Ian Sy - Local artist builds youth interest in art through anime themed programming

One of the many things I get to enjoy as an industry professional and journalist is networking through the huge population of artists in our community.  And there are tons of them!  You can find them throughout the area at events, local community art classes and college campuses.  I was able to connect with one of my local favorites recently at an anime festival and would to introduce him to you.  If you haven't already met this artist I recommend taking the time to get to know him next time you find yourself walking down an Artist Alley during your next convention stop. 

His name is Ian Sy; artist, teacher and mentor.

 I met Ian Sy almost two years ago when my husband and I opened an anime store in San Lorenzo.  We were new to the community and were hoping to present art classes and presentations for the growing population of young people who frequented the location.  Being new, we didn't know many artists and were at a loss at where to begin to find one.  I posted a call to artists on bulletin boards and blogs across the internet then we sat back and waited to hear from someone, with hopes they would have the enthusiasm for the arts and patience to work with kids of all ages.  Ian answered the call and became a regular fixture in our business until we closed and we've followed his career ever since.

 Who is Ian Sy?

The artist

Bio - Ian Sy of Studio Kyuu is a freelance artist and graphic designer who has worked with Dark Horse, PMBQ Studios, and Bay Area Artists Unite. His experience is in storyboarding, page layout, and coloring, but also works on his own comics and illustrations! He is currently writing lessons for Manga Start and is available for tutoring.

Well, there's his bio, so you know who he is officially.  But who is he really? 

Ian Sy's work

Ian Sy (for me) is an artist who lives, eats and breaths his art form.  As an individual, he lives in a very serious and adult life; working to pay bills and building a life as so many of us do.  However, as an artist, he is far from the serious and all business individual you might come to expect in a board room scenario.

I wouldn't say that Ian's artwork is the typical anime art, for there is something a little different about the art he produces.  I'm far from an art expert, nor am I an art critic, but I am a fan of animation and do know good work when I see it  - and his work is very good.  When I look at his art there is a brightness to it.  When I say brightness, I refer to a mood that his art puts me in - and that mood is bright and joyous.  I get a smile on my face and am distracted from the stresses of the real world that may be occupying me at the time.  Movement, expression and mood are the elements that stand out for me.  His artwork speaks and - if willing - a conversation can be had without too many distracting bubbles and words.  And I like that.

The teacher

 Ian works with students and some of his artwork

Ian has a youthful enthusiasm for all genres of anime and is keenly aware of the trends and happenings catching the attention of the young anime fan.  And he doesn't stop with being aware, he truly enjoys discussing, teaching and mentoring young people, using anime art as a tool.  For Ian, manga is a portal through which he can connect to his students to bring out their inner artist.  He uses manga and anime to catch his student's interest, then pulls them into lessons covering the foundations of art.  From structure, lines and shading, Ian's students learn the same fundamentals of art any "serious" artist would be expected to learn and understand. 

Through the teaching product, Manga Start, Ian partners with other artists to develop lessons covering art technique while having fun!  Manga Start targets a young audience, with fun and engaging activities that bring the students into that deep art conversation without them feeling they're in that artsy place.  I've watched him deliver lessons to groups and individuals and I don't know how he does it.  The kids he works with feel at ease and quickly follow him down the path, from scribbles to real art.   For Ian, it's important that art be studied and understood if one wants to become an artist, regardless of the art genre chosen. 

The mentor

What I like most about Ian is his personality!  I often find myself imagining him as a character in an anime series, teaching the magic of art to his knowledge hungry students.  He loves teaching kids!  This is so rare and we are fortunate to have individuals out there still willing to give of themselves in a desire to pass the torch.

My final questions to Ian were about his goals and where he would like to go with his artwork.  This is a hard question for him, for he has no loafty ambitions of having authoring the next great Naruto or Yu-Gi-Oh!, nor does he have an ego driven need to be at the center of a global anime machine - throwing out piles of properties each year for a starving audience of anime fans.  On the contrary, he would rather be given more vehicles through which he can continue to give back to the community that has given him opportunities to connect with artists and students across the country.   

"Nobody calls anime art but to make anime requires knowledge of art."

So Ian is not just an artist, he is indeed a mentor and teacher of the art.; representing an artform that has captured a generation of our youth and giving them a sense of artistry as they enjoy their sense of fandom.