The Student Teacher: Ruben Nacion -- TDKPH Artist of the Month
This year's Batman Day, Comic Odyssey and The Dark Knight Philippines invited Ruben Nacion as one of the artist for the event. Twelve of his artwork from last year's Inktober were printed by TDKPH and were given to CO customers during the said event.
Ruben Nacion, known by the community as Bennac, grew up in a household filled with talented artists. At a young age, he used to man their family-owned Sari-Sari store where he would draw superheroes on cigarette boxes. Back then he couldn't afford to buy action figures so he used those drawings as cut-outs and played with it as if it were action figures.
Growing up, Bennac was highly influenced by Larry Alcala, Sergio Aragones, and Nonoy Marcelo. He also liked watching Popeye, Scooby Doo, and Super Friends. All of which contributed to his art style of mixed cartooning and social realism.
Bennac considers himself as a shy boy so he used his artwork to express his feelings. All of these factors combined, he was convinced that he wanted to become a cartoonist. His uncle tried to convince him to take up agriculture, but Bennac was free from doubt that he wanted to become a cartoonist and an animator.
He finished Industrial Education major in Drafting at the Technological University of the Philippines at the age of 19. From there, he got accepted in the Philippine Animation Studios as an animator after submitting a drawing of Wolverine. He made scenes and a plethora of character movements for Johnny Test. Later on worked for Inquirer publication under Bandera from 2007 to 2010. After which, Bennac worked for Business Mirror as an Editorial Cartoonist while teaching Drafting and Visual Arts in Colegio San Agustin Makati. Thereafter, he also taught in the College of St. Benilde.
Realizing his dreams, he won various of awards in both cartoon and animation categories. Bennac became a back-to-back award winner of the "Carbon Cutting Contest vs Climate Change" in 2009 and in 2010. He also won the grand prize in the 12th Gawad CCP for Alternative Film and Video in the Experimental Animation Category. As a teacher, Bennac was also awarded as the Best Teacher in Makati City in 1995.
His advice to aspiring artists is to learn how to prioritize. His road to achieving his dream was not that easy. He had to set aside some goals in order to provide for his family.
"One hungry artist is okay but a hungry family of an artist is a very difficult situation. Kaya I had to go back into teaching... I just did an inking job for Communist Manifesto with Jann Galino and I did a Malampaya comics for Shell and National Bookstore gig but it is still not enough to feed a family."
TONSBoth a teacher and a true disciple of the arts, Bennac gives importance to constructive criticism. Being a teacher, he also thinks of himself as a student who constantly learn tips from his colleagues and students. Despite winning of awards, he keeps his foot on the ground and accept the fact that he has a lot to learn from other artists and students. He constantly listen to his friends who try to guide him in developing his skills as an artist.
Bennac admires the enthusiasm of the younger artists. He sees their passion similar to those exemplified by the older artists. One thing that he couldn't stand is arrogance and the sense of superiority in the realm of the art community.
Intimidating are his achievements in the art community, Bennac is one of the humblest artists we've met. His passion towards art and to collecting comicbooks and action figures is contagious. Bennac is a genuine "geek" with a heart that makes collecting fun. We encourage everyone to follow his pages: Bennac Cartoons and Cartoon Nacion by Bennac.
