Miracle Animation Studios Inc.

     Kerby Rosanes is an internationally known Filipino dooodle artist whom Grace invited to speak to Top Peg artists, staff and students at the Top Peg Studio in Las Piñas last June 17, 2015 from 1:30 to 4:00 pm. Grace said that this was to inspire her artists and students as she was impressed with the way Kerby utilized all his knowledge, experience and talent in art and marketing to build a good career as a young artist. Kerby’s topic is about how to get work and be known using the Internet and social media. Grace met Kerby sometime last year as they were both invited speakers at the College of St. Benilde School of Design & Arts. As a token, Grace gave Kerby a certificate of appreciation, some gifts and honoraria.

Kerby Rosanes 

Kerby with Top Peg Institute of Animation & Design Students

Animation Director – Alstaire, Creative Programs -Tharine, Kerby

Managing Director – Grace, Web Dev Instructor – Jonathan

   Kerby Rosanes Receives Certificate from Grace

     Kerby is 24 years old and is a graduate of fine arts at the University of Albay and he has also finished some IT courses. After college, he started out in a local marketing firm doing some posters, business cards and entering blogs. After awhile, he got bored and started to draw, paint water colors and do colored pencil artworks after office hours. He did not feel that his artworks were for him, so he started looking for a niche and he found it in doodling.

Early Style Mural

Kerby”s Doodles

1000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle

       Tribute to Hayao Miyazaki

     He posted his doodles in Deviant Art, wherein a Malaysian company saw it and asked him to do a T-shirt design and also print his own doodle designs as partners. After awhile, the Malaysian firm contacted him again as his design was selling well and the firm asked him to do 6 more new designs for T-shirts which are only sold exclusively in Malaysia.  Kerby was given free airfare and hotel accommodation to travel to Malaysia for promotion purposes. To promote his Malaysian printed T-shirts, Kerby went back home with 6 bags of T-shirts. 

     Kerby’s Deviant Art Page

     After sometime, Nike commissioned him to do a doodle design for a T-shirt. From thereon, Kerby studied how to market himself through the Internet. He primarily uses Google and Facebook as search engines. Other sites such as Instagram, Tumbler, Twitter and Behance are also used. Behance gets him good coverage when he has a big project or account from a client, he just submits the artwork to Behance and it is posted for free. 

Kerby’s Behance Page

Kerby’s Website

     Kerby also puts his artwork at a site where he gets royalties for his work that are used in T-shirts, mugs, bags, pillows, jackets, phone cases etc. the royalties pays for his utilities. He also uses tags, an example is where he uses a P1,000 sketch pad and ties it up with Moleskin – the company that produces it. Many artists hate him for promoting the expensive sketch pad, but after sometime the Italian company for the sketch pad commissioned him to do a sketch pad cover for them. Kerby now lives in a condominium somewhere in Metro Manila and he only started sometime in 2012. 

Commissioned Art Work

Mazda Commission

Coloring Book Commission

     Some Top Peg artists who also post their works on the Internet asked him how he handles the bashers and trolls in the Internet. Kerby said just ignore them and if the comments are below the belt, just ban them. He added he just posts artworks and does not post anything that dwells on politics or religion. One time he posted an artwork related to the Philippine Independence Day, some reacted: ‘Filipino ka pa la’ (Oh, you’re a Filipino) and he received many other comments in Tagalog. From his experience trolls and bashers come in when they know you are a Filipino and the bashers themselves are Filipinos and not foreigners – Ouch!

Art Based on Comments and Suggestions

Kerby’s Work Recognized Abroad

    Kerby is currently working on a book (2 volumes) about doodles that is funded abroad. It will be sold internationally first before being sold to the country via Powerbooks and other book stores. His work is mostly for foreign clients and has limited clients here. One time a friend of his congratulated him for having T-shirts designed by him being sold in some SM branches; Kerby said he has no T-shirt designed for the local market. Some local businessman is copying his work illegally – Ouch again!

Article by Edward L. Tan – interviewed Grace and Alstaire by phone. Pictures by Alstaire.