Student Feature: ‘Devonno Art’

One of my first two inspirations when I was starting to draw were comics. My brothers read to me what it said in the speech bubbles of the comics to help me read, but also tried to make an attempt to draw the characters from the pages in front of me. When I picked up on it, all three of us did it together. I know my first comic was a Marvel comic that had a bunch of heroes and villains, including Spider-man and Daredevil.

My second inspiration was the 1980s cartoon show, as I was trying to draw all the different Transformers, from the Decepticons to the Autobots, usually fighting each other – or trying to make my own “robots in disguise.” My mother still has some of those drawings hanging in her office at work.

Now, as I get older, my inspiration comes from other artists, along the likes 

of Alex, Hirohiko Araki, Stephen Bliss, and Antonio Lopez.

To grow as an artist I am willing to take all forms of experiences that would further my endeavors in art, such as The Advocate and the many wonderful people I got the privilege to work with over the years. These experiences give me the necessary tools to improve my art skills in significant ways and how to bend my art to certain demands, and not just of my own, as well as learning things that challenge myself as an artist or creator – such as drawing difficult designs or landscapes.

These are basically candles of techniques and ideas to keep lit in my creative mind and be sure to never let them burn out.

For others who have the same passion as I do, or don’t know where to start, I offer some advice. This isn’t strictly for other artists; it could be other forms of art, such as performative or fine art.

The first step is to find your passion, in your medium, and keep it alive because the number one killer of artists are creative blocks. Find circles of inspirations outside of your preferred medium, even if it’s in a very unlikely place.

Next is to try everything: Try things you never work with before, try new techniques or rendering processes, because the best part of working within creativity is the process and not the final product. Don’t let perfection get in the way of good, because your art is something you should be satisfied with, at the end of the day. Then, once you’re confident in your work, post it online or find other outlets to get your artwork out there. And, remember, all artwork isn’t for everyone to see; some could be only for your personal viewing pleasure.

Simple ways you can reach out to me or see my up-to-date work is through my social media or art email, my Instagram being @Devonno.art then my TikTok @devonno.artofficial. Finally, I am at [email protected].