamed of becoming a comic book artist.

At age 25, the Mandurriao native has already made this dream a reality by creating illustrations for comics or graphic novels of international clients, works being featured in some international comic book conventions, and above all, being an instructor for comic book creation in aspiring artists worldwide.

The humble and tough beginnings

Alfred was introduced to comic books by his grandparents who used to collect them when he was young. He was captivated by the characters and the vivid colors in the vintage comics and started tracing them on see-through bond paper.

“My grandfather and grandmother collected comic books when I was a kid. I would actually trace what’s in it in a very see-through type of bond paper,” Alfred recalled.

This sparked his interest in sketching and creating characters and storylines, which eventually led him to pursue Bachelor of Science in Digital Media and Interactive Arts at Central Philippine University

“I always dreamed of seeing my name in comic book pages. I think it is fulfilling to see your work and get to sign it,” he said.

For Alfred, life isn’t always sunshine and rainbows because sometimes you have to be certain in the middle of uncertainty. Before the onset of the pandemic, he dropped out of college due to some personal reasons, finances in particular, as he detailed.

“I have not finished my college education due to personal reasons and I took this gamble to kickstart this comic career, thinking that it is too far-fetched,” he said.

As someone who is not born with a silver spoon, Alfred has to work his way up by doubling his efforts for his art to be recognized in the comic industry.

“I found ways to help myself and I resorted to my talent. I had my friends that backed me up. I borrowed a laptop and a pen tab from my classmate before and I tried doing more artwork. I continued posting on my social media accounts since 2016,” he shared.

Alfred’s efforts paid off when he was referred to his first foreign client by fellow Ilonggo comic artist, Jun Premiro.

“He found my work on Facebook. He had me on trial by letting me color a Manny Pacquiao sketch he made. He told me that if I colored it, he would show it to his client and luckily they were impressed. And the rest of it is history,” he shared.

The Success Story

With faith in himself and his dreams, Alfred is now an established comic book artist who has worked for entertainment companies from California, Australia, and the United Kingdom.

His tours de force exhibited or published in the London-based entertainment publisher Dark Wave Comics ®, L.A. Comic Con , DC.com or DC Comics, Artix Entertainment, and Long Beach Comic Con in California, among others.

One of his works for a client also got signed by the revered comic-book creator Stan Lee.

Alfred published his own comic book entitled “Budworld,” which can be viewed for free on the Mathematician Records website, and colored the 2018 graphic novel “El Frio,” which is available for purchase on Amazon.

More of Alfred’s achievements in his career as a colorist are also his two successful kickstarter comic book projects entitled Dino Thrashers. The comic book is about the battle between good and evil between two dinosaur factions.

Currently, Alfred is having two master classes in the online learning and teaching marketplace, Udemy. His lectures cover comic book creation and restoring or colorizing old vintage photos. Since he started, he already had around 18,000 students across the globe.

On top of all his achievements, Alfred believes that it all boils down to his perseverance and his vision to be a professional comic artist.

“My journey was like a jungle. I went through the vast wilderness, where at the end of it, I saw the mythical city El Dorado full of gold,” he said.

Alfred has one ultimate dream: “To work in any Batman comic books. Even if it is just coloring, or just lettering.”

From drawing sketches in a paper to a digital comic art software, Alfred believes that it only takes faith in yourself and the rest will just fall into place.

“Just do your own thing. Keep your passion burning. Do what you love. Just keep walking and you will be surprised you’re already there,” he said.

Check Alfred Cabillon’s works here:

https://www.udemy.com/user/alfred-cabillon/

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dinothrashers2/dino-thrasher-issue-1

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dinothrashers2/dino-thrashers