Gallery | 3 Photos

Sidra Asif

Junior Nicole Wang works on her next art piece, a pencil sketch. Although her commissions are usually digital drawings, Wang prefers to work on paper. “ I like how it looks when it's in a sketch form,” Wang said. “I put more hard work into that.”

A stress reliever, esteem-booster and therapy provider are all ways junior Nicole Wang describes art’s role in her life. Whether it be using a paintbrush and canvas or an Apple pen and iPad, she creates her universe through the characters she brings to life, each with personalities and lives.

 With her talent in character art, Wang creates profile commissions that highlight unique features and characteristics of each individual.

Wang initially began her art journey in a more realistic art style, drawing traditional landscapes and sceneries. She started developing her anime-inspired, cartoonish style for character drawings only after looking at her friend’s sketchbook in middle school. Within its pages were numerous characters with different personalities shaded in diverse colors, showing Wang a different world from traditional art.

“I don’t remember a time where I wasn’t into art. Ever since I was young, I loved to draw,” Wang said. “When I was younger, I was struggling a lot with my mental health. I really used art kind of as a stress reliever, a really big stress reliever. Cause I would draw how I was feeling, and I’ll feel a little bit better.”

She initially started doing commissions after a coincidental event. Last summer, her swim coach asked her to draw a portrait of him after seeing the profile drawing she drew for her friends. Since then, she has been charging $5 per commission through her Instagram (@the_shortest_draws) and Discord (@shortest #947) accounts. 

Wang also uses her social media platform to share and document her journey with art. 

“My favorite thing about commissioning drawings is just that my friends enjoy it, and they actually use what I draw, because I’m not a person with really high self-esteem, so when I see people actually enjoying what I drew, it makes me really happy,” Wang said. 

Wang continues to develop her style with inspiration from manga and webtoons. As a night owl, she says that most of her inspiration comes to her in the middle of the night. While Wang says she most likely will not pursue an art career, her art hobby will continue through her efforts to create lively characters with a style like no other.