Express press service
BENGALURU: At the end of 2014, the famous American physicist and author Alan Lightman received an email from a young art student in India. The student illustrated some verses from Lightman’s book Song of Two Worlds for an academic project and at the insistence of his teacher, he mailed them to Lightman.
Lightman was so impressed with the illustrations that he published a special illustrated edition of his book and asked if the 18-year-old would illustrate the entire book. Derek Dominic D’Souza of Bengaluru, then just 18, was surprised by the offer. Just in his freshman year of art school, D’Souza hadn’t expected something like this.
“I had never illustrated a book before. So for them to ask me to create this was huge. I felt like an impostor working on it. But my teacher was supportive and the whole experience was uplifting,” he shares.
Now a successful and much-loved digital illustrator, Derek hosted a free-for-all digital art workshop in the city on Sunday ahead of Bengaluru Comic Con 2022. “It’s always been one of my goals, to be at an event Comic Con and also to organize a workshop like this,” he said.
Born and raised in the city, D’Souza says having his studio in his own town was an honor he never expected. D’Souza expressed his admiration for the city, sharing that he quit his previous job just so he could stay in his hometown. “I lived in other places while working for Disney. During the pandemic I came back to Bengaluru and never got to go back. I quit that job and started a new one here , because this city is my home and it’s perfect. I love the cafes, the weather and everything about this city,” he says.
Having developed an interest in art from an early age, D’Souza says he only discovered digital art in recent years. “My interest in digital art started after I joined art college. Before going to art school, I didn’t know much about digital art. I always I knew I wanted to be an artist, but I didn’t know what kind of artist. It wasn’t until I went to college that I realized such a thing existed and could have a future. D’Souza has since experimented with his art style, now settling on a distinct style that has helped him rack up hundreds of thousands of social media followers.
Despite his successes, D’Souza believes the digital art landscape in the country hasn’t been very supportive of budding artists. “Most see art as a hobby rather than a career in this country. So, making a career in art is anything but simple. If you’re looking for serious artist opportunities, it’s mostly in commercials, or sometimes you get music videos.
But there is no large-scale industry that can support artists. It’s very different compared to western countries,” he explains. But the rise of the work-from-home culture, D’Souza believes, has helped artists enormously to find opportunities. “You no longer have to limit yourself to opportunities in one city or one location, you can work anywhere in the world,” concludes D’Souza.
BENGALURU: At the end of 2014, the famous American physicist and author Alan Lightman received an email from a young art student in India. The student illustrated some verses from Lightman’s book Song of Two Worlds for an academic project and at the insistence of his teacher, he mailed them to Lightman. Lightman was so impressed with the illustrations that he published a special illustrated edition of his book and asked if the 18-year-old would illustrate the entire book. Derek Dominic D’Souza of Bengaluru, then just 18, was surprised by the offer. Just in his freshman year of art school, D’Souza hadn’t expected something like this. “I had never illustrated a book before. So for them to ask me to create this was huge. I felt like an impostor working on it. But my teacher was supportive and the whole experience was uplifting,” he shares. Now a successful and much-loved digital illustrator, Derek hosted a free-for-all digital art workshop in the city on Sunday ahead of Bengaluru Comic Con 2022. “It’s always been one of my goals, to be at an event Comic Con and also to organize a workshop like this,” he said. Born and raised in the city, D’Souza says having his studio in his own town was an honor he never expected. D’Souza expressed his admiration for the city, sharing that he quit his previous job just so he could stay in his hometown. “I lived in other places while working for Disney. During the pandemic I came back to Bengaluru and never got to go back. I quit that job and started a new one here , because this city is my home and it’s perfect. I love cafes, the weather and everything about this city,” he says. Having developed an interest in art from an early age, D ‘Souza says he only discovered digital art in the last few years. “My interests in digital art started after I joined art college. Before going to art school, I didn’t know much about digital art. I always knew I wanted to be an artist, but I didn’t know what kind of artist. It wasn’t until I went to college that I realized such a thing existed and could have a future,” he says. D’Souza has since experimented with his art style, now settling on a distinct style that has helped him rack up hundreds of thousands of social media followers. Despite his successes, D’Souza believes the digital art landscape in the country hasn’t been very supportive of budding artists. “Most see art as a hobby rather than a career in this country. So, making a career in art is anything but simple. If you’re looking for serious artist opportunities, it’s mostly in commercials, or sometimes you get music videos. But there is no large-scale industry that can support artists. It’s very different compared to western countries,” he explains. But the rise of the work-from-home culture, D’Souza believes, has helped artists enormously to find opportunities. “You no longer have to limit yourself to opportunities in one city or one location, you can work anywhere in the world,” concludes D’Souza.