Here is the students artists selection. Please read through it and comment at the bottom with names of a few artists you don’t know that seem interesting to discover.
1. Eduardo Altamirano
Artist 1: Akira Toriyama:
Akira Toriyama is a Japanese manga artist and character designer. He was born on April 5th in 1955. He first was highly recognized for his very successful manga series called “Dr.Slump”. Which sold more than 35 million copies in Japan. He then went on to create the “Dragon Ball” series, his most recognized and successful creation till this day. He sold 250–300 million copies of the “Dragon Ball” manga series worldwide. It is the second best-selling manga of all time and is considered to be one of the main reasons for the period when manga circulation was at its highest in the mid-1980s and mid-1990s. With his strong portrayal of strength, determination, and the will to surpass your limits on his characters in dragon ball, I think that it has helped a lot of people to overcome something very difficult. I am inspired by the way he draws and portrays his strong-willed characters.
Artist 2: Cole Sprouse
Cole Sprouse is a famous American actor, archaeologist student, and photographer. He was born on August 4, 1992. He is mostly known for his childhood role Cody on the Disney show “Zack and Cody”. He has done many shoot assignments for major fashion publications including Teen Vogue, L’Uomo Vogue, The Sunday Times Style, and W Magazine. His style of shooting is portrait and landscape, he also does this thing where he takes pictures of people taking pictures of him. Quite funny. His professional and old-style look to his pictures, makes me want to create the same feeling he gives his audience. A sense of beauty and realism.
Artist 3: Matt D’ Avella
Matt D’ Avela is a filmmaker, YouTuber & podcaster “that explores what it means to live a good life.” He was born on December 15, 1987. Matt D’Avella is a filmmaker known for his hit Netflix documentary, Minimalism: A Documentary About the Important Things. He is a full time youtuber with over 2.9 million subscribers. He currently hosts a podcast and posts videos for his growing audience on YouTube, often talking about the psychology of money and how a minimalistic approach to personal finance can empower us to get started. Matt is quickly becoming a leading voice on YouTube for men’s mental health by teaching his audience how to balance mindfulness with their ambitions. I’d say that I admire his work, his minimalistic style and aesthetically put videos. The way he does short documentary videos each week really gives the viewer a real feel of what he is portraying in his videos.
2. Jennifer Bocanegra
Artist 1: Takashi Murakami
Takashi Murakami is Japanese contemporary artist that creates paintings, sculptures, as well as commercial media and films populated by repeated motifs and mutating characters of his own creation.His work is very popular in pop culture he also worked with Kaikai Kiki and fashion products Louis Vuitton.Since the 1990s Takashi Murakami has invented characters that combine aspects of popular cartoons from Japan Europe, and the US some are anime characters and smiling flowers, bears, and lions His Style consists in two dimensional forms and bold striking imagery which was later known as Superflat its acknowledged as interaction of between commercial and art worlds.He founded an art production company Kaikai Kiki Co. in both Japan and Brooklyn with this company has helped many young artist to gain international exposure by mounting exhibits by producing products and organizing an biannual festival and convention in tokyo.
What inspired me about his work is how creative his designs are and how they stand out due the color palette he choses for most of his work.The detailing he puts into his designs is very precise and clean.His plush designs are adorable and very colorful but they stand out due to them being more than one animal or sometimes the designs are very simple for example the flower.One of my favorite plush he made was Louis Vuitton Putipanda.
Artist 2: Brian Donnelly (Kaws)
Kaws an american graffiti artist and designer his work include figurative characters and motifs he’s mostly known for his toys, paintings and prints.His art is between fine arts and global commerce.He first started off as a graffiti artist focusing on phone booth advertisements ,images on bus shelters and billboards.Later on designed toys in late 1900’s produced vinyl toys they became a globally art toy collecting.He has been praised by his acrylic paintings and sculptures his most popular one is grayscale mickey mouse whose face is cover by both hands.
What inspired his work was how simple his character designs are but yet so creative and widely popular it is.He doesn’t just have one design of his character he has various from popular cartoons just in his style cartoonish.I want to be able create my own style of characters and be able to expand on my designs as well.
Artist 3: Vincent Van Gogh
Vincent Van Gogh mostly focused on painting he started of copying prints and reading drawing manuals and books he also focused on learning landscapes in correct perspective and began adding color and his bold palette became recognizable for his later works.They became more special due to his depiction of figures light and landscape even without color.He used any materials that were available to him.
What inspired his work was how he used his own technique to paint his landscapes or portraits with watercolor. He created his own style and started experimenting with other materials for his art. He thought it was necessary to master certain skills for his drawings and painting which is interesting to me not every artist does this.One of his pieces that called to m attention was starry night which inspired me to draw more and create my own designs for myself.I want my art to speak to others and find joy in them.
3. Mia Calixto
Artist 1: Sha’an d’Anthes
Sha’an d’Anthes is an illustrator and author based in Sydney, Australia. She creates children-books and is a freelancer. Her illustrations are very child friendly and bright. Shan’s style is watercolor; she also uses adobe illustrator, procreate and paper. The type of work she does is illustrating books, designing for companies such as Adobe and Samsung. Shan is a big inspiration for me, she constantly creates and stays busy. She has a YouTube channel @furrylittlepeach where she shows her work and how to deal with being a freelancer. I look up to her advice and tips for artists. I’m not much of a watercolor fan, but her work makes me very interested in that medium.
Artist 2: Clara Kasser
Clara Kasser is a street photographer based in NYC. Kasser has a very digital street style with her photography. Kasser uses Instagram to show her art, and since she has such good shots many articles write about her or use her photos. I’m very inspired by her work because of how raw and real her images are, I can get an idea of how she takes photos, I know she walks around nyc and just captures things that catch her eye. I love film photography so it’s a little different than digital, but I like her zoomed shots, everything tells a story without words! It’s very beautiful.
Artist 3: Kim Hyunji
Kim Hyunji is a painter originally from South Korea, but now based in Melbourne, Kim uses oil paint’s and does very abstract portraits, she also works with large size canvas. Kim creates a series of paintings then normally hosts a gallery for them, she spends time teaching & doing live paintings. When it comes to painting she’s someone who inspires me to think outside of a box. Her painting show a lot of detail and character, it’s never a regular portrait, I’m really into her style of painting it has such a flow and rhythm that I would like to achieve.
4. Chantal Gomez
Artist 1: Kehinde Wiley
Kehinde Wiley is a portrait painter. He does highly naturalistic paintings, oil on canvas. I am inspired by his work because of the message it is sending, “Wiley presents a new brand of portraiture that redefines and affirms Black identity and simultaneously questions the history of Western painting.”
Artist 2: Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol was an American artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. I am inspired by his work because of how the color of the artwork brings you in and I’m in love with his patterns on such simple things like a can of soup.
Artist 3: Banksy
Banksy was an American artist whose pop art and graffiti-like work grew out of the New York City street culture of the 1980s. Much of his work includes sexual allusions that turned into social activism. He used his art to bring awareness to HIV/AIDS. He created art to create a change.
5. Dereck Henriquez
Artist 1: Ariana Grande
Ariana Grande is a is an American pop and R&B singer and actress. She is known for her expansive four-octave vocal range and whistle register. Yes, I love her music, and I always thought that she was a fresh and interesting face/voice in the music industry. However, the way Ariana has handled the media of her private life is what has earned her my respect and even admiration. She really is an inspiring woman: she’s not afraid to speak her mind, she enjoys and embraces her sexuality, and she doesn’t care what others think of her. But most of all, she’s become my role model because she practices what she preaches. In other words, she conveys her self-confidence to her fans and encourages them to love themselves for who they are.
Artist 2: Alice Neel
Alice Neel was an American visual artist known for portraying friends, families, lovers, poets, writers, and strangers in her portraits. I’m inspired by her paintings because of her use of line and color, psychological acumen, and emotional strength in an expressionistic way.
Artist 3: David LaChapelle
David LaChapelle is an American commercial photographer and fine-art photographer. He inspires me because of his photography references art history and religious scenes and how his work often conveys social messages.
7. Aiah Kassim
Artist 1: Kara Walker
Kara Walker is a contemporary painter, silouettist, installation artist, and filmmaker. Her net worth is 85 mil. Her works are quite modern and are worth thousands of dollars. She was born in Stockton cali in 1969 but was raised in Atlanta Georgia. Her art typically explores race, gender, sexuality, and violence. Kara walker herself says that her artwork is not meant to fix problems of racism and that her artwork is subsumed by history. A subtlety speaks to the black community and their history of centuries of slave labour on sugar plantations in the areas of the Caribbean. I admire this artist for all the efforts she has put into her works and the meanings she creates behind them. She inspires me in the way she lightly touches on social issues today.
Artist 2: William Rimmer
William Rimmer is a sculpture artist who used to be a physician but he set aside his medical studies to pursue a path in the arts and had a great amount of knowledge in anatomy. Rimmer portrayed common themes of fallen figures in his art. When I visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art here in New York I saw Rimmer’s work The Fallen Gladiator in person and I was immediately impressed by the unique form that his body was portraying and I felt a strong urge to imitate it and know what it would feel like to be in that position. The work was created around the time of the American civil war. It inspired me and I don’t really know why, if I’m being honest it was my first time feeling so connected to a sculpture. What I admire the most is that Rimmer did not rely on a live model for his works, he used his knowledge in anatomy for reference.
Artist 3: Heylenne
Heylenne is an illustrator and comic artist. Her work portrays stories that she illustrates digitally. I am inspired by this artist specifically because I favor her art style a lot. I feel like if I were to describe a perfect art style, Heylenne’s work would be used as my example. I love the extreme contrast she uses in most of her work and her characters are likeable people that I can relate to and understand. Her art never disappoints me and I wait every week for her updated chapter of The Red King.
8. Rahel Lehar
Artist 1: Hayao miyazaki
Hayao Miyazaki is a Japanese animator and known for big anime movies. I love watching anime and I love Japanese culture and the way he shows traditional and old style of Japan. I like how he shows fantasy world
Artist 2: Patrick McHale
Patrick McHale is American animator and he animated “over the garden wall”. I like dark themes and dark fantasy and mystery combined together
Artist 3: Ben Bocquelet
Ben Bocquelet is an animator and creator of “the amazing world of gumboil”. I like how he mixed a realistic looking modern world with animals and comedy. His characters have very good sense of humor
10. Mahir Meah
Artist 1: SNEAKO
An artist who I enjoy is a YouTuber by the name of SNEAKO , he is a videographer who makes videos based on real life events, comedy, and political topics. His style is scenic, usually he would do commentary or voiceover while shows different scenery. I grasp some inspiration from some of his videos to produce videos of my own. SNEAKO is not afraid to speak his mind and often than not his opinions are not the most popular or politically correct, however he does back his information up with logistics and makes sense of what he is saying. I am inspired by his work because he does not shy away from real issues, he isn’t afraid to talk about things he believes in, and the overall confidence he shows in his videos are in full display.
Artist 2: Virgil Abloh
Virgil Abloh is an American designer, entrepreneur, and DJ who has been the creative manager of the men’s wear collection of Louis Vuitton since March 2018. Abloh is also the Chief Executive Officer of Off-White, a fashion house he founded in 2013, a Milan based label. Abloh is the first black man in Louis Vuitton’s 164-year history to debut a men’s-wear line. Virgil really inspires me in a way because he’s an African American in what once was a predominantly white male institution, who was raised by immigrant parents of Ghanian descent later created one of the biggest streetwear companies of our generation, which is now worth almost 20 million. The immigrant story really inspires me to follow my dreams no matter what the situation may be.
Artist 3: Jerry Lorenzo
Jerry Lorenzo is the American designer of fashion and shoes. He’s the founder of the Fear of God luxury streetwear label in America. He is also the son of Jerry Manuel, a former MLB player, coach and manager. Similarly to Virgil Abloh, Jerry is a designer of one of the most prolific clothing brands in today’s market in streetwear fashion. I believe his artistic style really inspires me because of the subtleties of his style. The difference between Virgil and Jerry’s style of design is that Jerry tends to make his designs more laid back, giving a more casual undertone with his designs, lazy but fashionable, while Virgil’s styles are a bit more extravagant and more eye popping. His designs really inspire me because I love how each outfit design does not do too much, but works in the grand scheme of things.
11. Yessica Ramirez
Artist 1: Adande Thorne
My first artist is Adande Thorne also known as Swoozie on YouTube. He creates animation videos and tells stories in them. I have watched him for a very long time and have seen his artwork develop overtime. He is different from other animators on YouTube because when he tells his story he has clips of him speaking and then other scenes are of the story he is telling taking place in animation. His style is cartoonish which I love. I love his videos because it makes me laugh and because of the stories. He tells things that are not made up, they actually have happened to him in his life and he jokes about it. I can relate to him because I am that type of person that if something crazy happens to me or embarrassing I’ll joke about it in the future and make fun of myself, which is a way I cope with it, I guess. I love his work because he tells stories in a small amount of time. It reminds me of the project we did his videos are like 5 minutes long, but you get a lot out of them.
Artist 2: Alex Clark
My second artist is another YouTuber, Alex Clark. He also does animation as well. He tells stories that have happened to him, but over exaggerates, so everything is not completely true, but I think it makes it more entertaining to watch. He narrates just like Swoozie, but does it in his animated person not himself in person unlike him. He does different episodes every couple of weeks continuing stories. His style is also cartoonish, but in a different style than Swoozie. I really recommend you seeing both of their content it is very entertaining and their art is amazing!
Artist 3: Alec Monopoly
The last artist is Alec Monopoly. He is a street artist that takes his name after the board game Monopoly. He uses the character in Monopoly to show his views on capitalists’ greed. He uses his work to deliver messages on real world problems. His style is graffiti and cartoon. His work is very colorful as well. He covers his face because he’s done graffiti and wants to avoid to be arrested. I love work like this, that shows and demonstrates real world problems, but so visually appealing.
13. Destiny Staton
Artist 1: Andy Warhol
The artist I decided to pick is Andy Warhol. The type of art that Andy Warhol does is called Pop Art. Pop Art is “ art based on modern popular culture and the mass media, especially as a critical or ironic comment on traditional fine art values.” The era and style of art that he has is pop and modern art. Most of his paintings were done by hand and then later on in the future he moved to screen printing. I’m inspired by his work because he takes things he sees in real life like Campbell’s Tomato Soup and Brillo Pads and turns it into art work. And I just so happen to have both Campbell’s Tomato Soup and Brillo Pads in sneaker form based off of Andy Warhol’s Converse sneaker collection.
Artist 2: Jamel Shabazz
The next artist I decided to pick was Jamel Shabazz who is actually a photographer. He is also a family friend. Shabazz specialized in “fine art, fashion, and documentary photography whose work has been seen in solo exhibitions around the world. He is known for his love of documenting culture and history through photographs”. But he most photographed 80s and 90s fashion he saw around his neighborhood. I’m inspired by Shabazz because he took basic pictures of friends and family and turned then into master art piece which is my future career goal (to become a kids and family photographer).
14. Kiyana Stoutt
Artist 1: Evan Atwood
Evan Atwood is an up and coming photographer based in New York City. Atwood is best known for his majestic digital photographs. His is also known for his portraits which capture the center of both Mexican and LGBTQ culture. He attributes the city to giving him the abilities to uplift the voices of these minority communities. His work is inspirational because his work highlights the indigenous feminist community, which is a community that lacks representation and recognition. While other photographers prefer unedited versions of pictures, Atwood shows that there is no shame in enhancing and editing photos. His editing also brings more attention to his work and esthetic.
Artist 2: Dieter Rams
Dieter Rams is a German industrial designer best known for his design of furniture and other products. Product designer often get overlooked for the role they play in our daily lives. Rams was a big advocate for good functional design and stressed the importance of simplicity in product design. He developed the “10 principle of good design” which is now an important reference when learning the foundation of product design. What is so influential about Dieter Rams and his designs are how minimal they were while also being functional. He focuses on future-proof products and embodies the moto of “less is more”.
3. Paul Strand
Paul Strand is an American photographer and film maker who played a big part in making photography popular during the 20th century. His Black and White photos emphasize the character and their features without any props. His work is inspirational because his most popular works are simple portraits that show the reality of the person he photographs. Paul Strand was also a founder of the Photo League who were New York photographers that banded together around a range of social causes.
The Artist I Chose: Dieter Rams
The artist I decided to write on is Dieter Rams. Dieter Rams was a very important artist who influenced Braun and the functionalist school of industrial design. Rams also created the “10 principles of good design” which is taught as a foundation of product design. In many interviews, Dieter Rams explains the importance and process it took to develop his top ten rules. He speaks of the challenges of minimalistic design and how to overcome it. Rams and his designers have been an importation to their designs in the product design industry.
Interviews and Articles: https://www.vitsoe.com/us/about/good-design
15. Eric Sukhdeo
Artist 1: Steezy Kane
One artist who I really enjoy is a YouTuber by the name of Steezy Kane, he is a videographer who makes skits, vlogs, and prank videos. His style is short but simple, he would have an adventure or point through his videos but he would only include the best parts, also he’s not filtered with what he says isn’t afraid to do anything no matter how embarrassing it is. I am inspired by his work because I too want to make funny videos like he does because they seem so fun and are high quality with the way he does it. Whenever he posts a new video I say to myself “I can do that, what stopping me right now from going out and making a video”. So that is why I like his content and I get inspired when I look at his work.
Artist 2: Matt D’Avella
Matt D’Avella is another videographer on youtube I watch who makes videos on 30-day challenges, self-improvement, and minimalism. His style is very minimalist which is actually his way of life, living with things that either brings him use or joy. His videos are also short but very high quality with interesting angles and soothing voiceover to bring together the idea of the video. What really inspires me to watch him are his self-improvement videos where he offers advice on finances, growing a business, or health that keep me watching because is all very helpful information that I can use to improve my life.
Artist 3: Andyofthechens
A person whom I follow on Instagram by the name of andyofthechens but I shall refer to him as Andy since that is his real name. Andy is an illustrator with is a really cool, colorful, and bizarre art style which I really enjoy. What sets him apart from other artists I follow is that I actually met him on a school trip. I didn’t follow him before so I didn’t know who he was but he actually had to present himself to my group and I felt that he did a really good job showing off his art. His style was very eyecatching, nothing I’ve seen before and I still enjoy his art today and I believe everyone should take a look at it.
16. YiQiang Wang
Artist 1: Annie Chen
In my life, there are many artists who inspire me. One of them I knew when I was in middle school. Her name is Annie Chen. She is an original Chinese comics writers. When I was in middle school, I often read her comics. Her comics depicts the youth story in an ordinary high school campus. The whole comics is humorous and funny, and also very warm and touching. But what inspires me most is her insistence. She was born in an ordinary family, and her dream was to become a cartoonist. However, because of her family’s reasons, she did not have enough money to study art, but she did not give up. Instead, she chose to study by herself. Finally, in her sophomore year in college, Annie Chen began to draw hand-painted comics and share her story with everyone. In addition to sharing her stories with you, Annie Chen has also created China’s largest comics platform after graduation, so that more comics writers with dreams can share their comics with everone.
Artist 2: Zikai Feng
The second artist who inspired me was Zikai Feng (November 9, 1898 – September 15, 1975). He is a modern Chinese painter, essayist, art educator, music educator, cartoonist, calligrapher and translator. I knew him in an article in high school class. Zikai Feng is a versatile artist and the earliest modern cartoonist I know in Chinese history. He combined Chinese and Western painting techniques to create his own cartoon work Zikai cartoon. Most of the contents of the cartoon reflect the social phenomenon at that time, which makes people think deeply.
Artist 3: Chengxi Huang
The name of the last artist who inspired me and most inspired me was Chengxi Huang . He is a Chinese animation original painter. His most famous work is in early 2018, he served as the director of the sixty-fifth NARUTO NEXT GENERATIONS collection, performance and painting. He is the first Chinese to do this position in the Japanese animation industry. For many young people, animation has always accompanied our childhood. When we were children,We looked at the TV with colorful hair and exaggerated actions, it was easy to have the idea that I would also like to be such a person. Of course, we can not be animated characters, but we can create our own animated characters. I have this dream and Chengxi Huang also has this dreams. So ChengXi Huang entered the animation major of Guangzhou Academy of fine arts, and after graduation, he also went to Japan to learn more professional animation knowledge. Chengxi Huang didn’t go very well after he just arrived in Japan, because he needed to study Japanese and practice in animation studio at the same time,but he didn’ t give up because he wants his name to appear at the end of the film, which is his dream. Finally, with Huang’s disdainful efforts, he got the chance to direct the 65th episode of BORUTO. He stayed up late every day for this episode to be more perfect. Finally, it took him four months to complete all the contents. Chengxi Huang ‘s efforts were not in vain. After his works were presented, many people felt excited and moved, and also let me understand that as long as I stick to my dream, there will be a day when it will come true.
17. Zhigang Wen
Artist 1: Hayao Miyazaki
The first artist that I would like to talk about is Hayao Miyazaki, I have always admired his creativity and observation show in his movies. He reflects the problem in our society by using his films with a fairytale world, so, people of different ages get different impressions after they watch his movies. Hayao Miyazakiis a Japanese animator, director, producer, screenwriter, author and manga artist. He produced his first animated movie “ Lupin III: Castle of Cagliostro” in 1979. Later, he has created a lot of famous animated film, such as “Spirited Away”, “Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind”, “Princess Mononoke”, “My Neighbor Totoro”, “Castle in the Sky”…etc. Miyazaki has formed Ghibli Studio with his partner Isao Takahata and Toshio Suzuki in 1985, and this Studio is where they start their the dream of creation.
When I watch the interview about him, I was struck by the rigour and extraordinary insight that he brought to his animation movie. According to what Miyazaki says, he spent almost three months to revise the details in his animation movie, to make the few seconds of earthquake footage in the film look more natural.
Artist 2: Hiromu Arakawa
The second artist that I would like to talk about is Hiromu Arakawa. She is a manga artist, and the best known of her work is Fullmetal Alchemist. I’m not sure is she famous in international, but the work which she is created is very touching. Arakawa was born into a farming family, so she grew up with more contact with nature than most people. I think it is the reason that her characters are so alive in her works, and this is also why I like her work. In the animation Fullmetal Alchemist, there are some humorous elements, but there are also some philosophical and human analysis questions. Although this is an animation, it also has a spirit which is worth thinking and learning. And I think the most powerful part of her is the portrayal of the characters of everyone is flesh and blood, even if they are not the main characters. You might see a character who does not appear a lot, but his/her appearances are just right and memorable. I think it is also because Arakawa brought her characters to life based on her personal style, which builds from her living environment.
Artist 3: Tadao Ando
The third artist that I would like to talk about is Tadao Ando, he grew up in a poor family and spent his childhood in a carpenter’s workshop. Before he is becoming an architect, he worked as a truck driver and a professional boxer( I like it! But I’m not good at this.). He is becoming a professional architect without formal training.
In fact, I did not know this architectural artist at first. But when my friend who is an architect sent me a picture of Ando’s works, I’m attracted by Ando’s work. His works look simple but give people a sense of elegance, which I think is the result of his creativity and observation.
So, the three artists have the same thing in common that appeals and inspires me, which is “Design comes from life.” When people can look closely at the world, the more natural and vivid the things they can create; and the more contagious their works can become.
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