XPI Student Showcase
Welcome to Xpress Plugged In, our new online gallery of student expressions. Please follow the submission instructions CAREFULLY. New work will be posted every Monday.
-- Nancy Green, editor of XPI
Selections for the Week of 3/08/2010
Spotlight on Ashley James, ninth grade
Anclote High School, Holiday
Ashley on Ashley ...
My name is Ashley, also known as Gir-Chan, and I've been drawing ever since I was able to hold a crayon. I enjoy music just as much as I enjoy drawing, and I absolutely love singing. I've really gotten into the Japanese culture, and that's how my art style was originally formed. My main inspirations are from the Manga series Full Metal Alchemist and Ouran High School Host Club. Currently, the anime/manga Kuroshitsuji has inspired me to draw more Victorian type things. Full Metal Alchemist actually helped me with making my original characters: Kagura and Ayame. (They were originally fan characters but grew into characters for my story over time.) To see more of my work, please click on the following link: http://ayamekumori.deviantart.com/
Artwork by Ashley James, 15, ninth grade,
Anclote High School, Holiday
The World in my Mind (marker, colored pencil and pen) is a demonstration of my imaginary world and what goes on inside my head. The girl in purple was supposed to be how I wanted to look (since I can't dye my hair), but over time turned into my character, Shizuka. This piece demonstrates my love for Gothic things while also sharing my love for color.
First Attempt At Realism (charcoal) is exactly what the title says: my first try at drawing realism. I was tired of hearing people tell me that I needed to try new things instead of drawing anime, so I tried drawing myself. Next to the semi-realistic version of me is a chibi me. (Chibi is a Japanese term for "short person" or "short child".) I drew the chibi me to show the difference between both of my styles.
Awakening Darkness Book Cover (marker, pen and colored pencil) is the design for the book cover for my original series. I wanted to show what the town of Shakimi looked like in my story, but I'm pretty bad at drawing buildings. I just recently started learning about perspective.
Ayame and Alan's Secret Place (colored pencil and pen) depicts my original characters when they were 11 and 12. Alan found Ayame sleeping in a pile of leaves in the middle of the forest surrounding their town. They gradually became best friends and often came back to play in the spot where they first met. Eventually, Ayame's aunt and uncle forbade her to see Alan because they thought she was causing trouble, and the friends never saw each other again until their second year of high school.
Masquerade Girl (charcoal) was inspired by The Phantom of the Opera. I absolutely love the Victorian Era, so I often draw Victorian clothing in my work. I wanted to practice using charcoal since I hadn't used it in so long, and I ended up making the drawing more detailed than I initially intended.
Dark vs. Light (colored pencil, pen and marker) was originally just a simple drawing that I did out of boredom. I liked the way the girl in the middle, who is me, looked, so I continued with the drawing. I wanted to demonstrate what the parts of my mind look like by adding both light and dark sides, while also adding in my original characters - because I love them oh-so-much! The angelic girl is named Shizuka Sumizome, the demonic girl is Ayame Kumori, the fairy is Kagura Kurenai, and the vampire is Rima Goshikku.
The Tea Party (watercolor pencil) depicts my original character, Kagura Kurenai, set against a background of Mt. Fuji with sakura (cherry) trees in the foreground. I drew this mainly to experiment with watercolor pencils. I found it to be quite entertaining.
The final piece, Self-Portrait (charcoal), is my second attempt at drawing realism. I drew this in only half a class period, but I think it looks more realistic than my first attempt. The shading isn't as good and I found a plethora of mistakes, but I like it mainly because it reminds me of one of my favorite musical artists, Emilie Autumn.