Noi Ele Miyata
Noi (11 years old this year) lives in Kofu, Yamanashi, Japan with her family. They have been living there since 2010. This is her self-portrait which she created digitally.
Noi started drawing digitally when her father bought a drawing tablet for himself. He was planning on publishing a book during the pandemic and wanted to illustrate everything himself. He finished the illustrations but thought they were not good enough. So he decided to let Noi have a go at it. She was such a natural at digital art that he decided to let her have the tablet. That was in January 2021. And Noi has been drawing on the tablet since then.
Noi used to do her digital artwork on Sketchbook, and these days, she’s mostly on Procreate.
Samgon is Noi’s entry to our MASH THEM UP art competition. Her creature bagged the third prize in category 1.
She won a printed tee shirt featuring her award-winning art. You can see the winners and finalists of this art competition here.
Me At Night | Family
Digital Art
Me At Night: Noi gets scared at night and imagines that there are monsters lurking in the dark.
Family: This is originally Noi’s annual New Year photo and she turned it into digital art—Mom and Dad plus 3 kids, together with a cat (River) and a dog (Sam).
River on Top | The Eye | On the Tree
Digital Art
River on Top: Noi’s cat River is always on top of things. Here, she’s on top of Sam, Noi’s dog, who was too tired to continue walking.
The Eye: This was the first thing which she drew on the iPad when her parents got the tablet for Noi and her siblings.
On the Tree: When Noi drew this picture, her family had not put up their Christmas tree yet. She set it up through her art.
Black Cat | Painted Shoes
Acrylic Paint
Black Cat: Noi personalized her museum bag with some Halloween illustrations.
Painted Shoes: She loves to personalize her belongings by painting on them. Noi also loves to paint on other things like rocks, wood, shirts and canvases.
The Miyatas is a close-knitted family and the parents are very supportive of the kids. Mom and Dad are photographers—this is a creative family who enjoys taking on artistic projects.
This is the human formation which they created for Xobon, and we are still very thrilled and moved for what they did! Thank you so much.
We had a little interview session with talented Noi to find out more about her, and please follow her on Instagram:
1. When did you start drawing? What are your favourite things to draw and why?
I started very young. I think I started playing with colours even before I entered kindergarten. In kindergarten, I had already started putting my ideas on paper.
2. What is your favourite medium?
I love using coloured pencils because they are easy to use. These days I like drawing on my drawing tablet, because I can use a lot of different brushes, and the colours are very bright and endless.
3. If you can be a cartoon character, which one would you be and why?
If I can be a cartoon character I would be Fluttershy from My Little Pony. I watched My Little Pony all the time on YouTube when I was very young. Fluttershy likes animals and I also love animals of all sizes. Like me, she’s also very shy.
4. What is your favourite colour and if it has a smell, what would it smell like?
My favorite colour is pastel purple and it will smell like macarons – sweet and delicious.
5. During the pandemic, what did you do most of the time at home?
During the pandemic, my siblings and I started doing educational YouTube videos. With the help of my mom and dad, we made English, Japanese, and Filipino tutorial videos. We made tongue twisters, word translations, word games, and even song covers and dances. It was a lot of fun! You can watch some of our videos on our YouTube account (HESHEandtheSKIMPERLIES). I became more active on social media when I started my own Instagram account.
6. If you can create a piece of artwork to help this world be a better place, what would you make?
If I have the chance to draw beautiful things and inspiring messages on people’s belongings, like shirts, bags or notepads, I think I can make some people happy.
7. Complete this sentence: The dinosaur fell into a bucket of silver paint and …
The dinosaur fell into a bucket of silver paint and became Super Silver Dino and saved the world from a meteor!
