Picture this: you’re a student daydreaming about who you could be, what you could do, or even how life could turn out. You’re surrounded by a family of medical professionals urging you to follow suit.
But when you finally make it, you realize there’s more to life than what’s around you.
This is the story of nursing grad turned professional artist Justine Cruz, and how passion can take you far, as long as you work on it and believe in yourself.
Chance encounters of the random sort
Justine Cruz is an Art Director, Illustrator, and Concept Artist based in the Philippines, and how I met him was pure coincidence.
In the sea of immense talent at this year’s Super Manila Comic Con, I spotted something I wouldn’t have expected: Magic: The Gathering cards. Upon closer inspection, they were artist proofs, or MTG cards without a card back. Something only artists would have. And wouldn’t you know it, that same artist also drew the merc with a mouth, Deadpool, or more specifically, the art for the Deadpool Trading Card.
To draw for Magic: The Gathering (and a Marvel character at that) is a privilege reserved for someone with the skill and prestige to match. Justine wasn’t handed this role; it was the culmination of a life filled with art, even when the odds were stacked against him.
Art is more than an extracurricular
Like most Filipino households, there’s sure to be a Doctor, a Nurse, an Engineer, or even a Lawyer among its ranks, often from the older generation. This was the same for Justine.
In his case, the medical field was his family’s forte, and being young at the time, he was influenced to follow suit. But at every stage of his academic journey, art always found its way in.
Grade school is an exploratory phase in education, where everyone draws one way or another. But Justine even won competitions. High school is when people take their interests further, and Justine honed his craft, taking up charcoal sketching through self-study. It was particularly difficult then, with no online guides or YouTube. Just books. Come college, the first crossroads in Justine’s academic career arrived, when he encountered the Fine Arts program at the University of Santo Tomas (which also offered medical courses).
While that encounter showed Justine how far art could take him, he still pursued his degree with art remaining in his life one way or another. Student organizations tapped into his artistic talent, but his eyes were set on what came after college. Before he knew it, he was already taking his licensure exam.
Bored with Boards into Storyboards
Keep studying and working toward a goal, and over time that goal becomes inevitable. For Justine, who had been conditioned and prepared for the medical field throughout his life, taking the boards was one such inevitability. People rarely talk about it, but there’s this vacant time between taking a board exam and waiting for the results. Since reality hadn’t set in (and a little work never hurt anyone) Justine dipped his toes into animation.
Together with his art associates, Justine tried working at Toei Animation. Unfortunately, a med grad with no prior work experience or professional art background wouldn’t pass. But when a door closes, a window opens, and another opportunity showed itself. Justine took an art exam for subcontractor work under another animation studio, and he passed. That’s how he began working professionally in animation and received training along the way. He even worked for a time on some well-known franchises like One Piece, Dragon Ball, Digimon (Xros Wars), and Pretty Cure!
Going big or going home
It was smooth sailing as he worked on dream projects, even while waiting for his board results. Justine passed as a nurse but reality set in. With jobs already overcongested, what more in the medical field? Getting a job, either here or abroad, required further training. But did you know you had to pay for that?
At this crossroads, Justine had two choices: follow the path he was raised for or go with his gut. On one hand, there was an opportunity waiting for him abroad, but it meant being a student again. On the other, he could continue his art, even if it didn’t pay well. Struggling artists are real, and Justine didn’t have the luxury of time or money especially given his family background. Still, he kept his head high and worked on his craft.
Years passed, and Justine kept practicing. Speaking of craft, he even worked on art adjacent to Warcraft and other major IPs and games. It all started with practice, being in the right environment, and, of course, taking chances. I asked when things really started rolling, and he said it was when he tried out through social media. A tweet by Mark Winters, one of Magic: The Gathering’s previous art directors, announced opportunities for Artifact, a digital collectible card game developed and published by Valve, similar to Hearthstone at the time. The rest, as they say, is history.
What-ifs and what’s next?
It was a fun time reminiscing with Justine about his art journey, especially considering this was his passion. Before we ended our chat, I asked him for some advice for aspiring artists, or anyone who wants to take a chance on themselves. He left this:
“Keep studying and practicing! There are so many resources out there but people just download so actually use them! Your art style will come but focus on fundamentals because your own style will eventually come out.”
Life works in mysterious ways, and while plans may change, sometimes passion really can take you far. The conversation was short but insightful, and while I may not be adjacent to the arts, just being around passionate individuals like Justine is inspiring in itself.
To check out Justine’s works or even follow his progress, check out his social media pages here:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justinecruzart/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/justinecruzart/
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551054876934
ArtStation: https://www.artstation.com/justinecruzart
