We have all scribbled with different crayons as a child. As an adult, Pon Balaji still continues to scribble. And this scribbling is so awesome that it has landed him a meeting with Joe Russo, who co-directed Avengers:Endgame. Why is his scribbling awesome? He starts off with an outline which the normal human eye would surely miss. Then, he creates lines that tend to move in all possible directions with varying degrees of darkness, until you see a portrait emerge.
How did this rather unique art form find him? "I was curious when I came to know about this art form through an event organised at my college. I surfed the internet to know further, and I have been practicing it for four years now," says the 24-year-old. He informs us that he does it digitally too. "For doing digital art, I use a Wacom pad. I draw on the digital pad and the outcome appears on the monitor. Hence it requires a lot of hand-eye coordination which was difficult initially," says the Mechanical Engineering graduate.
Balaji has also had a tryst with superheroes, "Marvel India had announced a Marvel Artists Meet during the release of Avengers:Endgame. I drew a scribble of Dr Strange. After a month, I received an official message from the handle," shares Pon Balaji. To his surprise, Pon Balaji was invited to attend the meet and he was one of the thirteen artists who got this unique opportunity of meeting director Joseph Russo. They clicked a selfie too!
When asked whether this art was his passion or profession, he says it is partially his profession and that would like to take it to the next level by conducting exhibitions. "I have freelanced for Coimbatore Vizha 2018 for which I drew doodles on a bus with important tourist places in Coimbatore. That was a challenging assignment," says the self-taught artist.
In another encouraging move, Pon Balaji's works have found a place in Kamaraj Memorial House, Virudhunagar. "I drew 12 scribbled art of political leaders for the memorial and am expecting to work on such bigger projects as a freelancer," he concludes.
