An Interview w/ Character Artist Ben Camberos

It’s been awhile since I’ve visited the walls of FYIllo, but its time for that to change as I crawl back from the recesses of a self-imposed sabbatical. As recuperation I offer my latest interview with a talented fella by the name of Ben Camberos- a young man from Tijuana whose work has graced the promotional artwork for bands like Metallica and Limp Bizkit while in employ by Giant (Obey). He also has a penchant for illustrating sexy ladies and famous horror movie icons which is always a plus in my book.

View Ben’s Portfolio |  Visit Ben’s Blog |  Follow Ben on Twitter

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So, Ben, how did you get started in illustration, are you self taught or did you take courses at a university?

I studied Graphic Design because that was the only career that was available in which they had Visual Arts in my hometown. It was also the career closest to cartooning, animation, character design etc. It was there that I met some friends that wanted to do the same as I and we self taught ourselves a lot of things.

One course you took was taught by Sandra Equihua and Jorge Gutiérrez (El Tigre). What sort of impact did they have on the path you’ve chosen as an artist?

Since I can remember I always wanted to do cartoons, but before taking that course I always thought of it as a hobby. Jorge and Sandra made me see that I could make a living out of it– I think it was one of the greatest turning points of my life.

I recognize a lot of references to American pop culture in your work? How do these elements coincide with your childhood growing up in Mexico?

Well, my hometown (Tijuana) is like 15 min walking distance from the US border (Sandiego, CA). When I was a kid all we had was American television. We had like ten channels in English and only two in Spanish and they didn’t show any cartoons. I also watched movies in English, bought my comics in the USA… so I guess that’s why American pop culture has a very powerful influence on my work.

There’s a definite Bruce Timm-vibe to your characters, has Timm’s work been a strong influence in the evolution of your own style?

Definitely. I started to pay attention and notice the artists and cartoon creators thanks to Bruce Timm’s Batman: The Animated Series back in the 90’s. I also have to mention that Shane Glines has been a great influence.

Who/what else do you consider to be influences?

Well, like I said before Shane Glines had a great influence, but I’d also like to mention: Audrey Kawasaki, Tyson McAdoo, Dean Yeagle, Steve Lambe, Katie Rice, Óscar Bazaldúa, Cesar Evangelista, Sandra Equihua, Fafi, Jerome Mireault, Tim Biskup, Tara McPherson, Chris Sanders, and Jamie Hewlett.

How do you typically approach character design? Do you have a process through which each design goes (fleshing out a backstory, following a script, sketching, etc)?

Yeah, I have a process that consists on a lot of writing first- getting a backstory is very important. If I get a script already done there’s very little to do on the backstory, but if I’m starting from scratch I need to do a lot of research (history books, movies, etc). Once I have a detailed backstory I start to sketch… a lot of sketching.

What’s the most important factor to consider when designing a new character?

In my opinion the most important thing is writing the backstory and personality of the character. An artist needs a very well written character to compliment his/her design. It’s a shame that there are many well drawn characters out there, but with a very poor backstory and personality.

As a freelancer, have you found it difficult to promote yourself within the industry? How do you typically find new clients?

First of all I enjoy doing my job! If I didn’t had any needs I would do it for free. Unfortunately thats not the case [laughs], but self promos and doing collaborations with other artists are very important. More importantly is showing your work online. It may seem like free work, but how else could anyone see what are you capable of? Maybe that’s why I don’t find it difficult.

Are there any resources you would recommend to anyone interested in character design?

Ben Caldwell’s Action! Cartooning helped me a lot. Also, I find inspiration in the art books for animated movies like Pixar and checking out the blogs/websites of the artists I mentioned before.

In one word, what “fuels” your work?

Progress.