Welcome to the third installment of Hawkster Highlights, where we put a spotlight on the incredible artists and artisans on the Henry Ford College campus. In this issue, I spoke with two illustrators, each with their own unique styles and techniques.

Marwa Al-Hachami

Marwa Al-Hachami, a third-year graphic design student, states that she has always been into art. “I started with traditional art and found an interest in the graphic design field at HFC,” she reflects, “I create art to express myself in a way without using words, it makes me happy.”

Al-Hachami is currently working on an animation project and a portrait piece for her classes, and explains the differences between working with traditional and digital art. She says, “Working traditionally, you have to have a certain type of artistic skill that comes from within; working digitally, it is more of a lengthy process that requires multiple forms or brainstorming before you input your idea into Adobe.”

As for the future of her artistic journey, Al-Hachami plans to transfer to Wayne State University and get a bachelor’s degree in graphic design. As well as continuing to develop her skills as an artist and potentially sell her work.

Al-Hachami says the advice she would give to first-year art students would be “to try their best in what they do and to also not be over critical with their work, to give themselves some grace.” She adds, “I would advise them that they don’t have to overstress but to manage their time wisely in order to get things done in a timely manner.”

Youssef Daher

Youssef Daher is a graphic design student and a graphic artist for the Mirror News. His love for art started in his childhood. He says, “My earliest memory was when my mom illustrated a dragon for me. I remember being so impressed I wanted to do it myself.” He started with traditional drawing and later discovered the possibilities of digital.

Daher is primarily a comic artist, taking inspiration from manga. “Visuals are one of the ways to tell a story,” he explains, “There’s just too much going on in my head when imagining a beautiful scene or an epic fight, that no matter how hard I tried I just couldn’t get it down with just words alone, art allows me to show viewers and make them understand what I’m trying to portray, all in a single drawing.”

Daher plans to continue to expand his artistic pursuits and aspires to become an animator. He says, “In the near future, I’m planning on making my own indie animation series. I feel like this is the perfect time to do so, as more and more indie projects are becoming mainstream, some projects even hitting theaters.”

As a third-year student, Youssef Daher advises first-year art students, “If you have a dream or long-term goal you’re trying to achieve, don’t wait for the perfect time; the only perfect time is when you feel scared or think that you don’t have the skill necessary for whatever you’re trying to do. If you see a way to your future, run for it.”