Meet Ceej Carpio | Digital Artist, Illustrator, Graphic Designer & Muralist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ceej Carpio and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ceej, how did you come up with the idea for your business?
What initially sparked my idea was the personal interest that I had in digital art growing up. I always admired the finish and polish of animated cartoons from the 90s and early 2000s and the products and marketing materials that came from it, like posters, stickers, trading cards, anything the mind can think of and I thought that was really cool because its so scalable; perfect example Pokémon. Growing up in Jamaica and not really traveling abroad made me realize that a lot of these products weren’t available in my country and I always thought what if; so back in 2017 when I was thinking about what I could do, my talents and interest were the very first things I thought about. Then I thought about companies that I admired re branding and marketing because having a product is one thing but having an appealing product is truly the aim, so I spent hours upon hours researching how to market the my artistic talents and ideas or in other terms my products and service. After I was finished I put all I had learnt together and focused on creating a brand identity to represent the idea of my business.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
When I was starting out I spent a lot of time on YouTube, researching different art styles and technique but I always had an idea of what would fit my character and personality. I considered this me time at ‘YouTube University’. It wasn’t the easiest time; I had no money, no job, but I knew that I wanted to work for myself. I started with $0 dollars literally, and took my time building my skillset and vision for how I wanted to execute my brand. During this time, I was going into Second year at university (UTECH) but I decided to drop out so that I could have some time for myself. During this time I faced alot of obstacles; one of my first was my first laptop that I had. The screen was separate from the body and was connected by hinges, long story short, the hinges broke, due to manufacturing error, and the screen was literally disconnected from the base, so I had to lean it against a wall to work. It wasn’t fastest laptop and at the time windows was crashing alot. It gave me alot of headaches but I held on and kept pushing. I always told myself that when I was going to replace it, it had to be with a Mac based on the software and power the computer had. From doing small projects I saved up to finally make my second big investment – Tool. One thing I have learnt though is in alot of those low times, headaches and hiccups is when your being tested to see if you are willing to fight for what you believe you deserve in life. To me thats the most important because whether its in business or personal life, it still applies. I’ve learnt that mental strength is alot more important than physical strength, because if you a broken mentally, physically you are defeated. This dawned on me when I went through depression back in 2019. It was a result of my business and the roles I had to play but I was weakened to be strenthened even more for the next leg of my journey.
One of my many aspirations is to work in the game industry and I always loved the style of Mario and Pokémon and stuff along that line, colorful and playful, yet fierce when needs be. That’s how I am as a person so when I thought about my art all I could see was cartoon like characters and illustration with my touch to it. From there on, I just spent a lot of time practicing and researching day in, day out until I found my art style.
When I started creating art, I knew that what mattered to me most was the feel of the work more so than the rendition. Don’t get me wrong, I spend a lot of time going over the details but ultimately I always spend the most time capturing my emotions and feeling within that moment into the art I’m doing at that time. I call my art style Modern Pop and it derives from Pop Art from back in the 70’s and it’s all about all about bright colors, bold lines and precise details. My art is all about emotional resonance, and the emotions I try my best to draw at are the more positive ones. I believe the world is fueled by a lot of negativity, so I always wanted my art and products to bring a feeling of joy rather than sorrow, even with darker subject matters I alway look for the silver lining.
Honestly, I believe what makes me different from others is the simple fact that I am me and what i’m expressing to the public is an extension of what I have within. I’m definitely inspired by external factors however what I output into the world is my expression and as long as its authentically me then I will always set myself apart from others. My brand’s solgan is “Enter Your Imagination” and what that means really is that we all are creative in our own right but due to comparing ourselves with others we tend to dim our own flame; so my brand is all about reigniting that creative side to individuals with my designs and art pieces through their positive emotions. All in All one of my biggest goals is helping my clients express that with their own brands and business.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
A week huh, Alright. Im a person who care for the island adventures and not so much night life living but if its a week long we definitely could have the best of both worlds. Jamaica is a small island with hidden gems all over. We are surrounded by beautiful lush mountains and hills; we have many rivers and are completely surrounded by the Caribbean Sea. We could start the week touring the parishes on the north coast such as St. Ann in the popular city of Ocho Rios. we could visit Dunns River Falls, and Mystic Mountain Ridge and have dinner at Plantation Smokehouse. Throughout the weekdays we could visit other parishes like Negril at Rick’s Cafe and jump off a cliff lol if they are that adventurous, or visit a waterfall in St. Elizabeth and Portland. Coming down to the weekend we could visit a nice seafood spot like Port Royal or Hellshire. They sell the best fish and all the seafoods you can think of in . The City of Kingston is always busy but on the weekends it comes to life even more. We could visit a nice chill spot like Bob Marley museum or Kaya and hit a club in the night.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I love that you asked this because we often hear individuals say that they are “Self-made” and all but in reality we all know that’s far from the truth, because we all need somebody sometime. My team means the world to me because I can proudly say that a lot of my accomplishments and opportunities came from me doing the work but I can’t deny that without the help of my team and individuals a lot of these things wouldn’t be a possibility. My team really consists of 2 persons, myself and Deandra Young Sang, my girlfriend. We’ve been together for almost 10 years now and let me tell you, when you’re with someone who sees and understand your dream and vision and decides to join you on that journey, they keep you in line and she also keeps the business in line too. Initially when I had to be doing everything it really took a toll on me in all aspects, because being in the creative industry takes a lot of mental power especially if you are the one creating and having to play many roles leave you burnt out at the end of the day. When Dee joined on the team she really structured a lot of things, because I’m not very structured but she is, I’m selectively organize, while she is fully organized; so all our opposites actually complimented each other’s shortcoming so we could maximize our efforts.
In any business whether its in the arts and entertainment or white collar, theres always a business side beneath the surface and I find that in the creative industry when the artists, entertainer, etc has to be thinking about creating, which is one thought process, then they have to think about filing receipts for taxes which is another completely different thought process, then they have to think about marketing and social media. Its a lot. Thats what I really meant by ‘structuring a lot of things’, the important things that are not seen on the surface that keeps the business afloat. She has been an angel for the company and I definitely believe she should get her recognition because she’s definitely a star player.
I would also love to thank everyone who has been a part of my journey and have rallied for me, given me business opportunities, loan me their vehicle to go on the road to do business and just showed me love throughout. You all know yourselves. It’s really appreciated and I’m truly grateful.
And lastly but definitely not last, I would love to give a SUPER SPECIAL SHOUTOUT to my mom and grandma, my angels and prayer warriors. My family has always supported my choice even if they don’t agree and despite that they always believed in me, so definitely want to send nuff love to my old ladies.

Website: ceejarts.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ceejarts/

Twitter: twitter.com/CeejArts

Facebook: facebook.com/ceejarts/

Image Credits
IMG_9956 – Photo captured by Jonathon South (@jonsouthy)