Akiel’s artistic touch
View(s):
Illustrations courtesy Akiel Surajdeen
The video titled “A Bit of Gold” opens into an orange, East Asian town. The telephone wires, paper lanterns and backdrop are an easy mix of sophisticated anime and traditional Chinese paintings of soothing landscapes. Amidst the colossal beauty of the edgy tapestry,we meet a young girl. The video’s only character, her bangs flapping and ribbons tossing in the wind she quickly takes centre stage of her fiery red-orange world.
Behind the layers of animation, philosophical story and our Mulan-esque protagonist is 21-year-old Akiel Surajdeen. It’s hard to believe that the second year motion graphics and animation student started off as a child who refused to draw. “I was forced to draw,” he says, remembering his parents’ concern. Their pushing paid off, or more than they expected, when the youngster upgraded his artwork to scribbling on the walls. It didn’t stop there. He soon began annoying his teachers with the added doodles that decorated his books, while schooling at Lyceum International School. By the time he was doing his A/L’s “I wanted to draw seriously.”
If you flip through his projects on behance.net or his Youtube videos, you’ll find it hard to pinpoint a style to the young illustrator. He grew up obsessed with Disney, but drew “anime stuff” inspired by Studio Ghibli. At 14, his sister gifted him a graphic tablet, which helped the self-taught artist, but he humbly believes that any young illustrator needs a solid foundation with pencil and paper- “you need the traditional forms and textures” he adds the need to appreciate traditional forms before stepping into graphic illustration.
Now, formally studying what he loves, Akiel is enjoying the freedom and the study of animation. “I’m learning a lot that I couldn’t have done alone”. Five years ago, the former electronics and communication engineer would never have thought he would be studying animation now. “My friends were really supportive from the beginning”, constantly telling that “this is what I should have been doing.”
Like any artist, Akiel wants his fantastical backgrounds and identifiable characters to tell a story. When he’s not working on a new piece late into the next morning, the artist is also a writer- both art forms sometimes parallel to each other. If there is a way to describe his work, ‘introspective’ is as close as can possibly describe him. His written work, he laughs shyly, is usually a conversation between two people. Although he works with graphic illustration now, Akiel longs to one day make it as a 2D illustrator. “It’s magical,” he lights up as he talks about the intricacy of the hand drawn cartoons he grew up watching “come to life.” “There is a direct interplay between the artist and the work,” the sheer intimacy of 2D animation- “It’s like your baby,” he adds poetically.
Akiel
He is also sharing his love for animation with other youngsters as a volunteer for Iridescence – Hope Through Art. A platform that teaches art to underprivileged and marginalized children, the ability to share the magic of animation and art is “fulfilling” he adds simply.
These days, Akiel is reading about art and artists. His recent inspiration is Russian illustrator and designer, Ivan Bilibin whose combination of European and Japanese woodcuts grabbedAkiel’s attention. An avid reader, Akiel is always on the lookout for different genres; his latest reads include graphic novelist Mariko Tamaki and Tillie Bolton.
His passion for illustration obviously found Akiel being a regular at Lanka Comic Con. However, he says he missed the superhero phase and is drawn towards more vulnerable characters like “Spirited Away’s” Chihiro- a young girl who goes on a quest to a spirit world to free her parents. The idea of watching characters “fight for it” is the attraction for Akiel. It’s why “Mulan” and “Hercules” are among his unconventional favourite Disney animated movies.
When our fringed young protagonist first appears against her golden backdrop in the video, she seems lost, suddenly beaten down by a gust of wind. As she runs a past smoggy factory and a bamboo forest, you can’t help but cheer for her as she speeds on through her mysterious quest. When she falls, just for a few seconds, you cheer her on from your side of the screen, as she picks herself up to the rising run. For Akiel, transformation is a rite of passage for his characters, making them a lovable, empathetic bunch. That’s the message he wants to show his audience – “Life isn’t perfect, but it’s worth it.”
| Young artist Akiel Surajdeen put his hand to this week’s beautiful cover of the festive time that is upon us, giving readers a view of his take on the Avurudu season. |
For more of Akiel’s work check out Behance -https://www.behance.net/Akiel Surajdeen or his instagram page https://
www.instagram.com/herearepixels/