About
For as long as I can remember, I have been drawing.
I persisted with art throughout every school year. I was always doodling at any opportunity I got. I even skipped on taking lunch breaks to keep drawing in the art room through my later years of high school, because I was so invested in the projects I was working on.
However, I didn’t study art straight after finishing school. Mostly because I didn’t know what to do with my talent – what jobs suited my skills? Unfortunately, school didn’t show me any career paths. During this time, I became more and more unmotivated to draw, as I had stopped progressing my skills. Everything I was doing felt the same, no improvement was being made.
I had this profound realisation that I had been standing still for years, after re-drawing a portrait of one of my favourite characters at this time. The two artworks were four years apart, but they were almost identical in technical skill. This was the moment that pushed me to finally take the next step in my art journey.
I quickly enrolled into an Advanced Diploma in Graphic Design, specialising in Illustration. I chose the Graphic Design course as a way of getting into the creative industry on a broader level, instead of just the niche character drawings I was into at the time. The Illustration part of the course was a great way for me to continue progressing my creative skills.
Choosing to do this was one of the best decisions I had ever made, not just in my career choices, but my life as a whole. I learnt so many valuable skills during my study time, and I will treasure all of the memories made for the rest of my life. That chapter played an important part in where I am today, and I look forward to what awaits me in the future.
Chasm
This is Chasm, the character that brought me to the realisation that, in 2016, I had been standing still for years, both in art and in my life. The first time I drew his portrait was in 2012, where he quickly became a main character in my fantasy writing world. In 2016 I drew him again, initially pleased with the successful redraw, until I realised that this redraw represented 4 years of my drawing progress. Disappointment hit me like a wave, as this was not the level of skill that I wanted to express in 4 years of drawing. This 2016 portrait was the reason I wanted to take my art to the next level. I needed more practise and skills to improve my art, as I knew I would never be happy with myself if I didn’t pursue art more seriously. This portrait was the reason I went to learn illustration on a professional level. I learned so much, and loved every moment of it.
This is where the 2020 iteration comes in, 4 years after that epiphany, after learning those critical skills and making it my own. I was so incredibly proud of that piece, but now looking back at it, I can see so many things that I would change and do differently, and that’s because of the immense amount of progress that I have made again.
So here we are in 2024 (a little earlier in the year than the others). I took the sketch and adjusted it, fixing proportions and changing some details. I’m so incredibly happy with the outcome of this piece. I have truly found my art style and process. My love for portraiture is stronger than ever after spending the last year or so tackling more intricate, half/full body pieces. I’m more excited than ever about my art journey.