MUKATMAN Blog

Art vs Artist 2025. 'Di ako masyado nagawa ng mga artworks this year, kupara noong mga nakaraang taon. Medyo busy kasi sa paparating na baby at life. Pero noong binalikan ko mga ginawa ko last year(2025), napansin kong madami-dami akong nagawang short comics ilan para Komiket, Komikon at Istorya Studios. Nakapagpinta rin ako ng mga small paintings. Abangan niyo na lang mga art ko ngayong 2026. Dadamihan ko pa siguro ang komiks at paintings.   

This moment is truly special for me — I’ve just received confirmation for my first-ever ISBN application as an author. I’ve been self-publishing zines and comics since high school, but this marks a new milestone after becoming an NBDB-registered author. My book Galila is a collection of my short comics created over the years. From writing and drawing to layout, publishing, and marketing, I handled everything myself. It’s been a long creative journey, and seeing it officially recognized feels incredibly rewardin

 May ginawa kaming Komiks ni BK Pena for PhilHealth. Ako sa art at siya sa kulay. Kung gusto niyong magpagawa ng komiks message lang kayo DITO .  #komiks

Super Manila Comic Con 2024 took place on September 7-8, 2024, at The Space in One Ayala Mall, Makati City. With tickets priced at P500, my partner and I decided to arrive around 4 p.m., which turned out to be a good choice since the event was packed earlier in the day. We had a great time exploring the convention, taking photos and videos, and catching up with friends from the local komiks scene. One of the event highlights was Toto Madayag’s card game demonstration—he’s the creator of Libreng Komiks. Kudos to Comic Odyssey and all the organizers of Super Manila Comic Con 2024 for pulling off such a successful event. It was a fantastic celebration of komiks and pop culture, and we're looking forward to the next one! More photos HERE .

"Pinoy Fiesta" Recently, I created an illustration sample for a project called "Pinoy Fiesta." If anyone is interested in a print of this artwork, please let me know! I made this piece using Clip Studio Paint. It turns out that creating a busy and detailed illustration like this is quite challenging. I looked at various references to improve my concept and ensure the final result was as good as possible. I believe I managed to achieve a beautiful outcome. What do you think? #melcasipitillustration #Fiesta #pistangpinoy2024

 Yesterday, on July 13, 2024, my wife and I went to Market! Market! mall and were pleasantly surprised to find Hobbycon 2024 in full swing at the event center. We wandered around, snapping photos of the myriad of toys, prints, cards, posters, and other pop culture items, mainly featuring anime and western superheroes. During our visit, we ran into Emman Centeno, also known as Ronin Panda, who had a booth at the event. He was selling his art toys and was accompanied by friends, including Rustico Limosinero, an old komiks friend of mine. I invited Emman for a short podcast recording about his journey in comics and art toys, which will be available soon. The photos were taken with Olympus E-PL2 and E-PL3 cameras. 

 In 2010, I created Lucky Coin comics for the web comics we launched as the Neverheard Web Comics group. I've always been fascinated with the term "lucky coin" since I was a kid and thought, "What if there was indeed a lucky coin?" So I created this comic strip. Initially, I did not know how the story would go, but I decided to give it an ending when I launched it as an indie komiks sometime in 2011. I think this is the first colored indie komiks I digitally colored. The first part of the comic was drawn traditionally, and the last few pages were digital.

  Thrilled to share the cover art I created for @atomos.komiks ! 🎨 I used Clip Studio Paint for this piece. Although I wanted to add more detail and experiment with different pens, time constraints meant sticking with simple, clean lines and colors. Enjoy! #Art #ClipStudioPaint #CoverArt #mukatman #melcasipitillustration

I am honored to join the Committee on Creative Works at National University. I look forward to actively participating in future creative activities. Recently, I shared my comics with the committee, and I hope to inspire colleagues and students to create their own comics in the future.

 On May 22nd, 2024, I will once again be conducting a comics strip workshop at National University Manila. Alongside Mr. Damian Velasquez III, we will discuss the history of komiks in the Philippines and provide guidance on creating their own comics. I would like to extend my gratitude to the National University Central Student Government for inviting us to participate in the Sining ng Alimbukad event. I hope that some of the Nationalians will be inspired to create and produce their own comics in the future.

  I was invited to conduct a comic strip-making workshop for the students of the National University Manila, College of Education, Arts, and Sciences on February 2, 2023. I would like to express my gratitude to the Comm Pendium for making this event possible. I hope the students learned something, and that this experience inspires some of them to create their own comics. Accompanying me to speak with the students was Mr. Ian Velasquez, the grandnephew of the Father of Philippine Comics. He discussed the brief history of comics in the Philippines and the legacy of Mr. Tony Velasquez's characters in Philippine culture.

The Samahang Kartunista ng Pilipinas conducted a basic cartooning workshop for the attendees of Pasinaya 2024 at CCP Complex, Liwasang Kalikasan, Tent 1. Here are some images from the fun-filled cartooning event. More picture HERE .