Artist Statement

My Character Development explores what impacts me: advancements, culture, relationships and passion. I use art to portray stories. Character development is a story terminology; a process of giving characters depth and personality. The monochrome palette references Japanese Manga, a form of visual-storytelling that inspires me. Details draw focus, forcing people to contemplate a story behind the assemblage of images. Line-weight suggests depth, encouraging illusions of animated worlds. Diverse lines creates forms — malleableness to people, structure to buildings. Non-solid objects defy gravity, forming movement. Consistency links the artworks into a complete story of My Character Development.

Artwork Process

I was inspired by reflecting on what impacts me. Each are like separate universes co-existing in my life. My Character Development was communicated through layering personal memories, illustrated through symbolic imagery, in complex scenic compositions. Planning was vital. Before beginning the final artworks, every detail had to be designed multiple times; how to depict memories and the setting carefully considered; redrawing and refining the same image — as minuscule as one line — to portray the exact emotion and visuals I envisioned. Reference photos were crucial to capture the likeliness of every object and person, collecting 563 photos.

About the Artist

Name: Alisha Vo
School: Centenary State High School
Artwork: My Character Development
Media: Black ink drawings on watercolour paper

Storytelling has always been a feature in my artworks. As a kid, I was horrible at reading so I came to appreciate visual methods of conveying knowledge and emotions, especially Japanese Manga and 2D animations. I am inspired by real-life experiences and the process of capturing the emotions in that moment. I’m driven to further understand the stories life can tell and convey them to a wider audience who relate or can become enlightened with new perspectives. In the future, I wish to carry this ideology into animations.