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.

Andrea Ballestero - Artist's Statement

Art isn’t merely a hobby for me, it’s a passion. The ability to create an image and then invoke emotions in others is powerful. Earning an emotional response from a viewer is often the most meaningful payment when producing artwork and it’s something I consistently strive to earn.

The biggest influences for my own artwork stem from great draughtsmanship and character design, particularly within graphic novels, animation, and video games.Fashion and cultures also play a large role in inspiring me and I absolutely love beautiful line work with flat, powerful colors.

I really try to express a character’s story in their appearance. I love to try and convey character development through changes in how they look as their story progresses. There is something magical about characters that are not only visually appealing, but emotionally.

I dream of a day when someone approaches me, completely enamored by a character or a story that I’ve created. The light in their eyes will tell me that something I’ve created has made a lasting impression on them in the same way art and stories that I adore have impressed me. If but one person can take a look at my artwork and instantaneously want to know more about the story that is being depicted, then my goal to become an influential artist will be accomplished and, hopefully, that person’s life will be filled with a little more magic and wonder.

Jeff Harvey's Artist Statement

I don't think art should be taken too seriously.  I love it, but overall, it's not that important--it's not like I'm giving people food or curing their illnesses.  With that in mind, I think art should be fun and uplifting.  I tend to stay away from art that reflects mine or anyone else's feelings, or anything that is too serious; there are already plenty of hard times in the world, I feel no need to drag it onto the page and have people look at it.  I love art, it helps me to let go of ill feelings and inspires me to work hard and be better.  The word "lost" is used a lot, talking about getting lost in art, I would say I don't get lost so much, but make sure to put myself into the art.

It may not be important, but that doesn't stop me from creating it.

Jesse Draper: Artist Statement

It doesn't matter if it's with oil paint and brush, or stylus and cintiq. What concerns me most is whether I'm able to make a good picture that connects with the viewer. I didn't always think this way. Many years ago I was convinced there was only one true path; that one form of art could be superior to another. I was wrong. Just like I can enjoy a wide variety of music genres, the same goes with almost every type of art. Did the artist connect with the viewer in a meaningful way? Did they get their message across?
 Above all I take my inspiration from nature; but nothing makes me happier than representing the human face. What better way to connect with the viewer than with eyes staring back at them? 
When I'm not painting, drawing, or taking pictures, I love to spend time with my wife, daughter, and our two sight hounds.

Artist Statement, Rebeca Alvarez

My main goal as an artist and for my work is to make a difference on how stories are told and perceived. As a result, I love to constantly draw and discover new and unique ways to interpret the world around me, in order to apply it to ideas that have not been visually depicted yet.

My biggest influence as a developing artist is the work by concept artists, specifically in the animated film industry. A lot of the work that I look at by these artists is fresh and new, with exaggerated and beautiful lines that inspire me to push my work to a more professional level.

I carry my sketchbook with me at all times so that I am constantly drawing and coming up with new ideas as I polish my skills. I work in different mediums in order to expand my possibilities and experiment with line weight. A lot of my work develops from loose and spontaneous sketches because they have more life and excitement to them. Overall I hope to continue pushing myself to get out of my comfort zone in order to create new and exciting work.

Artist Statement, Miranda Moorhead

The aim of my art is to be able to make an impact through strong visuals and story-telling. I love the unique way a story can be told through pictures and the science of creating a story with good visual flow.

Comics and comic art have had a  huge influence on the way my art looks and how I tell a story. When I was younger I was never able to just draw a single picture. I always drew a series of pictures that told a story.

I want the characters and themes in my stories to be unique but relatable and overall something that people can connect with.

I use bold, graphic line work and simple color palettes to make the work as beautiful as I can as well as make it easy to read.While I use a variety of materials for my art including pencil, ink, and digital programs, the goals of my art are consistent.

Overall, my goal is to create work that is enjoyed by and makes an emotional connection to people from all different backgrounds and to hopefully help people discover or rediscover how powerfully pictures can tell a story.

Ky Dalley // Artist Statement

Drawing has always been my gateway into the realities beyond our own, which is why as time has gone on, my work has developed a more stylized appearance. I always hope that by skewing the ordinary with simplified shape and line that the heart of each subject will have a greater emotional impact.

Cartoons are the biggest impact on how my work has developed; they have pushed my line quality, the stretch of facial movement, and the expressionism of silhouette and posing. There is a better sense of story-telling in the exaggerated style which has always drawn me to cartooning as a means of narrative exploration.

As I work, I tend to move from the character out, molding the environment around how the subjects interact with their universe. For this reason the majority of my work focuses almost exclusively on the “actors” in the image. To keep this emphasis I often work in pencil and pen, using line quality and movement to draw the eye up to the character and later bring in color as a secondary emphasis to the emotion of the figure.

It is my hope that my work will be able to inspire others to view the world differently, to see past everyday reality and find something new to explore.