Jarica Yap
Jarica is a 16-year-old girl who enjoys doing digital art. An artist, in her opinion, is to inspire people to express themselves and also to encourage them to enjoy the media they choose. She uses Procreate to create her illustrations.
Besides doing art to convey her creative ideas, she also uses it as a form of relaxation. She enjoys the process of coming up with her own characters, and design their looks by experimenting with different kinds of media. Jarica loves sharing her artwork online, as she finds the artistic community embracing and inspiring. The exchange of ideas with artists from all around the world is an exhilarating experience for Jarica, prompting her to create more creative pieces.
The piece of work shown above is called “There is Enough Love to Give“. This was a project Jarica did in school, and it was printed on cards to be given out in the neighbourhood. She was very proud of this piece as she tried something new such as adding a scenery with power lines.
The Best Engineer, with room for improvement
For this piece, Jarica experimented with a different art style. She designed a gijinka (anthropomorphism of an animal-like character) of Yellow, and she is from a game called “Rainbow Friends”. Designing the character was the most enjoyable for Jarica as she got the chance to be creative, based on the original character.
(1st picture): Tad Bit Silly: This piece was done for an art trade which Jarica did for a friend.
(2nd picture): Under the Melting Sun: she created this piece to experiment with lighting, using Procreate. This is a sequel to the artwork “There is Enough Love to Give“, since the characters are in a similar setting.
(1st picture): Reaching Out: Jarica’s first attempt at experimenting with character’s dynamic posing
(2nd picture): I Can Be a Cat Too!: Ran! is the main character in a comic which she made. The addition of cat ears and tail was exclusive for international Cat Day. Usually, she doesn’t have cat ears and tail.
(3rd picture): Mostly Everything About Edo: Edo! is a misunderstood girl. There were rumours about her floating around in the classrooms. Edo! is Ran!’s classmate, they are characters in the comic which Jarica made. This is her reference sheet.
Akanbe! Xp
This is a gift to Jarica’s sister, who asked Jarica to draw for her. Jarica enjoyed the colouring process the most, she got to learn about how various cool colours worked together.
Laughter Is The Best Medicine
This is fanart of a character called Bittergiggle from Garten of Banban. Jarica had fun illustrating this, especially with the colouring and rendering.
Jarica’s digital work is indeed inspiring and she has developed her own unique style. We had a chat with her to get into her creative mind. Read on to find out:
1. Which famous artist has a strong influence on your work?
I love @siun_5513 on Instagram. Their style is lovely—the colouring and composition of their illustrations are very eye-catching! I am inspired to incorporate this kind of style into my work.
2. What is your favourite medium to use?
Besides digital media, I also like oil pastels. I love how rich and smooth they are, and how easy it is to apply and layer the colours. Oil pastels allow much room for experimentation and they are so fun to use.
3. What is your favourite colour, and if it has a taste, what does it taste like?
My favourite colour is cream. It is a very soft and light tone that goes well with a lot of colours. It is the same colour which I see outside my home, and it looks besutiful in the sunset. If it has a taste, it would taste like swiss roll, simple and delicious!
4. Do you wish to pursue a career which is art-related?
Yes. Although art-related jobs are quite limited in Singapore, and the pay is not the most ideal, I’d still be happy to have a career that I really enjoy. It might also be a highly competitive industry, but I have faith that I will do well and live comfortably in a small apartment.
5. Would you rather be a tortoise or a chair? Why?
Tortoise. There are so many things to see and discover in this world, and so much to learn. If I’m a chair, I will be stuck at one place. While it is comforting to expect the same routine daily, it will eventually become mundane. As a tortoise, I might be slow, but I will still be moving and making progress. One of my good friends, who helped me through a tough time, told me that small progress is still progress. It is a good thing to be able to do what you can at your own pace.
6. Who would you pick to be your house-mate, Andy Warhol or Leonardo Da Vinci? Why?
I would choose Da Vinci because renaissance paintings have a special place in my heart. They convey simplicity but with much emotions. Da Vinci was also well known for his sketches on anatomy, astronomy, botany, cartography and palaeontology. It would be fulfilling and inspiring to learn from him, and have a chance to listen to him go through his notes and diagrams. If he is my house-mate, I will also be able to talk with him about the renaissance period, and what it was like to be a painter during that time.
While I enjoy the bright colours in Warhol’s work, I find that his choice of colours are too hard on the eyes. But that doesn’t mean that I won’t use bright colours in my work.
7. The day comet lands on earth, what would most likely happen to you?
I would be very intrigued by this comet and many questions would cross my mind. How did this comet land here? What does it contain? Is it for better or for worse? I would discuss it with my friends and try to form theories of what it could possibly bring.
8. When you submitted your entry to our art competition “Design Your Avatar”, did you expect to win?
I didn’t. But I believed that my entry would make it into the finals. I didn’t expect myself to win the first prize, especially after seeing some of the entries. Participating in the competition and having the opportunity to showcase my ideas and creative process was a very wonderful experience for me, regardless of the results.
9. What inspired you to create the angler fish mermaid?
I was inspired by the mythical sirens, who would lure sailors by serenading them, putting them in a trance and then attracting them into the water before eating them. I wanted to use the idea of an alluring siren and the lure of an angler fish to convey how the anglerfish siren uses the illicium to attract fish with a light.
10. What question would you like to ask the next featured artist?
What type of media (from TV shows, books, manga and games) do you like? Who is your favourite character from that series?
To see more of Jarica’s work, please follow her on Instagram @pensive_emm, or click the IG icon below
