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I draw because I have something to say, and a picture says a thousand words.

I am not a great writer or orator and the only way I can seem to express how I truly feel is through art. It started when I was in middle school and the changes that came with the transition into a bigger school. I was feeling all sorts of emotions and I did not know how to express them. I started to draw characterizations of myself either reacting to certain real world situations or in some sort of fantasy. It was not until several years later, when I was watching a documentary on how Disney animated movies were made, that I realized that this was something illustrators and animators think about when creating their characters and scenarios.

I admired these works and was inspired by them. I knew then that I wanted to be a part of that process. I want to create characters that invoke the same inspiration in others that I felt. Illustration to me means I would have endless possibilities to do this; illustrating books, creating graphic novels, storyboarding, character design are just a few ways that I can achieve my goal.

Everything that has to do with illustration and animation excites me in a very deep way. I get the feeling that this is something that I can do. I can be one of those people you see in those “making of” features on Pixar DVDs, I can make a child smile at the images in a picture book, and I can do anything in the art world because I have the passion and drive to keep bettering myself.

I know I have a long, hard road ahead of me. There are areas that I know I need to improve in, but if there is not something I need to learn, then I would not be in school. My current work shows a culmination of my various inspirations, drawing upon some of my personal experiences and emotions. While making pieces for my personal enjoyment, I am trying to find styles that are marketable later on and I think it has helped me improve greatly over the past two years. I want to see myself improve in leaps and bounds in these next two years.

I found my voice in art, now I want to inspire other like others have inspired me.