An Alberta High School of Fine Arts graduate had an impressive body of work when he presented his portfolio to a top-end Canadian school.
“Kristiyan is very proficient at with his figure drawing,” said Paul Rasporich, a teacher at the fine arts school at Foothills Composite High School. “His knowledge of drawing anatomy accurately is very good.
“It’s a lost art these days.”
Kristiyan Bechev’s use of the lost art and his other creative skills led to his being accepted to Max The Mutt College of Animation, Art and Design in Toronto.
He plans to study concept art.
“Concept art is what you do for example when movies are being created,” Bechev said. “The first step is design the characters, the setting. You would have an artist take an idea until it is perfected on paper… It is creative drawing.”
He has mixed the old with the new at the Alberta High School of Fine Arts.
“I take visual arts and computer technology,” Bechev said. “In visual arts we do painting and drawing — all the classical arts. In computer technology we deal with software, Photoshop and Illustrator where we do graphic design.”
Bechev developed his love of drawing as a youngster in Bulgaria. A move to Canada and ultimately enrolling into the Alberta High School of Fine Arts fueled that passion.
“I have been drawing since I can remember,” said Bechev, who moved to Okotoks about a decade ago. “I wanted to go to an arts school and because this one is right on my doorstep, I thought ‘Why not?’
“The program was pretty interesting — it offered all forms of art.”
He credits the art school in helping him get to the elite school in Ontario.
“The Alberta High School of Fine Arts gives a lot of options which means you can try all sorts of areas in the arts,” Bechev said. “We have equipment that others schools do not. It is very good because you can try out new things for college -- the school recognizes you are a creative person and you have an initiative for the fine arts.
“You are recognized for fine arts.”
His long-term goal is to work on the big screen — or maybe the smaller one.
“Maybe work for a movie company or a video-based company,” Bechev said.
“Potentially, when I get the experience, I can start my own company offering those services. That would be my ideal future.”
That kind of work would use his vivid mind.
“I have always liked to draw from my imagination,” Bechev explained. “Take a description of a character and draw the face as I imagined it. That’s why I love it. I like animation and I like video games. I said ‘Why not?’ it could become a career.”
Although he specialized in fine arts, he was pleased to be at a composite school, where he was able to mingle and learn from other students at Foothills, which offers a unique array of classes -- from auto mechanics to art.
“The two schools (Foothills and the fine arts school) intermingle a lot,” Bechev said. “You have to share. You have to share your thoughts and work — having interaction is always a good thing.”
The fine arts school has fine-tuned his talent.
“When I look back at my previous drawings, I can look back and see the errors,” Bechev said. “Anatomy is something I struggled with. You have to make people look believable. Now looking back at some of my old work, the bodies don’t look professional or believable.”
He’s nearly at the professional level.
Rasporich, who has been offered the chance to create storyboards for movies, said it won’t be too long before Bechev is capable — he might already be there.
“You have to be able to draw people and know the anatomy so well that you can draw people from various angles and positions from memory,” Rasporich said. “Kristiyan has those skills already. It (Max the Mutt) will give him refinement and to look at his work more critically.”
Critical thinking and pushing the artistic envelope is something emphasized at the Alberta High School of Fine Arts.
“That what I like about our classes,” Bechev said. “Everyone has the freedom to try out new things and do what they really like to do.”
