By Mariyah Ramirez
Junior Amadeo Yu unintentionally found a passion for drawing when he started tracing drawings at around 11 years old.
At first, he was doing it just to impress his friends. Yet in middle school his passion emerged, especially through his love of manga and animation. Influenced by the artistry of those mediums, he began to get really into drawing.
“After seeing that my effort really paid off, I decided to draw without tracing which led me to continue drawing constantly and learn even more,” Yu said.
Yu has progressed significantly since then. He is in the advanced drawing class on campus, surrounded by other talented artists. Yu credits much of his success to being inspired by his teachers and peers.
“Many of my classmates in my art class were able to show me their unique skills and art styles that helped inspire me. The teachers also have helped me out with their feedback,” Yu said.
Yu doesn’t really have a certain process when it comes to his drawings. The most important thing for him when it comes to his drawings is having a reference and starting off with a rough sketch.
After his sketch, Yu uses micron pens and alcohol based markers to color in his drawings. He finds blending colors easier with these markers compared to other mediums.
He gets his ideas from his inspirations like Steve Dikto, Walt Disney, Salvador Dali, and many others.
“My inspiration and motivation for art come from many different places. A lot of what inspires me is movies, though. Movies such as ‘Forest Gump’ and most importantly ‘Spider-Man’ gave me cool ideas of what to draw,” he said.
Not only is Yu good at drawing, but he is also a piano player. So, music plays a big role in his drawings sometimes.
“When I draw, I listen to music. Some music lyrics do help me get some ideas of what to draw. That inspiration varies from genre to genre, whether that is rap, pop, indie or rock music,” he said.
Just like his music taste is varied, he likes to try new art styles sometimes as well.
One of his favorite pieces that he has done is “Lights Camera Fall.” It was an art project for his class where he had to use watercolors. It took him about three weeks to get the project finished, one of the longest times he has spent on a piece.
“It was a three point perspective shown above a city of chaos, showing metaphoric images that would portray my everyday life,” he said.
Yu has really shown that not all artists can automatically draw, but with constant practice and determination, anyone can do art and be able to express themselves just like Yu.
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