My art style is heavily influenced by emotions; emotions of fear, grandeur, remorse. To portray and to amplify these emotions I use certain colors such as a dark shade of red or bright orange for color contrast and attention grabbing however, I also use the colors black and white. Black and white, despite being such simple and basic colors, amplify what I draw and the actions that I try to portray. The influence and power of images and how it affects the viewer was what drew me to art.
Japanese art, anime and manga was the first and most influential art forms that drew my attention. Japanese art is simple, expressive and relate-able, particularly manga. It is composed of 2 colors, black and white. Despite the simplicity of the color palette, the images pop out and leave an impact on you. From the shading alone, it can increase the action during a scene, and even give scenes a momentum. Imagine a sword in mid-slash and then the sword slashing a target, the sword itself drawn in a panel on a page does not give the reader any more substance or action than the sword in midair itself. However, if proper shading is applied, the slash is given much more of an impact. An example would be lines following the sword slash, not only does this give the sword a sense of speed but also a sense of direction. Japanese manga utilize these different shadings to augment each and every scene on a page and with every detail, the image is amplified more.
Another concept of Japanese art that inspires me is Chibi. Chibi is a Japanese term where characters are drawn in a simple manner and move and act in playful and sometimes childish ways. What makes Chibi so influential is the facial expressions that they show. Some expressions are so simple but accurately defines the emotion that the character is feeling. After watching Chibi scenes in anime, I can’t help but remember the exact face or even attempt to make the same face as the Chibi whenever I feel that same emotion. One of my favorites is the crying face where it can be described as T^T. Where the eyes of the character are simple horizontal lines with an upside down V mouth and with tears constantly flowing out of his eyes.
