Ludlow High School has great student artists, but Senior Lilly Menches is exceptional. Some artists use pen and paper or lumps of clay to make art, but Menches makes art with her computer.

“I make portraits on my computer with my drawing tablet,” says Menches, “It’s easier to mix and blend, it makes it easier to paint instead of using real paints. I can get the right color that I am looking for.”

Menches uses Paint Tool Sai and Photoshop on her computer and tablet to make her art. She draws on the tablet using a digital pen, the computer shows what she is drawing. She can change what color or what tool she is using on her computer.

This is a portrait of Dva from Overwatch, a video game. Her portrait took her an hour a day for three days to make, but it is still a work in progress. She hopes to finish it soon, but hasn’t had the time due to school and work.

“I make art to be better at it,” says Menches, “I want to be better than other people. I want to show how much I have improved.”

Menches would like to minor in graphic design in college. She doesn’t not want to become a starving artist, someone who relies on selling their art for money.