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From Kid Vendor to Freelance Cartoonist - An Interview with Eric Aquino

February 21, 2018
by Jason Dulay 
Jason is the founder and CEO of Work from Home Roadmap and VA Bootcamp. Aside from teaching Filipinos how to succeed working from home, he likes traveling, playing board games, and drinking coffee.
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Watch this interview to discover the story of a Cartoonist, Eric Aquino on #JasSuccess.

Eric is a portrait artist, 2D animator, and textbook illustrator before he ventured into freelancing.

In this interview, Eric shared a lot, including;

✅ His childhood life as a cartoon fan
✅ His struggles before he became an artist
✅ His work experience in his art career

and a lot more...

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Notable Quotes:

  • No experience, but knowledgeable in drawing.
  • It’s only a sideline, find a permanent job.
  • If you are an Ilocano, you should have a job, any job.
  • Pursue what you love, go there and do it. At first, it was hard, train your skills, change your mindset, don’t mind money at first, just keep on practice and practice, eventually,y people will notice your skills and then they will pay for your skills.
  • Pursue what you love, but make sure you know what you love.
  • Don’t skip basics. No need to shortcut.
  • Learn every day. Be a sponge.
  • Don’t pretend that you know everything because if you do, you don’t have a space for yourself. You got for yourself and there’s no more information will put into your mind.
  • If I stop learning today, thousands, millions of people that everyday practice, and at the end of the day, I’m the one who will left behind.
  • All of us has a talent to enhance, small talent, big effort.
  • Watch, observe and execute.
  • Freelance was very important to us, because we own our time.
  • Love and indentify what do you really want and then practice it.
  • Wise man know they don’t know everything.
  • Practice makes perfect.
  •  It took a lot of hard work where you are.
  • For a newbie, if this is what they want to do, if you start it, then finish it.
  • Whatever happens,  keep practice whatever your passion. Until it becomes a hobby for you.
  • Don’t forget to pray and praise the Lord for what He have done for you. Be thankful for all the blessings and be an inspiration to others.

Eric “Eric Toons” Aquino journey to Freelancing

  • When he was a kid, he became a vendor to help his parents for their needs.
  • A graduate of Political Science.
  • He worked as Jollibee crew for 1 year.
  • He worked at SM Makati as Utility Clerk, then an animator at Animation Master Studio.
  • He also worked in different kinds of publishing company for 5 years. After 3 years in an office job he started to seek online jobs.
  • He quit work because of inadequate income, stress and burnout and he needs freedom.

Q&A Highlights :

Q: Yung Disney pala  dito pala ginawa yung iba sa Pixar?

A:  No, pangalan ng studio dito Toon City, hindi nyo kasi alam na dito na upsize yung iba, Sub-con sya dito.

Q: Can you share ba about what movies that you work on?

A:  TV series lang kasi ako noon dahil baguhan pa, TV series lang yung napasukan kung project kasi pagsinabing feature animation, may mga movies na mga beterano na gumagawa. Yung first project ko don as animator is Curious George, yung monkey na may kasamang nakadilaw na lalaki!? Pambata yun. Under Universal Studios.

Q: What advise you can give to those people na may passion sila na hindi nila na pursue dahil sabi walang pera?

A: First, unang point ko diyan pursue what you love. Go there and do it, kahit anong mangyari, kailangan ito ang gusto ko. Sa una mahirap yun, kasi natutunan ko sa arts eh, sa una training ground ka, sa una magpapalakas ka muna ng skills mo. Kasi may time na naging frustrated ako sa painting non, ang mind set ko lagi bumenta. Kaya na re-reject ako non eh. Sabi ko may mali, kailangan ko ayusin yung mind set ko. Kailangan practice, practice, huwag mo munang isipin yung pera hayaan mo muna, eventually pag na practice ka na, and then, tao na mismo magsasabi sa'yo, and they will pay you for your skill.

Pangalawa, pursue what you love pero dapat alam mo yung love mo. Ako pinili ko yung cartoons yan ang love ko eh. Yan na ginawa kung bridge through success training, yung love mo dapat alam mo. And don’t skip basic. Kasi pag nag-skip ka madali kang matumba. Learn everyday,  huwag kang mag-marunong marunong. Kahit may alam ka na, kahit professional ka na, huwag kang tumigil, learn everyday. Ang analogy ko noon, kung ako tumigil sa pag-aaral today, napakaraming thousands and millions of people ang magpa-practice, baka maunahan ako.

Q: Like you are saying struggle, pag-aaral, practice na yun, how many hours, months, years of practice did it take to bring you where you are?

A: Nag-start kasi ako bata pa ako. Siguro in my professional career, it took 9 months para lang magka-trabaho sa studio na yun. I’m more observing muna bago execute. Watch, observe, execute.

Q: For what I see is eventhough you continually learning, parang masaya ka di ba?

A: Yun ang pinaka magandang part sa pagiging artist, kasi gusto mo ginagawa mo, at the same time nagkaka-income ka pa. Unlike before hindi pa ako freelance, although artist ako noon, illustrator, gusto ko yung ginagawa ko pero parang hindi pa kompleto yung pagiging artist ko, as employee kasi, 8-6pm nasa office ka, paulit-ulit yung routine, drawing, na-stress na ako. Burnout na ako sa ganon. Napakahalaga ng freelance sa atin kasi handle natin ang oras natin.

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by Jason Dulay 
Jason is the founder and CEO of Work from Home Roadmap and VA Bootcamp. Aside from teaching Filipinos how to succeed working from home, he likes traveling, playing board games, and drinking coffee.

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84 comments on “From Kid Vendor to Freelance Cartoonist - An Interview with Eric Aquino”

    4. Sir Eric yung panganay ko may talent eh... pag di na sya busy sa school papaturuan ko sayo... yung bunso ko naman waley talent pero kaka try ayun laki na improvement ng drawing nya

      Reply

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