COALPORT –A Glendale Jr./Sr. High School sophomore’s hobby uses technology to entertain himself and others.
Scotty Beers, 15, of Coalport began drawing cartoons digitally three years ago to pass the time during the COVID-19 lockdowns.
“I first started drawing cartoons during the 2020 closures to have something productive to do with my time. I began drawing the cartoons using my computer mouse, but I now use an iPad and computer with a Wacom to draw them,” Beers said.
He said he mostly uses the computer or iPad to complete his work, seldom drawing his creations on paper. “I occasionally doodle on paper to pass time. Some of my art I do sketch on paper but then I use it as a reference to complete the piece digitally. I prefer digital over the traditional method because it offers me the ability to completely erase and get rid of unwanted lines. Sometimes drawing on paper, erased lines are still visible. There’s also a massive amount of brushes and colors that are all easily and instantly accessible digitally. I also would say that both drawing by hand and drawing with the iPad are equal in terms of difficulty. Some people are great at paper drawing but don’t like the digital experiences. It can also be the other way around, it just depends on the person,” he stated.
Beers said he enjoys seeing his cartoons take shape and develop on the screen. “I enjoy getting to see my cartoons come together and then seeing the final result of my work. Sometimes I can’t believe I managed to make something. I also like to see people smile whenever they watch my cartoons. Making these cartoons, has helped me express my creative ideas and thoughts. You can see how my cartoons have improved in quality as I have learned more about making them,” he said.
The cartoons relate stories centered around the adventures of Hi Monster –a monster of very few words, and his friends, Chickworth and Dr. Evil Bob.
Beers said he wanted to find a way to allow others to easily enjoy his work. “I decided to create a YouTube channel as a way for me to easily share my cartoons with other people. My goal in doing this was to share my art with as many people as possible,” he explained.
Fourteen of his cartoons are available at youtube.com/@himonstercartoons or by searching “The Hi Monster and Chickworth’s Cartoons” in YouTube’s search bar.
Beers recently completed a fall-themed episode and is currently making plans for a cartoon featuring sledding during the winter months.
Knowledge and skills gained in art classes have been a great help to Beers, he said. “I have definitely applied skills I was taught in art class, the biggest help has been with depth perception of my pieces. On the technology side of it, I mostly taught myself using YouTube tutorials on the software I use.”
Beers said his skills have improved during the two years he has been creating cartoons. “My cartoons have improved dramatically from when I first started. I started making short, simple, black and white animations. But now I have learned enough to really polish them, and I hope they will continue improving,” he said.
At Glendale, Beers participates in band, choir, science club, student council and the school-wide positive behavior program. He said currently he is not planning to make creating cartoons a career.
“I am planning to continue doing this as a hobby. I want to go to college for a profession in the science or engineering field,” he said.