Little Artist, Big Dreams

The answer varies with each child. Usually ranging from common answers like a firefighter, police officer, or doctors to less common answers like plumber, factory worker, or mechanic. Then there are a select few children who answer with something that sounds outlandish in concepts like assassin, wizard, dog trainer, or even an inventor.

Funnily enough, I fell into the outlandish camp for the longest time wanting to be an inventor since I have constant weird ideas that at the time felt like something useful or just plain fun. Some of these ideas ranged from something as simple as a new motive of transportation, while others barely qualified as scientific at all like a floating hammock.

However, as a fifth-grader with the lack of ways to express these ideas, they ended up becoming just that, ideas that were lost within the cold barren sands of time. In some cases some would fell fine that they were able to forget these ideas since they had no clue where they would have gone yet to me, I feel like just forgetting those ideas is like losing a part of yourself. It wasn't until fifth grade where I started to see people drawing around me. In some cases I grew interested in seeing if I could do the same since I did not want to lose those ideas again and yet, I had no real idea on where to begin.

In the end, I decided to use imitation as some would say that imitation is the best form of flattery. This had led me to look at pictures and try to put my own take on it whether for better or for worse. While not a humble start, I believe that learning this skill got me on the right foot as an artist. When it came to the reception, however, some of my classmates liked it, others did not bat an eye at my art so, in a defeated fashion, I immediately stopped doing art altogether due to that middle-of-the-road reception/lack of feedback. A choice that I learned to somewhat regret later down the line.

Fast forward to middle school year where I felt empty that I once again had no real outlet to express my creative ideas. Out of frustration (and boredom), I took up drawing again. What ended up changing was that, I came to the decision to start creating my own things instead of recreating and imitating things I saw. I ended up coming to this choice when my comic book teacher told me that everyone has their own ideas and styles so I should find one of my own. His words stayed with me stuck to me as I developed a style of my own. With this, I began to grow as an artist branching out into territory I once felt was uncharted. In some cases, I started to feel a sense of reward whenever I was able to finish a drawing. yet, this tale did not end here.

As time went on, art became my hobby and if I wasn’t playing video games I drew on paper. Each piece of paper I drew on revealed a new world full of endless opportunities that showed who I was as a creator. High school was when I began to truly feel a groove when it came to art as I looked back at my old drawings, felt dissatisfied with what I drew, and attempted to remake them into something different with my improved art skills. not all of my creations stood the test of time, however, the creations that were able to stick around, end up being landmarks showing how far I have grown as an artist. Over time, I grew so comfortable with the evergrowing art skills that I ended up getting my first sketchbook instead of using a regular college-ruled notebook. When I used my first sketchbooks I really felt a better sense of freedom that a notebook wished to accomplish.

6 out of my 9 "Sketchbooks" I have at home
the blue one being my first real sketchbook

Through this, I have created a cycle of investing time in a sketchbook, reaching the end, looking at how I have improved then incorporate my newly improved art into a new sketchbook. This process had me go through 7 books 3 books were notebooks while the remaining 4 being actual sketchbooks.

What turned into a silly thing I did to get attention, slowly became a way I could express myself. I ended up getting a fan of my art through my perseverance. Looking back, some would say my old art looks terrible. However, I would say that they were good for their time especially since at that time I felt like I was rising as an artist only improving instead of regressing. I decided to take my art to another level by learning more and more about character design. I decided to use this as a chance to experiment with more weirder and outlandish ideas and designs like a puppet with a hand. No matter what, I am glad I decided to continue with art instead of dropping it so early on.

Phantuppet a puppet with a hand

Each piece of art that I finish, I feel a sense of growth as I was able to come from something as simple as stick figures to more imaginative ideas. I feel accomplished that I was able to see a picture to the very end. This feeling of accomplishment sticks with me and never goes away. Through these experiences, I have grown to appreciate how far I have come as an artist. In fact, I ended up creating a storybook pretty recent since I wanted to take a step further with my skills and ideas. I strive to not only find a way to share my art creations with the world but also bring smiles to the faces of many thanks to their success. The only place I can go from here is forward.