Name: Alex D. Araiza
Specialties: Digital Painting, Pen and ink, acrylic
Style / Genre: Illustrative, Rough/Horror
Contact info: alex.d.araiza@gmail.com
Page rate for commission: Digital: $50 per a black and white, $200 for color, though I’m open to discussions. I actually prefer to calculate these things as hourly wages, more than a base rate per a page. I would like to see the project and work with a 25$/hour rate.
Rate for Prints of original work: $75 B&W Per a Page Comics, Paintings vary, small 8 x 8 paintings on wood panels can go for $100, but it goes up from there. Though I have sold some small paintings on paper and Bristol for around $75.
Current affiliations: Plus Dog Collective
Previous work
The one I’m most fondest of is my comic for Believer Magazine, “I’m Going to Die Young”
Current projects
Currently, I’m working through a series of digitally painted portraits, but also have started up a series of straight to inks journal comics. Also, I have a horror anthology comics I’ve been working through.
Personal work
What was your first project that made you feel like a real artist and how did you get it?
Working on my comic for The Believer Magazine. A lot of beautiful comics have come from Kristen Radtke’s pursuit of alternative narratives outside of the written word.
What is your primary inspiration when creating art?
This one feels narcissistic, literally it’s my fear of death that keeps me working. Sometimes I tone it done to create more relatable cheerful work, but at the heart of everything I create is me just trying to find either distractions from my fear, me trying to share my fears, or me trying to understand my fears.
What other artists do you use to learn technique?
This is hard as I don’t really have a specific person. People do like to compare me to Junji Ito, but I don’t think I’m quite on that level, ha. I do like Goya, Stephanie Hans, Stephen Gammell, and Monet quite a lot, though.
Where would you like to see yourself in five years with your art?
This is probably a typical answer, but I would love to have a remote job or working as a freelancer. There’s something very wonderful about working on art completely and wholly. Literally, most of my spare time at work or at home is spent working on something. It’s hard for me to not draw. There’s video games I haven’t touched in years. I have to force myself to take breaks.
Also, I definitely hope to have finished my horror anthology comic by then. That one should be done next year, though.
What would your dream project be?
Dream project, another difficult question. Right now I don’t have a magnum opus. I think it would be living the dream to be able to work on projects without having to worry about debt. I’m not lacking for story ideas, but time seems to always be fleeting.
Final four questions –we ask everybody
Q) When the zombies take over the world where will you be?
On my way from Minneapolis, MN to San Antonio, TX. On my way to my family.
Q ) How do you identify Jedi, lesbian, Ninja, gay, vampire, bisexual, were-wolf, transgender, pirate, asexual, fairy, aromantic, sith, intersex, Spartan, non-binary, wizard, genderfluid, time lord , queer, …? ?
I’m a trans man. I’m latino. I like vampires and I always play as a dark elf goody goody cleric, but at the end of the day I might just be human.
Q) What piece of art, be it in the form of music, a book, a film or picture, do you think people must experience before they die?
I think it would be nice for people to read Ray Bradbury. Maybe just read “Something Wicked This Way Comes” to receive the visual comparison of pages of library books to the crisp of fall leaves.
Q) Give one fact that most people would not believe about you?
Ah, this is a hard one. I kind of don’t hide anything, so I’m unsure what people don’t know.
Late in the days, when walking back from the bathroom to my cubicle I will break out into dancing and then jump and touch the ceiling.
