If anyone is interested to read this...this is (as long as an essay...) about the development of my art style or whatever you call it.

From the beginning...

Well, I guess I started drawing when I was two. To tell you the truth, I didn't like drawing at all back then. For homework we had to illustrate every new word that we learnt that day at school. I hated it. It was actually my parents who got me interested in art. They tried everything to get me interested, so that I will do those homework properly. The result? I fell in love with art.

From then on drawing became my hobby. My Dad would buy me those "Drawing for Children" books and draw with me. I still have those collections of books. Those books taught me how to draw in cartoon style, but not anime style. However it is difficult for someone living in places like Hong Kong not to be influenced by the anime style. I have been watching anime all my life. So soon enough, I switched to drawing in anime style. At first I would trace pictures from colouring books. Later, as I got older and more experienced with art, I was able to draw independently of tracing.

Funny enough, my parents now don't want me to draw. (Funny how parents make you do stuffs that you don't want to do and try to discourage you from doing it once you start liking it.) Anyhoe, it didn't make sense because my Dad had always been interested in art and my mum's family is definitely into art. My grandfather (Mum's Dad) was very skilled at traditional Chinese paintings and hosted his own exhibitions. My aunt (Mum's sister) is very good at art and had sold her arts at high prices back in her school days. My Mum used to learn both Chinese and oil painting. So I just don't understand why they don't like me drawing so much.

Well, back to me. When Sailormoon came out in 1992, my art style got influenced by Naoko Takeuchi greatly. In fact, I believe most artists around my age got influenced by Sailormoon at some stage or other since it was such a big hit.

But my style had one BIG problem - I never do any shading and the coloured versions always look crappier than the B & W one because I didn't know how to colour.

Then I moved to Australia.

To Australia...

Well I still can't colour. I would outline my picture with a black pen then literally just plonk on the blocks of colours flat without shading. It was until I got into high school that I attempted shading.

It was compulsory to do art in Year 7 (Year 1 of junior high school). I was taught proportions, variety, inking, sketching and most importantly, shading. But even then I didn't really get it. I still remember the first time I tried to shade an anime pic. It was the last day of school. We just had Speech Day the previous day. Little did I know that it is customary not to come to school after Speech Day. Only six (extremely stupid) students came to school that day out of the entire school. We were told by the Deputy Principal to go help and move some chairs...and chairs...and chairs...and tables...By noon, I couldn't stand it anymore (soooooooo boring!) and went off with my best friend. I was more familiar with my art teacher than my other teachers, so I suggested to go to the art room. My art teacher was there and she was kind enough to let us stay and draw all we want using anything available in the room. I drew three pictures, all anime, just testing out the effects. And I shaded. Good? No. I put all the shadings in the wrong places. "Lights" were coming from every direction. I shaded the two sides of the nose lighter and the tip of the nose black! But it was a start.

Well, I didn't choose art the next year. (I chose Commerce instead.) From then on my development in art was stagnated for a while, until my discovery of CG.

Computer Graphics

I have always been interested in computer drawings. In a way, my first contact with CG was in Year 5 (in primary school) when I tried to draw anime on the computer with a mouse using Microsoft Paint. Yeah, well, not so successful.

Then in Demeber 1999 I went back to Hong Kong for a short visit and brought back a pen tablet. I tried my first CG in Feburary 2000. Again, not so good. But I was actually doing shading!

And now, after one year and seven months, I am still trying.