Artist Spotlight: Into the ‘Racoverse’ with Raco Ruiz
For multimedia creator Raco Ruiz, art is more than just a hobby or a passion. It’s a lifestyle.
Known for his signature, surreal, in-your-face art, and meta-comedy TikTok videos that poked fun at conyo culture, Raco added loads of color with a dash of fun into the world, catching the attention of millions of people online. As of writing, the talented ‘multipurpose’ artist has surpassed 240K followers and garnered over 7 million likes on TikTok alone, proving that his genre, style, and overall persona are like paint splatters on our online walls — inevitably recognizable and likable.
In our latest artist spotlight, Raco gets candid about living in his “pleasantly chaotic” world and tells us about his beginnings as an artist, how he thrives in his content creator era, and how he intends to take advantage of technological advancements that are currently changing the art landscape.
Born To Be An Artist
For many, visual art is learned. It could be something one picks up growing up or perhaps developed through professional training. For Raco, his interest in art was more innate. In fact, we’re pretty sure he was born with an eye for it.
“Honestly, I can’t remember not being into art,” Raco said when asked how he started creating visual pieces. “Even before my memories could form, I was already drawing with crayons. I even have the doodles to prove it. I thought for the longest time that's just [the] default mode of every baby. I thought everyone was like that, and both my parents could draw. So, it was my hasty generalization as a kid.”
Raco learned the moment he started school that it was not in fact a default mode and that what he had was something special. He told us how back then, he was the “go-to drawing groupmate,” the person his classmates relied on when their project needed a visual drawing of sorts.
As a younger millennial, Raco grew up exposed to art. He even told us about his Tumblr era where he mindlessly scrolled through the platform, viewing and reblogging artworks. His fascination only grew from there, coupled with his exposure to 90s cartoons and arts and crafts shows like “Art Attack” or the how-to-draw videos on Disney Channel. Raco explained that his generation was highly encouraged to be artistic and creative, so he had always been exposed to it.
The artist also admitted that he never had any formal training and was mostly self-taught, relying on other artists or YouTube videos to teach himself certain art skills. Although he had art lessons back when he was in grade school, they only taught him about the basics, which he said he “already knew by instinct.”
“I learned certain skills from different people. It’s very piece meal. I'm like, 'Oh, from this person, this is where I learned how to use spray paint, or from this person is where I learned how to prime canvas or do digital art.' So, it's very like the world is my classroom and everyone is my teacher.”
It seemed that Raco was like a sponge, eager to absorb all that he could learn, admitting that throughout his career, he learned “out of necessity.” From drawing with markers and colored pencils to receiving and accepting digital art and mural commissions, Raco taught himself to adapt and willingly opened himself to learn, which largely expanded his skill. Soon he was using spray paint or mastering acrylic paint to earn more. He also ventured into small canvas paintings because he wanted to have a solo exhibit. His bold art style reflected his adventurous persona; always wanting to venture into new things, always welcoming the opportunity to learn and use different mediums.
Despite this, a part of him wished he could’ve done things differently, saying how he wanted to have been more organized in the way he mastered these skills. But we thought it was part of his artwork’s charm, which the artist agreed to.
“I’m always looking back at things I’ve done and it’s always, 'Oh I could’ve done that better if I just learned a bit more, prior.' But I guess that’s just part of my style. It looks the way it is because I wasn’t completely ready, so I guess that adds charm to it. *laughs*”
When asked about how he would describe his art style, the artist answered, “Chaotic. I’d say it’s pleasantly chaotic, like a beautiful mess. I’m not saying my art is beautiful. In a traditional sense, ‘beautiful’ is easy on the eyes. But mine is like, it's in your face. It's chaotic, but I don't want it to look bara bara (sloppy), you know, like haphazard. I want it to have some sort of order to it.”
Speaking of order, Raco expressed that his chaos doesn’t only pertain to his art style but also to his process as he’s constantly bombarded with ideas; his brain constantly flowing with inspiration. As a content creator, having a free-flowing fountain of ideas can be both a blessing and a curse. Raco admitted that he finds order in instructions, as it allows him to focus on what needs to be done.
“When a client tells me, bahala ka na (it’s up to you), do whatever, I can’t! There are too many possibilities! If that’s the brief, I will give myself rules, so that I won’t be too scatter-brained in making decisions. For myself, I have to make rules. That’s the first step. I need rules because otherwise, it’s just chaotic.”
For someone who described his creative pieces as “chaotic,” Raco has a fairly outlined process, taking time to analyze the brief and themes, and making sure that everything is planned out before getting his hands dirty for the actual work. We thought this definitely saved a lot of time compared to diving headfirst into a project without a plan, which could lead artists to stray from their original concepts and be tempted to re-do things in the middle of the process.
“It’s ironic because I say it's about saving time, but it takes so much time to do it!” he said. “So, I think it's more about choosing which way you want to spend a lot of time because regardless, you're gonna spend a lot of time doing everything.”
To Be Perfectly Imperfect
One of the most interesting things we talked about is how the rise of AI (Artificial Intelligence) is changing the art space and its mediums. While some artists were worried, even downright terrified of what this technology could do, Raco was more curious and saw it as an opportunity to adjust how he works.
“Now that AI can get things done so instantly, maybe it's time for humans to, like, lessen on the perfection when it comes to art,” he said. “So, I'm trying to unlearn my perfectionism with my own artwork because that's what might make the art more relatable or accessible to people if it’s not perfect.”
Raco also gave us an insight into his mindset as a multimedia artist, emphasizing the importance of knowing your strengths and weaknesses, and how it plays in finding what makes your art stand out.
“You know how people always say lean into your strengths? I'm like, 'No, you should lean into your weaknesses or what makes you different because that’s going to be your selling point.' It’s like, 'Okay, I can’t do what AI can do and that’s why my art is unique.' So, accept your flaws and embrace them.”
One of Raco’s signature styles includes a lot of nostalgia-driven elements and pop culture references. When asked what interests him in creating these pieces, he said, “It’s just so comforting. The world we live in now is more different than it's ever been before. The speed at which it's changed, it's crazy! I see comfort in the simplicity of the past and my childhood, 'cause now the world’s so complex. It's so complicated, so I just seek comfort in the past.”
“But in a way, there’s a reflection in my work that it is nostalgia, but it's also warped, and like destroyed and made into something twisted because that's just how I feel like in the current day. Nostalgia is still there, the past is still there, but it's like a warped version. Now it's a crazier version, and that's the present. My work isn't really so much a throwback, but it's more of like it's how I view the past from now.”
Raco’s visual style has made waves on social media and cemented him as one of today’s rising artists and influencers. He even gained attention from award-winning bodies with his MCDO Chicken Check, which won the bronze prize for Best Campaign by a Macro Influencer at the Hashtag Asia Awards 2024. He also served as a resource speaker for various events including G Creator Con with Nadine Lustre and Cinemalaya Best Actress 2023, Pat Tingjuy; PANA’s Youth Creativity Festival, and MINT College Media Week Talk: Collide-o-Scope.
He has also released three solo exhibits so far: Ruined (2022), Surrealicious (2023), and Clownrry (2024), where he showcased a repertoire of artworks based on a particular theme. When asked if he had a favorite among them, the artist joked that he couldn’t possibly choose among his “babies.”
“I guess if I had to choose one, it’s the last one, ‘Clownnry;' because my current state relates to it so much. I think I might latch onto the idea for a while. The theme is simple: everyone's a clown or like, everyone's a fool at one point in their life. For me, professionally, I'm a kind of a clown now *laughs*. In the content creator space, my job is to make people laugh. So, I just related to it so much that it became my favorite.”
When it came to content creation, Raco never had a problem staying productive or uploading new videos week after week. In fact, he thrives on it.
“I overwhelm myself with the possibilities. When it comes to conceptualization? Unlimited! I have like a bank!” he said. “With content creation, it’s just a matter of having time and the energy to do it.”
He also added that relevancy is important or making sure that his idea would still be considered funny once he posted it, as well as timing his uploads. He disciplined himself to “not skip a week” — meaning to upload at least one thing every week. He explained that it keeps his audience on their toes, giving them new content regularly without bombarding them with too much information.
“You pick quality or quantity. You can’t always have both,” the creator advised. “If I were to choose one, it would be quality. I’d rather make an average amount of things I really worked hard on, rather than having many things I didn't work so hard on.”
It’s no secret that Raco dabbled in several types of mediums and art forms through the years. For most artists, mastering a particular skill is the way to make something out of yourself. Raco, however, embraced his versatility as an artist and kept true to himself.
“I wish I could be like that, but my brain is just so fascinated by so many different things that I can't choose. But if I were to advise, try to be the best at one thing. Although with what's happening in our world right now, it pays to be good at many things because you'll never know what job might not exist because of AI.”
Raco told us how being multipurpose kept him afloat through the ever-changing creative landscape and advised young and aspiring artists to “always have a backup.”
With upcoming group shows in November, as well as plans to create more content and possibly another exhibit, Raco will continue to show us what it means to be productive and that it’s possible to balance several things so long as you have the passion, energy, and determination for it. And if we were to summarize his journey as an artist so far, it would be how he described what “art” is:
“Art is basically creating more of what you see or what you like and making it your own way.”
You can view some of Raco’s fantastic artwork and hilarious videos by following his Instagram and TikTok pages. You can also catch a glimpse of some of his merch and art pieces on Instagram.
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