Hot Dogs Are The Best-Looking Food

Emilio Santoyo’s Special Sauce

Emilio Santoyo is a Michaelangelo from the Inland Empire, virtually chiseling something out of nothing on the regular. Often getting the sense that something was missing from his everyday snapshots, he recently started breathing life into them, revealing the saucy characters who belong there. This new Faux Real series is only a tidbit of Emilio’s illustrative breadth. Major snack brands can be found in his lunchbox of clients, and his endeavors are a smorgasbord of animation, design, analog art, and hot dog pals.

Kristin Farr: Where are you from and how did you get here?

Emilio Santoyo: Born in Mexico City, raised east of LA in California. I grew up with a good mix of ravers and hip hop heads, which meant we went to a lot of parties and shows. On our way to a show in LA, a friend wanted to check out an art school. He was my ride, so I said, “Sure, why not?” I learned that people were making a living doing what I was doing for fun. That school tour was the pivotal point, plus a few art shows, art school, a few parties, and a lot of misadventures with friends— now we here!

You make these weird IG albums that I live for. Give the people an example.

Oh, the carousel feature on Instagram. Love that thing. Having an iPhone, you are able to take a lot of very dumb photos, and those photos need homes. When I post something, I like to curate a nice scroll for everyone, like putting together a small photo zine. It’s not a photo dump because I think about it. Generally, they are related to the illustration post in one way or another.