Yanay Yosef Levy is a 17-year-old student at WJ who loves to make art. Levy is a very unique artist who freehand-draws his art digitally, even getting paid to do so. As a result, he has started to feel more like an artist, not just someone who makes art.
“I never really realized it because I was drawing since I was a little kid, but I started to take it more seriously during 8th grade,” Levy said.
Levy took his art to the next level when he started looking at pieces from Japanese manga artists. He was inspired to draw by being exposed to cartoons and anime.
“I really like the rough 2000s’ look from old cartoon network shows for clothes, but when it comes to the face and hair, I’d say I take more inspiration from anime like JJK (Jujutsu Kaisen) and Jojo’s (Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure),” Levy said.
Levy draws a wide variety of things, from animals to people and objects. Levy gets paid commission to draw photos and album covers upon request on Instagram. Levy has even made album covers for artists like “ripthepack” and fan art alternatives for bigger artists like Lil Uzi Vert and Che. The album cover he created for Ripthepack is up on streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music. Levy imagines his art in his head first before bringing it to fruition.
“I think of the way it would look in my head and try to sketch it out first,” Levy said. “Then I see if there are any issues with the sketch before I start drawing it.”
When he gets into a creative block, he takes a small break or tries even harder.
“I want my art career to go into the manga industry since I also like to make up stories, and I’ve been wanting to make comic books since I was a kid, but I wouldn’t really mind what I do as long as I make money from it,” Levy said.
Levy is very inspired by artists like Akira Toriyama and Takehiko Inoue due to their aesthetically pleasing characters and backgrounds. Their work inspires his art and he often uses them as a reference.
Outside of art, Levy enjoys watching anime like Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, Dragon Ball Z, Jujutsu Kaisen, Naruto, Demon Slayer and Attack on Titan, reading manga like Kagurabachi and Vagabond, playing video games like Roblox and Grand Theft Auto and hanging out with his friends.
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