Joy Cardaño

Joy is a digital illustrator from the Philippines. Joy uses vibrant colors and expressive characters in her commercial and personal work that has been published in books, magazines, and beyond. Joy has been an INPRNT artist since 2018.

Tell us a bit about yourself.
I’m Joy, a digital illustrator from the Philippines. I like to draw what I feel. I love gloomy weather, coffee, napping and spending time with my cat, Siomai.

What is the main medium, content, and/or themes that are frequently present in your work?
I mostly draw digitally using Procreate. But, I occasionally paint using gouache. I draw lots of girls and plants and emotions using vibrant colors.

What have been some critical moments or challenges in your career/work that have shifted your perspective creatively?
When I dropped out of college, I was so lost. And all I wanted to do was draw. So I used what I learned in college (I studied Fine Arts majoring in Visual Communication) and made it a living doing portrait commissions and graphic design. As years went by, I developed my own style and became a digital illustrator. I work on personal and commercial projects. And got featured in books and magazines and I even had a chance to be a part of a group show in the US.

Keeping a balance with social media can be challenging for artists. What is your approach to social media, online community, and promoting your work?
Social media’s algorithm is very unpredictable. I do get down when I don’t reach more people but I have to remind myself that it’s not a me problem haha. But being present and being there is the key. You can repost your works because you never know who’s watching. Also doing conventions and being with the community helps a ton!

Tell us about your artistic process.
When I have a concept in mind, I do a rough sketch of it. Then, I look up inspirations for that illustration to develop the idea more. And it makes the process easier. Once I do the concept sketch, I go on with the line art and base colors. I merge layers frequently and change the blend modes until I get the color I want.

What are your hobbies and interests outside of creating art? How do these affect you creatively?
I love reading manga, taking photos, cooking, listening to horror podcasts, playing the sims, learning about cats, learning about plants and learning Nihongo. I’m not that good at some of those but I enjoy them. Inspiration comes from everything, even the most mundane things. Experiencing life gives creativity the boost we need.

How do you find inspiration and what are those inspirations?
I find inspiration from everything around me. Works by my favorite artists, music, anime, nature, places, emotions and personal experiences.

How do you get motivated or inspired to push past creative blocks?
When I get art blocks, I watch my favorite shows, clean (even if it’s already clean lol) because sometimes I’ll open a sketchbook and get inspired by my older works. But sometimes the answer is just taking a nap and cuddling/playing with my cat!

Who are artists or people who have influenced you?
I learned to love drawing by watching my cousin (lexclusive) draw when I was younger. As the years go by, I developed an art style which is heavily influenced by Loish, Kuvshinov Ilya, Gabriel Picolo and Meyoco.

Do you have any advice for students or other artists who are looking to start sell their work? 

If you’re looking for a sign. We all start somewhere and what better time than now. You can get client feedback once you put your stuff out there.

What’s next for you?

I’m looking forward to more collaborations, conventions and group shows in the future. 🙂