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

Richard, appreciate you joining us today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

First, I want to thank you for this opportunity for allowing me to share my story.

I became a full-time artist in 2020 and very grateful to have my dream job as my main source of income. I knew my goal was to become a full-time artist and the pandemic accelerated that process. Towards the last semester of college, I knew that I need to find a job or at least find a supplementary income to help pay the bills. I’ve done a few commissions here and there while I was in college so I know that if I could just get more exposure for my work, then I can keep capitalizing on that.

Day 1 for me, like everyone else during the pandemic, I downloaded TikTok out of curiosity. I created an account, started posting videos of me customizing shoes then, one day, a client asks if I could paint a weightlifting belt. So, I said yes, and the rest was history! Little did I know that this would start a revolution in the customizing industry. The first belt I painted is currently seating 6.8 million views. As a result, I have inspired many artists to try and paint lifting belts as well and I am very happy to see that. For custom artists, I want them to know that there are other canvases out there besides shoes.

The combination of a strong fitness industry and passionate anime fans became the foundation of the community I serve now. A huge milestone for me was being able to hire a business manager who takes care of administrative and social media operations as well as meeting with brands to client acquisitions.

Knowing what I know now, of course, I could have sped up the process, but I think it’s all about perspective. I never would have known this kind of success, and we certainly still have a lot of ways to go. But if it wasn’t for the “trial and error” kind of experience, I don’t think we will be in our position right now. So, I definitely value the adventure of self-learning and discovery.

If I had to give one piece of advice to anyone looking to become a full-time artist is that the path taken for each of us is different. There are no specific steps on doing this and everyone is on their own timeline. Stay consistent. Be strategic. Do not compare yourself to others. Be better than yourself yesterday. I can throw in more cliché statements here, but this is truly how it is.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

A little bit of background about me. I’ve always been an artist. Discovering art at a very young age, has really helped me a lot in many ways. From self-expression to socializing. A lot of my work is heavily influenced by pop culture and anime.

I was in the Marines for 8 years. Every unit that I’ve been a part of, I’ve always left them with a new logo or some type of motivational artwork. I’ve painted several murals aboard logistical ships, airfields, and installations from west to east coast, in support of Marine Corps aviation.

After finishing enlistment, I attended NC State to study film. I’ve taken a lot of freelance art commissions to support me through college. The services I offered ranged from graphic design, book illustrations to fine art and custom art. I attended several comic conventions to sell prints and original art. I was able to build a clientele comprising of personal brands, start-ups as well as established businesses and universities.

I got into the industry right at the end of college, the pandemic happened and finding a job became more difficult than I imagined. I got my degree in film which is a very hands-on profession and the pandemic basically prevented that from happening. I solved my clients’ problems by providing them creative solutions. It depends, sometimes a client needs a full re-brand/digital identity or creative assets for their business and sometimes a client just wants a portrait, or a custom shoe made.

I think what sets me apart is, not only that I have such a diverse skillset, but I also have an unbeatable tenacity to go above and beyond for my clients in order to achieve the results they hired me for. I can thank the military for instilling that discipline and confidence in me haha.

We still have a long way to go buy I am proud of what my small team have accomplished so far. Especially this year, we’ve been able to collaborate with leading brands such as Gymshark and Stance. I would like everyone to know that I appreciate each of you. Thank you for your continued support and patronage of my art. I hope to continue fulfilling my clients’ artistic requests and entertain everyone who follows me on all platforms. This has truly been a dream come true.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

Social media is a big resource for my art. The exposure it gives my business is irreplaceable. In today’s society of instant gratification and global outreach, any artist should be taking advantage of as many social platforms as much as possible. Find your audience speak to them and understand their demand.

Sometimes, in my rare downtime, I am left thinking what if? What if Instagram existed before I ever thought about joining the military. What if I had created an account and focused on my art after high school instead. Would I had millions of followers and be far ahead than where I am now? Who knows? But I do know that I benefited greatly in the military. Not only financially but it also shaped my personality and matured me into a worker that I am now.

Even when I was serving active duty, I vastly underestimated social media and was always one of those people who snubbed it. Now, I take social media seriously and was lucky enough to be one of the early adopters of TikTok during the pandemic. So yes, if there are any resource, I wish I knew and understood before, then it would be the importance of having a social media presence.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I build my social media presence through sheer consistency. I’ve always known that my art is good and plenty of people would love to hire me, but sometimes social media is the trickiest way to get exposure of your art. Yes, there are traditional routes such as going with a gallery but those proved to be more political and subjectively undefined. Especially now that I specialized more in pop culture and anime rather than fine art or contemporary. So, I think social media as a great source of exposure for me and a better fit than traditional gallery.

I never really had that much luck on Instagram since I signed up for that late and the algorithm is a never-ending maze I could never solve. TikTok is where I spend most of my time creating now. TikTok has been my main source of exposure, from acquiring clients to getting brands to notice my art. I posted every single day in 2020 showing off my art. No fancy edits just 10 second clips of me literally painting with trendy music in the background. Unlike Instagram where everything revolves around being aesthetically pleasing. TikTok gave me the freedom to be more creative without spending a lot of time making things perfect. I still post consistently today, adding more of my personality into my videos.

One advice I would give to fellow artists is to not wait! If you ever thought of using social media to showcase your art and potentially make a living out of it, then I would say start yesterday! What have you got to lose? Stay consistent. Engage with your community. Do not force it but just post things that makes you happy. Stay cognitive of your time on the app. Consume only for research and for engagements. Do not fall into the trap of scrolling endlessly. I am guilty of this haha. Create. Create. Create.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.bantiguearts.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bantiguearts/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/bantiguearts
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@bantiguearts