Aaden Goh
Aaden Goh Yu Fong (from Singapore) is a 14-year-old boy who loves art. His work often includes an incredible amount of details, telling compelling stories at the same time. And here’s a self-portrait of him in a superhero costume, which he created on Ipad, using the app Artrage.
Aaden started reading Marvel comics when he was 12, uncovering the vast lore. In 2021, after watching the TV series about his favourite character, the Scarlet Witch, he began to draw her and other characters from the comics. According to him, the more he drew, the more it felt like he was going through an out-of-body experience, discovering a whole new world.
This is Aaden’s entry to our MASH THEM UP art competition. The character which he created, Mrs Birdie, won the nods of our judges. They were very impressed by the details, creativity and imagination displayed in this piece, and unanimously thought that this entry deserved the top prize. You can see the winners and finalists of this art competition here.
One-Point Perspective Drawing – Surrealism This is an art assignment which Aaden did in school. For this lesson, he was taught perspective drawing and colour theory.
He was inspired by a comic book he read, where the mystical hero opened his “third eye”. He was amazed that the book’s illustration suddenly depicted a whole new world, with magical creatures everywhere. What was unique was the way the scene was coloured—“normal” things like people and buildings were in black and white, while the creatures and the hero were in vibrant colours.
Aaden tried to recreate this scene but instead of having “normal” things in black and white, he chose to use complementary colour schemes to differentiate the subjects.
My feelings Aaden did this piece on ChromeBook, using an app called Chrome Canvas. This drawing serves as an expression of his feelings when he encountered much stress and difficulties. These were problems which he experienced often and they overwhelmed him. What he felt seemed a scientific process to him, which is why he drew a brain. The drawings also depicted some of his childhood memories, his aspirations, his interest in comics and that special time when he dressed up as Thor.
Magik of the X-Men fanart | Scarlet Witch fanart These are based on Aaden’s favourite heroes from Marvel comic books. These are his first few drawings where he explored the anatomy of the human body. He also discovered the huge spectrum of colours, where he played with tones and contrasting hues.
Magik fanart | Jean Grey of the X-Men fanart More fanart of Aaden’s favourite heroes, where he continued to play with colours and various brushes.
Wanda Maximoff of the Avengers fanart | Boom-boom fanart | Scarlet Witch fanart | Mighty Thor fanart Aaden drew these on Ipad, using the app Procreate. He was particularly interested in learning how to draw the human face, and how to accurately depict the texture of fabric, through observation.
The premiere of Marvel Studios’ “Thor: Love and Thunder” thrilled Aaden to no end. He decided to make the experience even more memorable by dressing up as Thor. To make Thor’s helmet, Aaden cut out the bottom of hotel slippers to serve as wings at the side. Then he attached them to a cardboard strip. The components of this helmet were held together by glue and some blue tack. He also sprayed the helmet with a coat of shiny silver paint.
Fashion Design As part of the school’s fashion design assignment, the students took inspiration from a chosen dish to design fashion figures. Aaden’s was a fruit bowl, and he wanted a retro style for his figure.
She wears a blouse with a pattern like that of a kiwi, and brown tights like the skin of a kiwi. On her right shoulder and elbow, are pads that adopt the texture and appearance of strawberries. While her tights have bursting strips of flowy fabrics, that simulate the garnish of mint leaves.
She also wears skates that open at the top like a banana, and have crunchy parts attached to its front, to add texture from granola in a fruit bowl.
Lastly, she is wearing a vest, which is Aaden believes is a prominent apparel in a retro style. Overall, he incorporated many contrasting ideas, while attempting to present her sporty personality and womanly side.
Chinese Comic During the year-end school break in 2021, Aaden’s holiday homework was to do a book report for a Chinese novel which he had read. He was touched by the story of the character’s childhood—how he found joy and excitement in his simple life with his grandmother. Aaden then decided to create a comic book out of this story, he drew the comic on paper, using colour pencils and markers.
To catch a glimpse of Aaden’s imaginative mind, we asked him these questions:
1. What are your favourite things to draw?
I like to draw superheroes (from Marvel comics and TV shows).
2. Who is your favourite artist and how has he/she inspired you in your artwork?
Russell Dauterman, and he shows me that there can never be too many details in my artwork. Also, the drawings which he did when he was a boy show that having passion and never giving up will lead you to somewhere eventually.
3. When you mix midnight blue with titanium white, what colour would you get and what kind of emotion would it represent?
I think I’ll get periwinkle blue, which would represent modesty.
4. If you could be a pony or a teacup, what would you be and why?
I want to be a pony, because then I’ll be able to experience the earth more, as I feel the ground beneath my hooves when I run. I’ll get to play around with a mane and also get to experience a totally new life on a farm, where it smells organic.
5. You are stranded on a deserted island with an abundance of food, what would you do to preserve your sanity?
I’ll push down some trees onto each other to make a fort to keep the food safe. Then, I’ll make a large S.O.S on the shore, and learn to make some furniture with the trees, like a sheltered dining table. As I wait, I’ll go explore the island.
6. Which fictional character would you like to be in real life?
I don’t think I want to be any of my fictional characters, or if I can even picture myself being them. Maybe they’re better off playing the role of those we can look up to, bring excitement to our lives and inspire us. While we already make our own stories.
7. What question would you like to ask the next featured artist?
How happy does doing art make you feel?
