One in a Million

Gabriel Sancho, do you think a bunch of flowers is enough to be “the one in a million”?

We are all one in a million. Flowers mean “be yourself without thinking of other people´s opinions”. Be yourself and you will be successful — not applicable to Bond villains. Sure, you need luck, and basically a lot of work and sweat. Some people like your work or not, but if you do what you do, without betraying yourself, you always win.

Your Espermatozoides Chico is one of the most shared picture on the Internet: are you happy about this?

I drew it years ago, paper and markers. I tried hard but I couldn´t improve it digitally. I love it because it’s so fresh and spontaneous. I don´t know how, but one night I discovered that the picture was shared by Paulo Coelho on his Facebook, and it had thousand of likes. After that, I was contacted by many people around the world who liked my drawings. It was amazing, because I just started to draw a few months before — and sincerely I saw garbage in everything I did — and I was very motivated to go ahead. I love when people share my drawings, I publish my work only on the internet, so I have no problem with copyright. I get mad when my name is removed from a drawing, but it happened a few times.

Something on the genesis of your ideas:

Ideas… Where they came from? From everywhere. Books, movies, music, culture, bad tv, Batman, dogs, a family joke, other artists. Sometimes it’s a little light in my brain, shinning so far away. Sometimes I can reach it, but sometimes not, and I find out something new on the way. In my case, it’s very hard that the initial idea has a happy end. But I have to confess that my secret weapon — not secret anymore — is my limitation in drawing. It’s like filming Star Wars with a Roger Corman´s budget: a lot of situations to resolve in every line. It is in this part of the work where the best ideas came out.

Is there no limit when it comes to irony?

My cultural education was in the nineties, the kingdom of irony, so I am 70% water and 30% irony. I can´t avoid irony, but I made it so that it doesn’t ruin my work. It´s not easy, but I try. That is my limit, that my irony don´t eat my work.

Do you think inspiration has always something to do with madness?

I don´t think so, I think all creative process — and the inspiration as an important part of it —, is some kind of magic, almost a miracle. There is nothing, a blank page, an empty sheet of paper, silence. Something happens and boom! Novels, cartoons, music, etc.

“Ambition makes you look pretty ugly” — quote Radiohead: Is it always like this?

Sometimes pretty idiot too. Thanks for the quote, best song ever!

A memory from your past:

Related with this stuff, I always loved music, and years ago I used to buy CDs from bands I never heard before, guided by the album cover. So, I saw a CD, the cover was full of drawings — simple drawings in black and white. It was the most optimistic music I have bought and listened to in years. Like chosen by another guy. Three days later, I was looking and touching the cover — a cardboard cover, not plastic — for a while, in silence, and then I thought “I can do this”. I hadn’t touched a pencil since I was a kid, and that day I started to draw and never stopped.

One last question: are you bald?

Yes, I am. I haven´t been thinking of that for a while, thanks for reminding me. I really appreciate it.

Thanks

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