A pink crayon is clenched in her hand, she scribbles on a loose piece of paper. She switches to a purple crayon, then blue, and slowly an image appears. It’s a messy drawing, meant to be a character that she admires. She shows it to everyone who will look, showing off her beloved piece of artwork. Her parents smile, and tell her she did a good job.
Now, a pencil rests in her hand, she sketches in her notebook, outlining the drawing before she goes back to add color and details. It’s no longer a messy stick figure in crayon, it’s a thought out illustration of one of her favorite characters. She observes her final piece, admiring her work, and thinking back to the little girl she once was.
“Since I was in preschool, I just kept drawing. And I ended up getting good at it,” Addison Hillyard (10) said. “I’m really proud of myself for that, because I was able to get good at it by myself.”
Hillyard has been an artist her whole life. She is constantly working to improve her artwork, and make her younger self proud.
Her love for creating art started with a love for seeing it. Growing up, Hillyard watched a lot of animated shows. The character designs in these shows have stuck with her to this day.
“‘Ever After High’ was a big one,” Hillyard said. “I really liked how the dresses and characters looked. I took a lot of inspiration from that.”
Not only have these shows inspired Hillyard’s art, but they have also inspired her to write. Hillyard’s writing began in elementary school, where she would pull ideas from several shows and books she had watched or read, and create her own story concepts.
“I would start writing the first five chapters of a book, then drop it because I had never created a plot for it,” Hillyard said. “There have been a lot of failed attempts.”
She is now working on original story ideas and characters, for potential books and TV shows she wants to write.
The reason Hillyard is so passionate about her art and writing is because she knows how impactful it can be for a person. Art and stories can leave an impact on the people who see them, and Hillyard wants her work to do that.
“I see how different shows and books and movies affect everyone, and I want to make others feel that too,” Hilyard said.
