Today we’d like to introduce you to Arthur Ebuen.
Hi Arthur, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I was a military brat, so we did a lot of moving early in my life. I was born in Italy but don’t remember much of it, we eventually settled in Paradise Hills here in San Diego. Art was always a big part of my education and I always knew I was going to be an animator. My plans to become an animator didn’t go through the path I dreamed but I made it happen. I got to animate on the first season of Futurama and then a few seasons on The Simpsons. I’m proud to say, I was on the crew when we won an Emmy in one of those seasons. Somewhere in my sixth year of being in L.A. and living what I thought was my dream in animation, I found myself burned out from drawing. It was soul crushing, it’s all I’ve ever wanted. Unfortunately, it showed in my work. My last season on The Simpsons, I was not asked to return the following season and as much as it hurt, it felt right.
I knew I wanted to be in the arts and loved telling stories, so I decided to go back to art school. I moved to Boston to study Advertising, Design, and Photography. I have some strong core memories out there and really love that city. In the end, I decided to move back to San Diego where I married my high school sweetheart and started my new career.
I spent the next 18 years working my way up in Advertising and Design. From being on the pre-press side at a local newspaper, to becoming lead Senior Graphic Designer at Jack in the Box corporate, to heading the creative department as Associate Creative Director at Civilian. I got to put my experience into some very meaningful work there, creating messaging for mental health awareness and deep stories about suicide prevention. All my work always came down to storytelling. A lot of it was told through video production for commercials. The number of months of research, testing, writing, and rewriting to help tell our clients’ stories was so intense. All for a 30-second spot. That was a bit of a frustration, it felt like there was always more to say.
I’ve since moved on to video production but always wished I could harness that power to research and learn, to write a longer form story, a comic. My buddy, Justin Giampaoli, who was in the comics industry encouraged me to write a script. Why not, right? Well, I spent the next few years on my off time writing my series, ©ALIFORNIA, INC. I’d have Justin edit when we’d meet for lunch or dinner. After completing the scripts I spent the next couple of years looking for an illustrative partner, that’s when I met Dave Law at a convention. It’s been two years since we launched issue #1. This January, we’ll be Kickstarting our fourth and final issue. It’s been a fun winding road of creative discovery. I’ve been pushing my comics career, putting myself out there to meet more industry professionals and I’ve been welcomed by some of the warmest creatives.
Full disclosure, I’m not making much in comics. But when someone tells me they’ve read my story and can’t wait for more, that’s the most creatively fulfilled I’ve ever felt. Even more than the Emmy. ©ALIFORNIA, INC. is MY story, not a client’s or someone else’s big show or movie I’m helping bring to life. This is something I wrote and someone just told me they’ve connected with it…and LIKED it?! I can’t ever get over that feeling. It fuels my desire to write my next series.
Comics are what got me started drawing. Now, I’ve come back and never knew it would be through writing and I can’t be any happier. I’m in year two of diving head first into my comics career and since, I’ve exhibited at eight conventions (some I’ve paneled at), helped launch a new convention, had three successful Kickstarters, have been invited to write on a few ongoing anthologies, been at a half a dozen signings/pop-up events, and been a guest on multiple podcasts. What I enjoy the most of it all, is meeting so many great people in comics. My career in this industry is only starting and I am excited to continue building. I feel like I found my people, finally.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There were many struggles starting with the animation career. I was one of the top artists in high school but I didn’t initially get accepted into my art school of choice, that’s when I put together that I was up against all the other high schools’ top artists.
After a few years of pursuing my dream to be an animator and making it happen, I realized my heart wasn’t in it. Realizing a dream wasn’t what I wanted was tough. I thought I always knew what I wanted. Going from having a great career and job to moving across the country and being a struggle art student was a major adjustment.
After graduating, it meant starting from the bottom of the Advertising and Design industry but I really did enjoy it. I lasted 18 years but something still didn’t feel just right artistically.
Now that I’m writing comics and building my career in it, I’m finally feeling like I know where I want to be but there is a current struggle. It’s not fast or cheap, a lot of us in comics have to find our own funding and do most of our own marketing. Crowdfunding my projects has been a new marketing strategy I’ve been diving deep into and am enjoying. Most of marketing I enjoy, that’s where I think I have a little bit of a leg up. The biggest problem is finding the balance of making (writing) the comics, producing the comics, and then marketing the comics, all mostly on my own. At the same time, I have full control. It’s on me if it doesn’t do well, it’s on me if it does. Only I can make sure the most is being done. This is a struggle I’m happy to be in.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
For most of my life as an artist I’ve been known as a visual creative. I’ve illustrated and animated, for my current clients I’m producing video helping them write, direct, and produce their projects to life. Now that I have a few comics out and have met other writers and have been referred to as a writer, I really feel at home with that title. I enjoy putting words together on a page to help drive a feeling.
I really believe all my different skills have set me up to be a strong writer. I can see the scenes in my head, I can direct the sequences and know how to tell a story visually to keep the narrative captivating. My experience with composition in photography and color theory in painting, help me describe moments or points-of-view through my writing. Then advertising, it’s all about efficiency. How do you make the strongest impact with the least amount of time, money, words, actions, etc. I’ve learned to edit my writing to stay on track and focused, but like any great advertising, you have to inspire a feeling.
Finally, my experience with marketing helps me immensely. Before, during, and after making the (comic, event, video) I’m continuously thinking about how to meaningfully bring awareness to the project to the right audience. Some example: is it social media, getting interviewed on a podcast, or being a guest panelist at a convention?
Besides making the THING, I’m always thinking about how to elevate it and how to reach the right people who’d want to see it. All on top of writing, as long as I can write I’ll be happy to promote it.
Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
I’ve always had an outlook on life that it’s short and fleeting. My mom passed away when I was only 16, due to health reasons. Since, I’ve really made sure to take care of myself so I’m here for my kids for a long time. I’ve always worked hard and worked on being healthy. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, a lot of my perspective shifted. I had less direct contact with work and more with my wife and kids. Now I can’t spend enough time with them. We’ve learned to be more present with each other without losing our drive to build our personal goals. We do that by sharing those goals with each other. When I get accepted into a convention, they’re the first to know and to celebrate with me. When the kids work on school projects, we’re as involved as they want us to be but we’re 100% cheering them on. The best lesson I learned was I can do a lot to be around for my kids but I need to make sure I’m also in the present with them as well.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://arthurebuen.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artebuen/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/artebuen/
- Other: https://studio12-7.com/
Image Credits
Each image uploaded has been labeled to include names.
