Anime Eyes
When I was a kid, when did I realize my favorite toys, games, and shows were more than just hobbies? Every kid is obsessed with something, but they typically grow out of them over time. Yet I’m part of this bunch that never stopped playing, transforming my childhood fads into what are now my academic and career passions. Many of my early hobbies were simply interests too, up until I started drawing.
Around fourth and fifth grade, my twin sister Dani and I discovered the magical world of Japanese anime. These series were nothing like western cartoons, and we were particularly fond of the art style. Anime has such an iconic look: bright colors, intricate characters, and of course the big, cute eyes. It was only a matter of time before we took a stab at anime art ourselves.
Unfortunately, these original drawings are lost to time The hand drawn ones were tossed long ago, and our digital MS Paint creations were deleted once we threw out our old computer. So, I’ve done my best to recreate what some of my early art may have looked like:
Dani actually had her start in anime a few months before I did, and she fell in deep with art. So much that in fourth grade, her teacher had to give her a pad of paper so she wouldn’t fill up her classwork with random doodles. Her interests were similar to mine with this exception of drawing significantly more often, so it shouldn’t be surprising that Dani is now pursuing a degree in animation.
While drawing is less integral to me than it is to Dani, just the act of creating art at such a young age is a defining piece of my identity. Of course I drew before I was ten, but this phase marked the transition from cute little kid doing arts and crafts to young creator developing a passion.
Much of my budding art fell into one of two categories: Recreations of things from shows and original characters.
The former is significant because it was an early version of analyzing media. Subconsciously, I began recognizing what I enjoyed visually and narratively from my favorite media. Further, I practiced taking those elements and embodying them in my own work. The latter is incredibly important too. I was creating my own recurring characters with personalities and connecting backstories. The stories in my head could now make their way to paper, and they weren’t just childish nonsense. The detailed plots and personas in anime inspired me to flesh out fictional worlds, which could eventually turn into a series of my own.
I am taking this with a grain of salt though. For the most part I was just drawing magical anime cat girls with names like Amethyst Direheart and trying to copy images from my favorite franchises. At the time of these drawings, I still wanted to be a neuroscientist, astrophysicist, or some other fancy sounding intellectual. I didn’t realize back then, but this transition into character creation and story conceptualization marks when art became an intrinsic part of my persona.
Art is no longer just a hobby. I never stopped creatively expressing the ideas in my head, even when I strayed from traditional drawing and towards interactive storytelling. So thanks to Amethyst Direheart and all the other anime doodles in my fifth grade notebook, I find myself quite satisfied in a wonderfully creative field.
Works Cited
Sharkey, Danielle. “Start of Decade vs. End of Decade.” Dani.s_doodles, Instagram, 29 Dec. 2019, www.instagram.com/p/B6q8oFZnqgZ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link.
