The art of sketching has been time old with pencil sketches. But sketching with ballpoint pens has been relatively new to the field. A 22-year-old Computer Science Engineering student from Mumbai has made his mark in the field, especially after garnering appreciation from all the Bollywood celebrities he has sketched so far. Vaibhav Tiwari, an artist who conducts online classes and workshops on ballpoint sketching expressed about his journey in an exclusive interview with News Karnataka.
Sketching: A hobby
Vaibhav confessed that sketching or being a full-time artist was not planned at all. “It started out as just a hobby in 2018. I used to sketch random portraits of celebrities in my leisure time. I have no educational or formal training regarding art or sketching,” said the diploma holder in Computer Science. Indian culture and traditions inspired this self-taught artist to sketch. Indian history and its relevance has always been a fascination to the young boy. “Sketching some stills from Indian movies, celebrities and so on has been fun,” added Vaibhav. His family, on the other hand, wasn’t very sure of his career as an artist, due to the uncertainty in the stream. “There aren’t many options in the stream, especially art in India. But eventually, my family also supported me to pursue my passion,” he asserted.
Self taught art v/s trained art
The fanart maker is a self-taught artist, who now goes on to teach tricks and techniques to aspiring artists through his classes. Vaibhav candidly said, “I have not been trained under any art institutions, so I don’t know how important it is to be under someone’s guidance. But a lot of difference can be observed between people who are self-taught and those who are trained. When it comes to self-taught artists, there is more scope for creativity and imagination, making their outputs very unique in nature. On the other hand, the artworks of someone who is trained may be more refined, but the quotient of that rarity would be lesser.”
Why ballpoint sketching?
Vaibhav affirmed that the very reason he started ballpoint sketching was because it is a one-of-a-kind type of sketching. “Pencil sketches are very ordinary these days, almost everyone does it. I wanted to do something very different. When I do sketches with ballpoint pens, it immediately stands out from other artworks. It’s also very satisfying and comfortable as compared to pencil sketches,” he said. Vaibhav agreed that ballpoint sketching is very difficult, but he intends to do things that are harder and new rather than resorting to what’s tried, old and easy. Ballpoint sketching also became easier with practice, skills and methods.
Fanart gets recognised by celebrities
Vaibhav Tiwari’s social media handle has been the most famous fanart page in India, which has received attention from all the celebrities of whom he has made portraits. Deepika Padukone, Aditi Rao Hydari and Anushka Shetty are few of the many actors who have appreciated the young boy’s talent. “Receiving attention from celebrities does feel good. However, it doesn’t add any pressure to my art creation, since I only sketch those faces which I genuinely like and admire. When they respond and react to my work, it feels really special. I sketch because I like doing it. Art is all about putting your vision on paper. I sketch pictures of my favourite celebrities and my love for Indian traditions and culture through my imagination,” he contended. Surely, that explains the wondrous sketches of beautiful faces from Bollywood in Indian traditional wear.
Vaibhav was also invited in an award show, Zee Cine Awards 2020, to showcase his sketches of bollywood celebrities. “It was really nice, I felt special and proud of myself and my work. I was applauded by many celebrities out there, which is one of the most special memories in my art career,” said Vaibhav. The most favourite artwork for Vaibhav is his Mahabharat series. The artist held that he felt very pure when he created it. Witnessing and researching the history, the origin of Indian culture and translating those imaginations onto paper was very alluring to the artist. The artist expressed that his favourite artist with whom he’d like to collaborate is Divyanshi-Rashi, a sister duo, whose works are very ‘real.’ Apart from portraits, the artist also admires Indian designs and jewellery work which he likes to sketch. “I really look forward to doing some designing work as well,” he added.
Role of social media
Social media has played a very important role in the present art generation. “It helped me grow as an artist. Social media can let you down sometimes, when you don’t get much recognition. But if you do it with your whole heart, people will recognise and appreciate it. In this aspect, social media has played a great role in my journey so far,” Vaibhav said. In addition to this, the artist expressed that a career trajectory in art has worked out well for him, despite societal assumptions. “It has worked in my favour, both emotionally and financially. Even in the pandemic, I didn’t face any major financial issues while working as an artist. I used to fall short of supplies during the peak of the pandemic but it was temporary. Thankfully, it has been smooth since,” he added.
Workshops and online classes
The 22-year-old budding sketch artist now conducts online workshops as well as classes on sketching teaching the things he’d learnt all by himself to aspiring art students. “Conducting these classes has worked out really well for me. Interacting with new people, connecting with students and teaching my kind of art has been insightful. Spreading a kind of knowledge which many people haven’t seen feels special. Most artists indulge in realism in their artwork. So when I try to teach them something which they hadn’t practised before, I feel honoured. I’m really enjoying my art classes,” said Vaibhav.
The artist informed, he doesn’t have any plans for the future. “I always do everything unplanned. I keep things as authentic as possible since I believe that pre-planned activities don’t really work that well for me. I know that I want to do something related to Indian culture (designs, outfits and so on) only. I want to explore more in the area of Indian history. Let’s see how it works out for me!” Vaibhav signed off.
