Art Provided by Kayla De Leon
Written by Dani Ramirez
This week, we are highlighting the creative mind of Kayla De Leon, third-year studio arts major. De Leon shared she has always wanted to be a creator of things, whether that is being an artist, musician or storyteller. With her talents, she hopes that people can connect with her creative works and see how far pure passion, grit and dedication to a craft can get you — no matter what those around you might say. Art, to De Leon, is a way of expressing oneself in whatever medium or artistic way you decide to choose. When it comes to her own artistry she talked about expressing herself through the colors, style and things she draws.
When it comes to inspiration, De Leon is an avid fan of Studio Ghibli’s Hayao Miyazaki’s work. She says that, “His works not only have beautiful storytelling, but they also have a lot of heart. You can really feel the personalities of each character.” Her favorite parts of his animations are the mundane moments. Miyazaki’s animations are known for maintaining equal importance of both action and mundane scenes, promoting to audiences that sometimes life is not all that exciting or busy and that is okay. De Leon greatly enjoys these small moments, and because of this stylistic choice, when it comes to Miyazaki’s storytelling, “It makes it feel more human,” she stated.
Recently, De Leon has been quite active in learning and creating more digital art. She creates all her artwork on Krita and Procreate, and has constantly been gaining more experience in both 3D and 2D animation. Currently, she is taking a 3D computer animation class to become well-versed in different mediums. She enjoys learning and becoming informed about new ways to create art. In the future, De Leon wants to become a 2D animator or storyboard artist for a studio. When asked where she might see herself working one day, she said, “I have always wanted to work for DreamWorks. Their works have always inspired me, specifically the work they did with ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ and ‘Puss In Boots: The Last Wish.’” While she has recently been working more with 3D animation, to keep up with the times, she mentioned that she will always have a special place in her heart for 2D animation.
De Leon is also well-rounded with regards to music. As a musician, she plays both electric and acoustic guitar, piano, ukulele, drums, and bass. When asked about her love for music, she said, “If I weren’t an art major, I would probably major in music, honestly maybe even film, and when no one is in the room I like to sing when I play.” Her favorite instrument is her guitar, a wine-red Epiphone Wildcat and her favorite genre of music to play is jazz or bossa nova. An artist that she greatly admires in this same genre is Laufey!
