Junior creates YouTube channel as part of artistic journey

In a YouTube video uploaded Feb. 9, junior Hannah Chang flips through her sketchbook: 20 pages of cartoons of people, animals and food. Some illustrations are shaded black and white while others boast a variety of colors. This sketchbook is a culmination of Chang’s art in the past year.

She created her YouTube channel “HeyIt’sHannah” two months ago. It currently has 20 subscribers and five uploaded videos — four art-related and the fifth about baking.

In addition to a sketchbook tour, two of her art videos are time-lapse sketches: one a self-portrait and the other two paintings of women in honor of the Women’s March on Jan. 21.

To expand further into the art community, she created a mini movie with snapshots of National Portfolio Day in San Francisco on Jan. 14, where high school artists around the Bay Area received feedback from art schools they are interested in. Chang also has a baking video of her making dog-shaped macarons to celebrate the Year of the Dog and Chinese New Year.

She said each art video takes her at least five hours to create and edit. She has been trying to update her channel every Sunday, but her uploading schedule varies depending on schoolwork.

“I usually do mini illustrations of things that I think have a deep story behind them,” Chang said. “I showcase my art by trying to draw for friends and family, posting it on social media or making gift products from my art and selling it.”

After watching videos from artists like Julia Kuo and Jing Wei on Instagram, Chang decided to create her own channel.

Chang has been drawing ever since she can remember but didn’t specialize in illustrations, or “colorful and lively drawings of real life objects,” until her freshman year. Since then, she has dabbled in screen printing, clay making, fashion and animation.

“I did take some art classes, but I never really followed what the teachers told me,” Chang said. “I’m mostly self-taught. I want to continue pursuing art in the future because it helps me de-stress and tell my stories.”

She has also entered numerous competitions like Scholastic Art and Writing, winning several regional gold keys, and Be the Whale, where she won a $1,000 scholarship for her art.

Next year, Chang sees herself creating new pieces for her college portfolio and plans on applying to the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) and Pratt Institute, among other art schools.

“I really like creating cartoon-style illustrations and telling my story through art people will enjoy,” Chang said. “[In the future], I hope to do illustration, graphic design, fashion design and animation.”