We often feature various artwork from all over the web here in this space. And if you’re here regularly, you might have even seen one of our most recent articles, the one featuring that modern Honda Civic EG Hatchback from our writer and resident render guy Andrew Guerrero. Pretty cool, isn’t it?
Now, if you’ve also grown fond of these digital renderings, get a load of this: A reader just sent in his digital art featuring some legendary JDM icons. The catch? He’d done all of this using Microsoft PowerPoint (MS PPT).
The artist is Joven Barcelo, a 27-year-old licensed chemical engineer working at the Department of Science and Technology. He told us that apart from the laboratory work he does at the agency, he also helps prepare information and communication materials for his division—this is where he usually puts his PPT prowess to good use.
“Dahil nga sanay na din ako sa PPT, doon na rin ako gumagawa ng information materials namin—from the layout, design, pati yung paggawa ng vector art, sa PPT ko na rin ginagawa. I’m only using (and am currently still using) a low-end laptop kaya alam kong hindi kakayanin yung Adobe, so I’m stuck with PPT,” he said.
When the pandemic hit, he spent a lot of his downtime exploring how he can use PPT to create vector art. He started out with cartoon characters and popular local landmarks, then eventually tried recreating cars.
“Tedious siya gawin, sa totoo lang. Pero once na-a-appreciate mo na unti-unti yung itsura niya, yung details na ginagawa mo, nakaka-engross talaga,” Barcelo added. “As in mafo-focus ka nang di mo namamalayan ilang oras ka na pala gumagawa. And once completed na siya, very rewarding naman makita yung effort mo.”
Barcelo creates typical pen-and-paper artwork. For his PPT renderings, he looks up photos of cars online, and from there, he recreates the vehicles using the program. He shared that a typical artwork takes four to five hours to complete.
Unsurprisingly, Barcelo is a bit of a car nut himself. He said that he isn’t that well-versed when it comes to specifications and other technicalities, but he enjoys watching Formula 1 highlights and Top Gear TV clips as well as playing racing games on his smartphone.
Barcelo also appears to be a big fan of Initial D fan, which appears to be where his passion for JDM cars comes from. He’s also an even bigger fan of a local car guy Ramon Bautista (you may have heard of him), whose Mitsubishi Lancer Evo was actually the inspiration for one of his works.
“Astig yung nostalgia factor nung mga sasakyan na naisipan kong gawin, lalo na sa backstories nila na nakukwento rin ni Ramon sa reviews niya,” said Barcelo. “Hindi sila super luxury cars so I think mas may sort of connection sila sa mas maraming tao kasi pwedeng mas maraming tao rin yung nagkaroon ng ganung cars noon or nakasakay sa ganung sasakyan.
“We may not have given the chance to own any of them, pero sa tingin ko sapat na yung appreciation ko sa kanila to inspire me to recreate them.”
What do you think of Barcelo’s work? You can check out more photos of these below.
