Childhood was the time of my life when I had the freedom to express myself and learn about the world around me. I was always an imaginative child and constantly daydreamed about far-away adventures and stories. These stories always comprised my love of fantasy creatures like dragons and unicorns and themes of adventure and wonder. I would draw these scenes and fantastical creatures that were brewing in my head on random note paper while at school or on computer paper at home. My stories took inspiration from the cartoons, video games, and other media I consumed when I was a child. Growing up in the 2000s, I looked to my favorite media for escape from the real world. Escapism is a term that I could use to describe my art and its themes. When I illustrate, I want the viewer to step into the worlds I create and feel the magic and wonder I felt growing up, looking at my favorite media. I also want people to feel the optimism of my work and the perfect worlds I seem to be drawn to. These worlds showcase a romanticized, fantastical, almost perfect view of nature with the wonder and joy of childhood. Through the use of the digital medium and my technique of 5 value cell-shading, I feel I can accomplish this perfect, optimistic worldview as the environment breathes life, and the children seem to live in perfect, harmonious worlds. My creative motivation is to illustrate and express scenes of wonder, joy, and magic of childhood and express the need for optimism and escapism.
In mid October 2022, my boyfriend Dan and I went on a day trip to Squam Lake in Holderness, New Hampshire. The drive up there was nothing short
of magical. The fiery trees, crisp air, and the migration south of many great species in the northeast, including the Canadian Geese. I spent so much time
studying, sketching, and admiring the animals at Squam Lake Science Center that I knew I’d have a piece of thought up by the end of the day.
After our wonderful trip where we met many native New England species like river otters, deer, bald eagles, and more, we stopped by a small cozy restaurant on the water of the
legendary Squam Lake. We were sat down by the windows that were right on the water and we observed the families that enjoyed the lake through their boats,
kayaks, and canoes. During our meal, a flock of Canadian geese flew by in their typical V-shape pattern, and an idea was born. This piece was a
culmination of our trip and is a great piece depicting the New Hampshire outdoors.
This piece is a bit more nostalgic than the rest of these illustrations. During early middle school (around grade 5 and 6), my close friend
Audrey and I would make these little bark mulch fairies where we’d wrap or piece leaves through a piece of bark mulch. These fairies would have powers
that would only be limited by our imagination.
This piece doesn’t depict these bark mulch fairies, but a magical spell forged from the leaves, acorns,
and rocks from around the playground. These two girls are figuring out their place in their world and instead of hanging out with the rest of the kids on
the playground, they’d rather hang out together and make believe.
This piece is a continuation of a spot illustration I did a week before where two kids carve some pumpkins. This illustration takes place in a
few weeks after they carved the pumpkins where the pumpkins are finally rotting and it's time to get rid of them. Did you know deer and similar woodland
animals love pumpkin?
I didn’t until making this piece to make sure it’s safe for deer to eat. So if you are planning on carving pumpkins this year and
live near the wilderness, I’d suggest throwing those old pumpkins for wild animals to enjoy. This piece is a first for me where instead of trees full of
foliage. I opted out and made them bald.
This is the last of my standalone book spread without text. The holidays inspired this piece and the impact family has on such a holiday.
I always had wonderful memories of Christmas and the Holidays and I wanted to illustrate a moment that children would remember forever. The grandma was a
vague amalgam of multiple important women in my life, from my grandmother, Brenda, and my art teacher, Ava. I wanted her to be the central force in these
children's lives, so I made her bigger than normal and at the top of the hierarchy of the figures in the image.
She is the apex of the pyramid and her little
grandkids are the foundation. These kids are making unique cupcakes to show off their creativity and originality with the protection and approval of their
grandmother. Oh, how I miss these days.
After some critique from my wonderful professor, Ryan, I knew I had to expand my use of camera angles and perspective. This piece first began
after an initial sketch of what is now the second page. I wanted a bird's-eye view of a girl in the forest to convey deep in thought as she is deep
in the woods. I made this a book spread by expanding the tree line to include space for text.
The way I rendered these tree tops is a little different
to my normal approach where instead I left open space and breathing room for type. I then added a mock-story for this page and made sure the font matched my
organic yet technical way of rendering. This is the second piece with a calico cat.
I had to have at least one piece with a unicorn! This book spread was an idea I had floating that mixed the natural world with the magical.
This piece was a challenge of contrast. On the left page, the shadowed animals are placed on a bright background to pop them out.
On the other page, the bright unicorn and magical princess are placed upon a dark background. I also wanted to include many types of foliage, from flower to mushrooms, bushes, and
trees. I also included mock text to show off my idea of how this page would play out.
This is another book spread that focused on environment and character. The idea behind this piece was based on a memory where my toy was
saved from a stream from a fiend who wielded a long stick.
I wanted to depict that, but I changed it around so it was more of a heroic tale of a brave older
brother saving his sister’s stuffed toy. I wanted to show off different facial expressions that derive from a similar environment/problem. My favorite part
from this piece was my decision to have the water blur into the sky to produce a foggy effect that fueled the swampy theme.
This was my final piece to conclude my Senior Project. For my last illustration, I knew I had to include a book cover.
I went through so many iterations of this piece that I’ve lost count. All I knew is that I wanted to illustrate a cover to a story of a
girl and her pet Catterfly.
I even included a hand lettered title to show off my developing skill of hand lettering. If I were to start
this year over again, I’d start with this piece and make a story based on it, however since it was my final illustration, it's just an
idea that I can play with in the future.
Looking back at my journey as an artist, I have learned and strengthened my skills and abilities as a storyteller. I wish to share those stories with the world around me and to the next generation of children for them to be awe-inspired, as I was at their age. To illustrate and express scenes of wonder, joy, and the magic of childhood are what I wish to accomplish. My joy is to illustrate and construct stories that showcase these themes, as well as to bring my favorite creatures and worlds to life. Through my inspirations from fellow illustrators who also showcase their visions of magical realism through the magic of the environment and the children who experience it. I have grown and sharpened my skills to have my voice with my use of line work and a rendering style that comprises layers of value that follow their form. The development of this style is my ability to convey my themes of joy, optimism, and perfection. Subject is a very important aspect of my work, and through the use of a grandiose natural environment paired with magical creatures and the implied imagination of a child brings all these themes together and into a scene or story of wonder, inspiration, and awe. I see myself continuing to refine my abilities in skill and storytelling in the children’s illustration market. Children’s illustration is the market that I know my art will do best in at conveying my message and themes. Children have a wonderful and creative imagination that needs to be stimulated and filled with stories of wonder and adventure. My goal is to illustrate and create stories of magic, wonder, and adventure for generations to come.
