Otherwise known as Pyrotensive, Robbie Bautista is a vector artist from the Philippines. His work vaies from realistic vexel portraits to pop art, but he always maintains an amazing sense of colour and composition.

Hey, thanks for your time. How did you get into drawing and illustration? Is it something you’ve always been interested in?

I started taking illustration seriously when I was in college because it was related to my degree. It was a struggle because I couldn’t draw anything decent back in high school so I never actually thought of pursuing it as a career until recently.

Some of your artwork features typography in innovative ways. What inspired you to intertwine text and artwork?

I’m a big fan of typography itself. I love working with type. Especially when I do graphic design, type is always essential so I kind of started applying it to my illustrations. Most of the time, I have to stop myself from including type into my work because it could get over-the-top.

Who are some of your favourite artists?

The work of Dave McKean opened my eyes to a different world of illustration. Another one on a complete opposite end is Jon Burgerman. Another one is Ben Templesmith. The only similarity they have that I love is the ability to create unique and interesting characters. That’s what I want to do.

Is there any style of art you personally dislike for any reason?

I’m open to any kind of visual art so I don’t really have any specific dislikes. I look more into the message of the piece and how it speaks to me and not the style that it was done.

How do you create your drawings? You work mainly in vector, but do you do premiminary sketches to guide you?

I start by doodling some concepts on paper. Once I’m happy with that, I go directly to Photoshop or Illustrator and vector it from scratch. I don’t scan my sketch on the computer anymore because it takes a lot of time. Sometimes, I sketch directly on the computer then vector it.

Finally, Do you hope to continue illustration and design in the long term, or do you hope to do something else?

Yeah, I think I might venture out into different fields of illustration such as children’s books, fashion illustration, editorial. Then hopefully I could get started on interior or fashion design, and photojournalism as well while still doing illustration jobs on the side.

You can find more of Robbie’s work at his Deviantart page.