Spotlight Shines On “Raymund Bermudez:” From Independent to Mainstream!
From independent to mainstream...
Raymund Bermudez has certainly become one of DC's newest and most promising artists, but
what people might not know is that, just before his launch into DC Comics, he had done a spectacular piece for Future Scope Comics, virtually right before working on DC's "Action Comics: Lex Luthur,” issue #23.3! He is currently lined up to draw future Marvel comic book story arch's, in addition to having Valiant knocking at his door! And he has drawn(and continue to draw) for various upcoming Future Scope titles! Nope, we are not pulling your leg here! He actually did a promotional piece for Future Scope Comics, a promotional piece of their first female heroine, "Celestine," a character from one of their upcoming titles, "Celestine," so this is a special treat for MAS/Future Scope Comics to have been able to sit down and interview this great artist and hear his climb to the top of the ladder and his assertion into the mainstream.
Introducing, Raymund Bermudez:
Born in Quezo City, Philippines, this imaginative child seemed destine for big things. Raymund was one of six siblings. He has five brothers and one sister. His father was an officer in the US Navy for almost ten years, starting from the 60's to the early 70's, while his mother took care of the kids at home. Much like most young artists, his first introduction to art came from things he saw around him. This pushed his imagination far beyond it's limitations!
As early as 3 or 4 (Raymund would recall), he was drawing.
His older brothers would draw robots and dinosaurs so he drew robots and dinosaurs. Most of the reference of the robots came from very popular giant robot anime characters. Raymunds was really awestruck by the art of these larger than life figures and couldn't stifle the fun of drawing these images. Raymund shares a very cool story of just how much he was influenced by the great anime figures.
"I also would pull out the number 4 or letter ‘D’ encyclopedia, open the dinosaur pages and doodle away. I would sometimes draw them on cardboard and cut them out, make cardboard stands for each and presto, I got my very own dinosaur figurines."
Raymund told us that all of his siblings had the natural talent. All of his brothers and his sister could have been pro artists if they chose to but most of them took it more as a hobby than anything else. “Art was always in his family blood!”
Interestingly enough, Raymund just recently began working as a comic artist, professionally.
As a kid, as early as 6 years of age, would also draw a lot of DC characters.
"I don't know if you guys know the cartoon “Super Friends.” Well, that's what made me start liking comic book characters. I remember doing a lot of these in school and my classmates would be looking over my shoulder because they say I drew them well.
“The very first full comic project I had was the one with DC, Villains Month Luther 23.3. From that a lot of offers came, mainstream and independent."
This is huge because Raymund Bermudez actually has only been drawing comic books for just 3 years, which is much quicker time period than the average independent artist is working independently before getting signed to one of the big three. Pretty freaking impressive, I must say!
One a personal note, Future Scope Comics got the distinct pleasure of Working with Raymund right
before he was signed to one of the BIG THREE! I(Jonathan Syphax) had commissioned him to do a piece for me of my first female heroine, book "Celestine!" The image is a fantastic piece of our main character standing on a hill of bodies she had just cleaned house on, with a small gun-toting fighter looking up at her with admiration. The image was fantastic, garnering almost 220 likes on facebook upon its post. When asking Raymund about the experience, he gave some great feedback.
"I did a cover/poster for Future Scope. It is posted on their FB account. This girl is rising above a pile of dead bodies while a small person looks on.
“What I think of Future Scope stuff is that it's different. Different is a good thing for the industry. Just take a look at ‘Walking Dead.’ I think readers now want diversity in terms of story and even in art. This is well represented by the recent spike of indies. This is the best time for independents to put their stories out in the market."
Side note: Raymund will be doing an exclusive, special edition, collectors cover, for Future Scope Comics upcoming action title, “Lords Of Nevada(Lon” to be reveled at the 2015 New York Comic Con! I promise you, it will be a visual benchmark in the independent comic world!
But not all commission assignments are a stroll through the artistic meadow. Each commission poses different challenges, as each artist must find their way through. Raymund Expands on this point.
"Creative elbow room. Most of the time, they tell me we have this in mind, do your thing and go all out. I like it if this is the setup...
“An art page/cover with a description that I don’t really think would work is a challenging one. As an artist, of course I would have to comply and submit even though I’m not satisfied."
But the greatest strength about Raymund, among many is his diligence towards his task and his
constant push to grow and expand. Raymund commits himself to an artistic schedule that requires at least 10 hours of drawing per day (you heard it right) and countless additional hours throughout the week just doodling. He is also working on his own projects under the production of his own company, Art Shaft. Here he does comics, animation, 3D sculpting, movie collaborations, and storyboards for a number of clients locally and throughout the U.S.
He is also working on his own creator-owned comic now and 2 more by my production crew.
Raymund Bermudez shared his comic premise with us.
"It’s about kids getting lost in another dimension. Getting back home is a real conundrum for them. Its a full book. The script is almost done and I am doing a little concept art for characters and environments here and there. “I do it little by little every time I get some free time."
But it's not always easy to juggle home life, a business, and a professional artist’s schedule.
Keep in mind, Raymund is a dad (that's no easy task) of three kids. Cole, his oldest is almost 7, Alby is 4, and Macy is 11 months.
He says, "The two boys do show interest in art because they draw a lot. I usually let them be unless they ask for something or ask me to teach them. I don't teach them too much because my mentality is if I get too pushy, art might seem like work for them. An artist must love his/her craft. I want this love of craft instilled in them."
So what has he left them with, great words to help ensure success is this tough market we call the comic world.
"It’s yours so you will give 100% effort and you do it at your own pace; these are the advantages. The disadvantages would be that it’s yours so you won’t make money out of it immediately and then you do it at your own pace so because you do it only when you are free, which MEANS it will take forever to finish.
“Creating a good product is the probably the most important so, to me, it should automatically be the most difficult."
And which does he prefer, drawing or writing? The answer might not surprise you all that much.
"Art. I get more headaches making visuals than coming up with ideas and writing them down but its not to say writing is easy.”
So, as a person having come from the independent comic world to working professionally for the BIG three, where does he see the independent comic field going?
Answer: "I think the future is bright for comics. Thanks to the internet, getting your product known to editors, patrons, readers is not that difficult unlike back in the day. You can feel it now. [Readers] are looking out for more stories besides what the mainstream offers. So again, this is the best time for creator-owned graphic novels."
There you have it folks. You have gained a greater insight into the man, the father, and the artist, Raymund Bermudez ! If there is anything else to add, I think it's best to be said by the creator himself, so I leave you with Raymund’s words: "Our youngest brother and myself took it to the next level and are making money while doing what we love. How can you beat that?"
And we at MAS/Future Scope Comics couldn't agree more.
Until the next cool blog, this is your budding blog writer, signing out.
Peace and hair grease! I'm ghost.
MAS(MAS-MeansMore/The Future is Now)
Update: Congrats to Raymund Bermudez! Since the last time we have done this particular blog, Raymund has now been added to not only DC\s rooster of great artist, but Marvels as well! He has been slated to do artwork in Amazing Spiderman 1.3 and Amazing Spiderman-issue # 1.5! He has also done additional work on DC's Justice League 3000-issue # 5!
He will also be doing more art work for FutureScope Comic as well, so look out for that!
FutureScope signing out!
