Lifestyle
These young Filipino artists are making waves on social media with their unique works
These young Filipino artists are making waves on social media with their unique works
By John Legaspi
They are taking arts and crafts to the next level
There is no one formula to go viral on social media. But it sure is worth noting that uniqueness adds good points, so do humor (many vloggers bank on this) and cuteness (kitten videos are unparalleled). But for many young Filipinos, putting their artistic side up front is a sure way to gain social media stardom and the best way to share their authentic self. Among them are artists Jestoni Rubantes and Noel Quidlat.
Ever since the creation of his YouTube channel Guhit Jes in 2019, which now has more than 33,000 subscribers, Jestoni has been sharing behind-the-scenes stories to some of his illustrations. In his early charcoal sketches, he featured The Professor from “Money Heist.” He even did his own version of film director James Cameron’s nude drawing of Rose wearing the Heart of the Ocean necklace as seen on his movie “Titanic.”
But what made him famous online is his illustrations made using ball pens. Nothing really remarkable there, right? But what makes him stand out is his way of drawing. Looking much like an artistic Wolverine, Jestoni tapes pens to his fingers and scribbles away to make portraits.
Another thing is that he is ambidextrous, which allows him to draw using both of his hands. In one of his vlogs, he draws rapper Ez Mil using the same ball pen technique with his hands drawing simultaneously. He also tried sketching using his mouth, right foot, and, can you believe this, a cooking pot.
From one social media platform to another, Noel is a proven Tiktok star with his 1.8 million followers. Much like Jestoni, the 19-year-old artist started off by creating contents featuring his sketches. Among his early subjects are singers Justin Bieber and Billie Eillish and the late actor Chadwick Boseman.
But what earned him much praise are his paper cutting artworks. Beginning with Hollywood actor Leonardo Dicaprio, his followers took notice of his craft and began to ask for more. His most recent paper cutting artworks present pop singer Ariana Grande, “Spider-Man Homecoming” star Tom Holland, and Portugese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo.
His works received positive feedback from fellow online stars like music artist Bella Poarch, DJ Alan Walker, and model Hannah Stocking.
See more of their works on Guhit Jes on Youtube and @noelquidlat on Tiktok.