When experimenting with the styles of character design and muralism, creating art can be like fathering two kids — impossible to choose a favorite.
For junior art major Cameron Moore, making art at Kennesaw State is simply about enjoying the process en route to the end goal, a process he described as the telling of a story.
“As a creative, you can pull from anywhere,” Moore said. “It can be someone you see at the store, and you like the way they talk or the way they move, and that can inspire you. It’s literally taking all of the inspiration that I’m getting in life and pushing it out in a form of artwork. That’s what I do when I sit down and draw.”
Moore’s story began with drawing character designs from comics, TV shows and video games. The more he exposed himself to different art forms, the more he experimented with different styles and techniques of his own. Moved by the world around him, Moore established himself as an artist at age 13 under the pen name YoyoCam, a collaboration of popular Hyun animation character Yoyo and Moore’s first name.
After talking to his former art teachers about entering local art exhibitions around Atlanta, Moore was able to organize a solo show in August 2016. The exhibition drew the attention of his former high school principal, who commissioned Moore to paint his first mural at Redan High School in January 2017.
Moore’s open mind continued to prove fruitful. Following the creation of the mural, he discovered his love for spraypaint and officially became a mural artist. Since then, Moore has made murals at the Kindezi School West and on Estoria Street outside of the Krog Street Tunnel.
However, the same mindset that drives him may have also hindered him in classrooms before college. In general art classes, Moore said he felt boxed in. To him, being confined to rules removed what Moore found most desirable about his profession.
“I find the most pride in my colors and my composition,” Moore said.
Moore then gestured to a painting which hung high above his dresser — a stand-out from the others lining the walls in his KSU dorm. While the majority of his hanging artwork featured characters and symbols, this painting was an environmental scene. The ridges were high and bright, the sky was dim, yet scattered with multiple planets, and the point of view looked of someone resting on the river.
“I wanted to keep a nice balance of interests, and somewhere to rest your eye,” Moore said. “My perspective is the most important part of my art.”
Unlike his high school courses, Moore credits a part of his artistic growth to higher education. He says that in college he has been forced to learn art forms he would otherwise be oblivious to.
Looking back, Moore said not much has changed. He may no longer be suffering from the curse of the gifted, but he said he continues to feed off the energy of art trends and his peers.
Moore said he detests when artists close themselves off to the world. He said he even seeks out compatible artists in order to open his eyes to their process, reminding others that the only thing more significant than expressing one’s own point of view, may be trying to understand someone else’s.
In pursuit of a life where he can live off of his art, Moore is currently developing long formatted stories to pair with the characters he has created. Moore is also available for commission and can be reached on his Instagram page @yoyocam.
