Content creator Raco Ruiz is known for making people laugh on TikTok, but not everyone knows he’s also a talented artist.

For the unfamiliar, Raco rose to fame for his humorous skits portraying “conyo” culture, offering a unique twist with a “SpongeBro” perspective, imagining how Spongebob would be as a “conyo.” Now, he has over 233,000 followers on TikTok.

Besides his funny videos, the NYMA talent also has a knack for creating cool visual art.

In an exclusive interview with PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) via e-mail, Raco delved into his journey as a visual artist and how it all started.

He mentioned that visual arts have been a part of his life, even alongside his other interests, such as video direction and photography.

Raco said, “Visual art has always kind of been my thing, all throughout my life, it’s always been there. It may not have always been my main priority, but it was always there.

“For as long as I can remember, not a day has passed where I haven’t doodled or sketched something.

“Even with my other creative pursuits, like photography, video direction, and even TikTok [videos], I always kind of sketch out my ideas first, literally.

“So in a way, visual art has always been my constant companion throughout my life.”

Raco draws inspiration from a variety of influences, not limited to specific artists, and places emphasis on the overall vibes associated with a particular era or thing.

“I have soooo many influences, it’s hard to just name a few.

“More than actual specific artists though, my influences are just vibes.

“I don’t mean to sound pretentious, but honestly just the vibes of the ’90s, the Lisa Frank of it all.

“The ’90s skateboard decks of Santa Cruz and blind skateboards, the wackiness and absurdity of Space Jam, the Spongebob notebooks, the cereal boxes, the Nicktoons, everything just blended all together, that vibe. That’s what inspires my style.”

RACO RUIZ: CHALLENGES

Like many artists or creators, Raco also encounters creative blocks, but he highlights the significance of embracing boredom during these periods.

He explained, “Boredom is NECESSARY.

“I find it hard to come up with ideas when I’m trying too hard to come up with something. If you’ll notice, my best outputs when it comes to TikToks actually, happen when I’m bored.

“And my flop eras usually happen when I’m busy with life.

“There’s this quote I saw on the internet once and it really struck a chord in me. The quote goes, ‘distraction is the death of art, but boredom is the birthplace of it.’”

Balancing the creation of visual art with other facets of their creative expression can be a challenge for some.

However, what worked for Raco was to concentrate on one thing at a time.

“It’s hard to balance everything though within one day, so if I will, let’s say, work on an artwork today, no TikTok will be produced for that day, and vice versa.

“I need to hyperfocus on one thing at a time.”

As for a piece of advice he can share with aspiring talents, Raco told them to be true to themselves and not emulate others.

He believes authenticity shines when you stop trying too hard to be like someone else.

“I always go back to this in all my interviews, you have to be unapologetic about who you really are (unless who you are is a bad person).

“You are your own brand, and once you stop trying too hard to be like others, that’s when the real you shines.”

RACO RUIZ: ART COLLAB

Raco recently teamed up with PICKUP COFFEE for a special project, creating unique art for their organizer.

The 25-year-old artist mentioned it was extra special for him because he’s been a customer of the brand for a long time.

He said, “Long before the collab, I was already a customer of PICKKUP, because they have everything I need out of coffee… So when the opportunity to collaborate presented itself I found it hard to say no!”

Given the theme “feel good,” Raco was tasked with creating something that embodied this concept.

When asked to explain how this theme manifested in his artwork, he shared, “As a coffee addict myself, I really do get a dopamine rush every time I have some of that stuff in my system, it turns my whole worldview around.

“So I wanted to focus on that, the aspect of changing your perspective when it comes to feeling good.

“Sometimes in life, the only thing standing in our way of feeling good is ourselves, and our choice to look at things as not enough.

“In reality, if we just choose to focus on what we already have, I think being content with that is enough to make us feel good.”

What other projects is he looking forward to in 2024?

He told PEP.ph, “QUITE A FEW!! I don’t wanna talk about them just yet, wouldn’t wanna jinx anything, but I am VERY excited for 2024! Let’s just leave it at that hehe.”

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