It’s not just art - Ghylia Anderson explores the world of anime
Published:Friday | October 4, 2019 | 12:05 AMKeisha Hill/Senior Gleaner Writer
It’s not just art, it’s anime, a Japanese style of animation which has become popular in modern Jamaican culture. As a child, Ghylia Anderson and her cousins spent many nights watching anime shows, and this trend continued throughout her teenage years into adulthood.
Unlike her friends, she was never fascinated with reality shows and, eventually, began following the path of developing her own unique style of anime art.
“During the early 2000s, when Cartoon Network would host its nightly shows on Toonami, my cousins and I would excitedly sit around the television after a long day at school for the next episode of Dragon Ball or Naruto. This interest never faded, and I soon built many friendships around our favourite anime shows,” Anderson said.
As she grew older, Anderson began to create her own stories and develop her own characters while growing and grooming herself as a self-taught artist.
“Many of my drawings, from my teenage years to now, follow a particular theme that stays true to the anime characters I used to love growing up. Many of my pieces are dark in tone and colours. However, I have learned how to branch out and explore brighter, even pastel, colours,” Anderson said.
Animation is one of the many art forms that has impacted media throughout the years. From advertisements to cartoons, mainstream media has utilised this art form to portray a message or a story. Over the years, the anime community in Jamaica has branched out into many sub-sectors to include cosplay, art display and Japanese culture expos which highlight Japanese modern and historical culture.
According to Anderson, although she has keen interest and love for many other art forms, such as dancing and cooking, she has stayed with drawing as a means of expression and creativity.
A natural talent
“Drawing came to me naturally and has improved and taken a life of its own over time. Was it easy? Not necessarily, but neither would I consider it hard. The more you practise and the more you learn art techniques, the better you will become without you even realising it,” she said.
Anderson supports two popular anime communities in Jamaica - Anime Nerdz of Jamaica (ANJ) and Jamaica Cosplay Club (JCC). When she first realided that there was a wider anime community in Jamaica, she started attending most of their anime-themed conventions. Soon after, she started working with a team of artists and writers called Acrylic Moon Studios that work together to publish their works and sell them at these anime-themed events.
Having completed a bachelor’s degree in basic medical sciences with a major in anatomy from The University of the West Indies (Mona), she is looking to turn her hobby into a possible career in digital animation.
“Although I do not have the tertiary know-how to animate, by learning a few tricks from my friends and adapting my study of the human anatomy, I practise and plan small animation projects in my free time,” Anderson said.
She believes there are many aspects of anime that are linked with booming business industries, and merchants who create and import anime-themed novelties to create small businesses.
“Many of my friends and many other anime lovers globally have been influenced this way to create. The anime community is very open and welcoming, and I am happy to be a part of this community and to share my passion with others just like me,” she added.
Although she spends a considerable amount of time on her art, she is also desirous of completing a master’s degree in forensic pathology in the near future. “I would love to start working in a medical laboratory or mortuary to gain more experience in the field as well,” Anderson said.