Dissent

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#junkterrorbill #masstestingnowph Human rights are inherent to all human beings whether saints or criminals. Human rights aren’t there to “shield” criminals as some attest. It’s enshrined in our laws to protect ordinary citizens from the abuses of the state. The more we disregard these rights arbitrarily, the weaker our institutions become and the more dangerous it becomes for all of us.

A post shared by Rommel Joson (@rommeljoson) on Jun 4, 2020 at 4:05am PDT

Komura; Creator's Grant

In 2018, I won the first Komura; Creator’s Grant for a zine project I made with Ivan Reverente and Abi Dayacap (my wife). We called it Takatak Komiks—inspired by the sound ambulant street vendors made when selling cigarettes and candies.

June 2018, I saw an online call for zine proposals for a newly formed grant. I’m always on the lookout for things to fuel or fund some of the ideas that have been percolating in my head for years. I felt this was a great thing to get into. The barriers to entry were very few and I already had an idea that was in my head for over 10 years.

For years, my friend Ivan Reverente, my wife Abi, and I had been tossing around an idea for a packet of mini-comics. We’d never gotten around to doing it because real life always got in the way. I decided to go ahead and enter it as a proposal for the Komura; Creator’s Grant. If it got in, we’d get an extra push to do because of the money and the deadline. If not, well…no harm done.

Below are pages from the proposal I sent.

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Here’s the final design and some of the mini-comics we included inside.

Taking a Line for a Walk

I was invited to participate in a drawing exhibit at the University of the Philippines Vargas Museum. I don’t think I’ve ever drawn something this big. It was fun and liberating not having to worry about color.

Owl Friends

I’ve always wanted to do book covers, but I don’t get that many opportunities to really make them. I was lucky enough to recently get a simple redesign project from Anvil Publishing for one of their young-adult novels – Owl Friends written by Carla Pacis.

The novellette is set in the aftermath of the Mt. Pinatubo eruption in 1991 when residents were forced to flee their homes and relocate to safer areas. The story centers around the unlikely friendship between a young girl and an Aeta boy despite the prejudices against the Aeta triebe. The Aetas are one of the indigenous peoples of the Philippines.

Here’s the original book cover illustrated by Yasmin Ong.

In developing the studies, I tried two approaches – one similar to the previous cover where it focused on their faces, and the other used a wider shot that included the book’s setting.

Here’s the final render of the cover spread.

Boysen Paints

The Ms. Universe Pageant was held in the Philippines this year, and during the commercial breaks, Boysen Paints aired a series of Koreanovela inspired Permacoat TV Ads. I was tasked by the production team handling the TVC  to create the design of the mural artwork that was going to be used as a main plot point in the story.

The design went through several iterations before it was finally approved. Here are some of the studies along with the final design.

Study 1

Study 2

Final Design

Episode 1

Episode 2

Episode 3