good nite sms: Dreamheart Spotlight # 33

"Everyone's unique in a way they have their own way that they think about things, who they see the world in their own view..."

"I think I've been drawing since I was three years old...three or five years old. When I was young, I thought drawing was something unique to me....like to be able to express yourself through different ways", said 15-year-old aspiring graphic novelist, Marqueet DeShields.

Marqueet is not from an artistic family. His knack for graphite illustrations defies the laws of genetics. "My aunt used to ask me what I want to be in the future, I always said I wanted to be a cartoonist", he said.

Inspired mostly by cartoons from his younger years as well as current favorite prime time television, Adventure Time and Pesona 4 the animation to name a few, Marqueet scowls entertaining illusions.

"Many of my characters, I just draw from,um like a reference from another characters I've seen before." For Example "the various Manga books I've been reading lately:

Pandora Hearts
Black Rock Shooter~Innocent Soul~
Shakugan no Shana "

"I use a bit of ideas from their style then I just apply it to my characters. Then later on I try to come up with my own styles so I can make it more unique", he said.

"I do name them, but sometimes I feel better asking other people what to name them."

On observation, it's clear that Marqueet's drawings tell a story.

"I make little short comments. I write my stories down in a book as well to pine out what the story line is going to be", he said.

"Sometimes I draw warlike apocalyptic things...sometimes I draw peaceful things...depending on the story."

"For me normally [it takes] a few days to finish a drawing. If I have nothing else throughout the day, maybe 30 minutes but usually a few days."

Trailing in the academic preening of celebrities and lyrical icons Jada Pinkett-Smith and Tupac Shakur; Marqueet is currently a freshman at Baltimore School for the Arts.

To achieve the privilege of seeing his name on the attendance roster, Marqueet competed among other hopefuls. With on the spot drawing, an audition, displaying his progressive portfolio, complete with a house visit, he gained acceptance just last September.

"I was pretty nervous , he said. "It's a real professional school. I was afraid maybe my posture as I was sitting was't right or the clothes I was wearing. The little things I was worried about."

As the name in tells, this school focuses on fine arts. Adding...Shading...Drawing...Drawing shapes! What separates it from other schools is the 4 hour block of instruction set aside for art.

"Right now we're just drawing bags and distorted shapes", said Marqueet. "Drawing boxes was the first thing we did. Of course it sounds easy but it really isn't."

"A lot of people said I should go there. I thought I'd try it out to see what it would be like. So far it's interesting", he said.

While Marqueet is still growing and working on his distinctive touch, he does have quirks that are uniquely him.

"I often erase a lot..." Yet he never simply discards a flawed project, rather opt to draw over it in preservation.

This teen dreamer is at the age where his parents are expecting him to take on a part time job and learn financial responsibility.

"When I was young some people did pay me in candy to draw something", he said. "Nowadays people just admire."

"I'd rather my summer job have something to do with drawing, to be honest."

Marqueet currently has his sights on animation and digital art with the hopes of sharing his passion via a social media platform. "Hope to create an account with DeviantArt soon", he said.

When he's not drawing, he's online. "But that don't seem like much of a hobby, does it", he mused.