Top artists share insights about originality on the occasion of XPPen's 19th anniversary

XPPen has been championing the art community for 19 years, dedicated to digital art innovation and providing digital drawing tools that enable both professional creatives and drawing enthusiasts to realise their artistic visions. Today, the brand’s graphics tablets, pen display monitors and styluses continue to shape the workflows of illustrators and designers all over the world.

Now marking a milestone in its history, XPPen is launching its 19th anniversary celebration. With the theme of ‘original is original’, there will be new product releases, promotions and the Future Me  2024 XPPen Global Drawing Contest, which invites artists worldwide to depict their future selves.

Running until 15 October, the contest features separate categories for graphic design and animation, with prizes including cash awards, XPPen products, trophies and certificates. It will be judged by renowned creative minds, including the film director and  3D/VFX artist Clinton Jones and the illustrator Vivian Ho, along with a stellar lineup of eight artists in total. 

To open proceedings and provide inspiration for participants, XPPen caught up with Clinton and Vivian to talk about their perspectives on the irreplaceable human element in creativity and on the synergy between technology and artistry. 

XPPen’s ‘original is original’ artist interviews

Clinton and Vivian have very different styles but both put an emphasis on the core human element of art. While Clinton constantly strives to refine his own work, drawing inspiration from music, travel and life's absurd moments, he has also united passionate artists from around the world through his popular 3D challenges on YouTube. Meanwhile, Vivian’s vibrant artistic style is inspired by her meticulous observations of everyday city life. XPPen caught up with them to explore their understanding of originality and this human element as they prepare to judge the global drawing contest.

What aspects of life inspire you the most?

Clinton: I love environments, and I love unique, far off, foggy environments: foggy, moody, dark environments, a place that I would just love to be in and travel to.

Vivian: I think my source of inspiration is mostly the people of the city. I like the people and the situation-ship that I have with the city, so I think the most important part is to actually go out and talk to people.

Vivian, how has the culture of Hong Kong influenced your work?

Vivian: So what I actually want to capture in my works are not the places, but more like the culture, so i'm more intrigued by the way things are and the way buildings are built, and maybe the old districts, and the districts that were built in a more organic way; not in a very well-planned way.

In the face of evolving technology and its impact on artists, what aspects of human art do you believe will remain irreplaceable?

Clinton: I can only speak for me personally, but the thing AI will not take from me is my love of creating art. I love getting my hands dirty, getting into the weeds, learning the programs, learning the craft, the animation skills, all the skills that go into creating 3D art. And I will always love the process of making 3D art. So AI will not take that from me because I love it.The process of making art really makes me happy. what AI cannot take from me, what it can't replace, is the happiness and the joy that I love from just creating art, from the craft of making art, drawing, photography.

Vivian: I think my experience so far is that it is hard to use; it’s hard to actually articulate the scene in my mind because they can't read my mind. I actually have to be the ultimate person to execute it, so I don't think they can replace me, but I still embrace it as a tool that can potentially assist my creation. I can't foresee the future, but, of course, I can see that actually by people using it I think we should look at it this way, like digital art didn't exist. Fifty years ago, we were still using oil, canvas, watercolour, but now we're doing tablets, we're doing digital art, so I think the creativity is the core more than the tool. I think we should look at creativity.

Where do you think the value of human art lies? 

XPPen and Vivian Ho's Creative Journey on Hong Kong Streets | Artist Talk- XPPen 19th Anniversary - YouTube

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Clinton: I think what my mind is honing in on here is the individual unique emotional perspective that we all have. And I think being able to express that, to express our thoughts, our feelings, our emotions, our fears and worries, the things that make us happy, the things that drive us: at the end of the day, if you can express that through an image, through a song, through a sculpture, that’s magic. That’s beautiful. There are so many different avenues to express ourselves, and each person is unique in their own way, and that is very, very special. I think that is the true magic and value that humans bring to art.

Vivian: I think the core of art is not how it looks, it's more like the idea behind it, so when I come up with a graphic, I spend more time generating the idea than actually executing it, because drawing a graphic is really just finding a scene and then putting together your elements and then colouring, and then boom that's it. But why are you doing this? There are a million possibilities that you can put on blank paper. That is the more time-consuming part of my art creation, and I'm sure it’s also applicable to other artists and other art forms, so I think that's really the idea. it's really the commands you're inputting that matter more than the graphic that it generates, so that’s the creativity.

What is your understanding about the ‘Original is Original’ theme of XPPen's 19th Anniversary? 

Clinton: Original is original really resonates with me because in our digital age, maintaining that originality and authenticity is more important than ever. It's about staying true to your unique creative voice and vision. The theme original is original really stands out to me because, especially in today's digital age, maintaining your asset is more important than ever.

Vivian: For me, it’s to just stick with your style and don't think too much. Just stick with your style, and go and develop. That’s originality.

As one of the artist judges of the Future Me Global Drawing Contest, what is your opinion about your ‘Future me’ ?

Clinton: I would hope future me is still learning and still growing and more compassionate by the day. Maybe less stressed out and more calm and peaceful, I think would be good. I hope future me looks out for present me because future me relies on present me to take care of itself. My hope for future me is to still have the YouTube going and have it be a hub for creativity for all artists and a place for me to put my creative works. I also hope future me continues to learn and grow as much as possible. Because I think as soon as we stop doing that, we kind of cut ourselves short, so to future me, to future you.

Vivian: In the future, there are gonna be a lot of technologies for sure, but I think the most important part is to embrace changes, because there are gonna be a lot of changes. We don't have to be always following the trend, we stick with our own style, but we need to also be open minded to what is happening, what is changing, and be aware of the world and surroundings.

XPPen shares a commitment with the artistic community to fostering and protecting original art. It continues to innovate but remains steadfast in its support for artists, ensuring that creativity and human expression remain at the forefront of the digital art landscape. For more information on XPPen's 19th anniversary celebration and the drawing contest, visit the website.