ART HAS always been a deep part of human culture ever since mankind perfected their craft in it. And as with the current trend and the influence of different types of TV Shows and animated series, a lot of youngsters are now not just watching them but putting their time and effort into drawing, sketching and creating their favourite characters either animated or real life. Some have even began to create and manage their own mini series of characters. This has not only created thousands of job opportunities for creative artists but have also made a lot of youngsters financially independent as well through their increasing demands in art sales.
With the widespread demand for more new animation series by millions of viewers all over the world, the future of animation looks really promising and with the market expanding worldwide, it’ll just be a matter of time before every member in each household becomes a devoted fan and a viewer.
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Nimrei Woleng is an 18-year-old girl hailing from Sirarakhong village, Ukhrul district, currently residing in Dimpaur, Nagaland. She has recently completed her course in Visual Arts at Manipur’s University of Culture and is now pursuing her Bachelors degree in Mass Communication. Some of her hobbies include drawing and playing the piano and she hopes to land herself a career in fine arts.
After her short introduction I asked her the type of art she focuses on, to which she replied saying, “I first began with water colour paintings like sceneries and realistic content but now I create my art digitally. But most of my artworks are anime related. Nimrei Woleng first fell in love with drawing when she was 3 or 4 years old, she says. Ever since she discovered her passion in it, she said that she has never looked back. She also feels that her years of drawing experience will pave way for success in her future endeavours. Her art in many aspects are a lot different from any other artists for her touches and strokes with the brushes and colours brings a different sensation of liveliness into her characters. The ability to choose and apply the right colours and at the same time be able to bring a gleaming sensation to the viewers eye is mesmerising and as close to magic. The preciseness in her art and the charismatic and positive attitude she colours herself with always reassures the eyes of the beholder that her art doesn’t disappoint.
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Why anime? Why do you think drawing anime characters give you this sense of content or pleasure? She replied, “I haven’t thought much about it but I’ve watched anime for so many years and it gradually started to inspire me in binge drawing those specific characters. There were times when I spent every night sketching those characters. And I guess those experiences created a muscle memory in me allowing me to form my own style of art. Infact, it doesn’t only make me content but I am most comfortable when I start drawing those anime characters”.
Some of her favourite anime includes, To your eternity, Demon Slayer and One Piece. Over the course of more than a decade as an artist she has drawn roughly a thousand anime characters, both trials and errors. She also assures that now she can imagine her own anime characters and draw them as perfectly as she envisions. In most cases with tribal families, parents aren’t really supportive when their child wishes to opt for art, but on the contrary, her parents are a 100% supportive and proud of the progress she’s made so far. And even though she has never charged anyone a dime for her artwork, Nimrei Woleng believes that she is now ready to fill in orders as she wishes to ease her parents financially.
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When asked if she has any message for the upcoming youngsters or any individual who are interested in pursuing this career, she says, “Well, for those who are interested in art, I would say that patience and perseverance are key to a successful career especially in this line of work. And never keep things for later or tomorrow. Procrastination and comparing one’s artwork with others is an artist’s biggest downfall. Always be proud and grateful for every progress you make and learn from your errors.”
Never give up!
Thotchanmung Jamang is currently pursuing Bachelors Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication at St Joseph University Dimapur.
