From drawing with crayons to doodling digitally on her iPad, Alaina Banaag has been known as the artistic member of her family—and indeed, there could not be a more fitting title for this art prodigy. Banaag started her career in the arts at the age of three—painting, drawing, and doing anything creative she could get her hands on. Many of her family members saw her flourish in her artistic endeavors and thus, bought her painting kits each birthday. Then finally, when she turned thirteen, she got her first iPad and started creating digitally.
During her time in high school, Banaag has joined many art classes that have promoted her creative success as an artist.
“I will say that taking art classes in high school has made me a better artist as a whole, since there is only so much I can get from YouTube,” Banaag said. “Also, they provide a lot of resources for me to expand my creativity.”
Along with these courses, Banaag has also joined the Wolfpacket’s workforce of artists, who have been sorely underappreciated for the last 94 years of the newspaper’s existence. Doing art for the Wolfpacket has been a creative outlet for Banaag to destress from the mindless workload of school, and the idea of creating something to be published and enjoyed by the whole community excites her. Banaag’s art brightens up the Wolfpacket’s pages and gives an extra dimension to the hard work of Wolfpacket staff.
From the many paths Banaag could take with her future, she knows with certainty that she wants art to be involved. From becoming a tattoo artist, to even opening her own studio one day, the options are unlimited. But above all, Banaag would love to pursue a career in game design, creating worlds for people to explore through gameplay. Game design is the process of creating images and art for the virtual world, an essential part of any successful video game. The flexibility and creativity that game design careers offer have interested Banaag and made her highly passionate about the field.
Moreover, Banaag’s father supports her through the entire adventure of art; he has bought educational art books, expensive clay and paints, and has been there every step of the way to support her passion.
“My dad is my biggest supporter and wants me to pursue my passion,” Banaag said. “He would buy me really nice paints and clay and teach me how to paint properly. He’d also buy me books that taught human drawing anatomy and guide me on how to draw portraits.”
If Banaag could tell anything to the other aspiring artists in the CHS community, it would be the following: when beginning art, it is easy to let the quality of your art stop you from continuing, but that should never be the case. She believes that a person only holds themselves back if they give up, so they should keep trying.
