BYU 2014 Fall: Concept Design: Ethan Wilkins

Monday, October 27, 2014

Ethan Wilkins Artist Statement

Since I can really remember I've always been drawing. My first time I remembered drawing something I was proud of observationally was when I was about 4 years old. My parents had just recently gotten a divorce, I was at my dads apartment and I was drawing his roommate. Ever since then I've been drawing people, places and whimsical things. I don't think art has always been my main form of expression though. When I was about 14 I wanted to be a writer- specifically young adult novels. I actually wrote a book, by hand. It was 250 pages. After my dreams of being a write were crushed by my horrible english teachers who saw nothing but a lost spark in me, I started acting- and for a while, I was going to go to college to be a performer. Be it a comedian, actor or musician. All of which I've been pretty good at since I was about eight. When I was a sophomore in high school I bought a sketchbook to jot down ideas and scribbles, and found myself drawing my classmates during my boring classes. Not only was it fun, but I had a knack for it. My art instructor helped me improve my talent, and I was planning on going to an art school in KC- when my mom forced me to go to BYU. I've been here ever since, and so far, its been pretty good.

Now that you know my background- you might be able to understand why I want to be an illustrator. My aim as a conceptual artist is to evoke a feeling in the viewer. My favorite emotions I like to convey are beauty, nostalgia, sass and playfulness. I really enjoy drawing with gesture and playing around with form rather than clean lines. I really love watercolor as well as color blocking. Although I'm pretty sure those interests will change in the future. I love fashion/costume design- and I hope that is evident in my art. I like conveying typical themes in skewed perspectives, and I love watching movies that do the same. My goal is to eventually be an art director for a studio- ideally something large. But I can settle for less.