We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Zeke Empaces. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Zeke below.

Zeke, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

My earliest recollection was really in middle school. I had a really wonderful English Teacher who saw how engaged I was reading graphic novels and how I was really getting into the world of comics. I was told around that time how graphic novels or comics should’ve been something to grow out of at the time as it didn’t fit my age. The way I saw it, I felt the images were enhancing the words that were written out in the page and elevating the nuance in the stories that were being told.

I think my teacher not only saw that engagement and excitement I had when reading these mediums, but also kick-started and saw how this passion in this medium allowed me to explore art and drawing as a medium too. I’m really grateful for that. It wasn’t until later in high school that I was encouraged to try and explore a different avenue in Engineering. I really loved the design process and getting to learn in that way, but as my years in high school were coming to a close, I felt like Engineering didn’t fit the aspirations I was looking for in my future.

When looking for colleges, I felt that same inspiration that I felt in middle school come back to me when I was learning that I could study for animation. That’s where I had a realization, I had a dream to tell stories. And that’s where I am right now, building up my art skills while taking any moment to write notes down when I have something running in my mind about the stories I want to tell.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Ezekiel Empaces, but most just call me Zeke. Born and raised in Northwest Illinois, I graduated from DePaul University with a BFA in 2023. Currently, I am just working a part-time job in Chicago, but I also work as a Freelance Illustrator and Character Designer. As of this moment, I’m currently working on two projects. One for a friend’s short film and the other is a comic that I’m currently writing and doing research on.

I provide an art style that is heavily inspired by comics and manga. I feel like I take inspiration from what I feel draws me in the most. From superheroes, to dungeons and dragons, to my culture as a Filipino, and to the many games I play. I hope that my works come off as dynamic and bombastic, yet also inspirational and hopeful, as my inspirations have given me.

I think what I’m most proud of in my work and the real main takeaway in my work, is that it’s about growth and identity. I hope that the work displayed now and the work I make in the future show how much I want to learn, how much I’m evolving as an Artist, the mistakes I make in the process, and how much I still have fun drawing.
I feel the environment we’re now in, it’s also so easy to see anger and hatred running around the internet. I hope with the characters I draw, create, and tell stories about, someone can relate to. Even if it’s just one person, the nuance of a character is their flaws and how we can relate to that, and I think that’s art.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

It’s the process and the result that feel the most rewarding for me. There’s something special that comes when I make each illustration or design. From conception to creating the rough sketches, I feel like I’m building up to see the fruit of that labor. I’ve been really proud of how some of my recent Illustrations came out because of me experimenting with cel shading, and I’m really proud of the result. I also want to shoutout my fellow peers and friends who I get to share and constantly get feedback from with my work. Their input and feedback help me grow, and I feel creatively pumped every time we connect and work on our projects.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

My current goal is to work on the projects I’m currently working on to build up my portfolio and reputation. My dream spot is to be able to break into the world of comics and graphic novels. One of the projects that I mentioned I’m working on is a comic called Mind Passing The Lumpia. I don’t want to say too much right now as I’m currently both writing and researching for this project, but it follows two characters named Cynthia and Eddie as they navigate their relationship, where it feels harder to break into their creative industries. This story is very inspired with current struggles to break into creative industries, but also inspired by my loving partner who, to me, challenges me to be the best me and the greatest friend I have. I’m very excited to share the story of Cynthia and Eddie when it’s done.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://zekeempacespng.squarespace.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ze_emp.png?igsh=MXB1Zng3em42eTN4Nw==
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ezekiel-empaces-593973205?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=android_app

Image Credits

Images 1 and 2 are fan arts I drew ( Superman and Donkey kong )
Images 3 to 5 are Character designs with the last one, Cynthia being more of a reference to the second dropdown question