Illustration (School of Graduate Studies)

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A Fierce Gael: The Legacy of the Celts in Fantasy Illustration

A Fierce Gael: The Legacy of the Celts in Fantasy Illustration

Mattie Courtney
  • 2023
  • Illustration (School of Graduate Studies)
  • Text
  • Thesis
This paper focuses on the evolution of Celtic themes within fantasy illustration, focusing particularly on the development of illustration concerning fairyland and its denizens – a theme nearly synonymous with Celtic folklore and mythology – in Ireland and the British Isles, and widens in scope near the turn of the 20th century to examine its lasting legacy on international fairy and fantasy illustration and the fantasy genre. Concurrently, this paper traces “Celtic” styles of art, touching upon ancient Celtic artwork dating to 500 BCE and its influence on the development of the tradition of Celtic interlace used to adorn medieval illuminated manuscripts, the change in and decline of this unique Celtic style over the 10th-16th centuries, and its subsequent revivals in the 18th-20th centuries. This paper concludes that while themes and motifs from Celtic mythology and artwork persist in fantasy media today, the lasting legacy of the Gaelic identity on fantasy illustration can be found in its narrative influence on prominent illustrators of fairy tales and fantasy literature, rather than in a particular style of artwork.
Character Design Develops Story and Theme in Animation

Character Design Develops Story and Theme in Animation

Yichun Xie
  • 2022
  • Illustration (School of Graduate Studies)
  • Text
  • Thesis
Characters created by illustrators have always been a significant component in the field of animation. The plot or story is the words, the theme is the concept, and the characters are the visuals. All are equally important.
Provocative Illustration

Provocative Illustration

Wenjia Wang
  • 2022
  • Illustration (School of Graduate Studies)
  • Text
  • Thesis
Grotesque, horror, fantasy, and erotica are considered as different genres in Illustration, but they all have similarities which can best be described as one distinct genre, “Provocative Illustration.” This paper will consider Provocative Illustration to incorporate unnerving and/or illogical subject matter and intense picture composition. It might be said these types of illustrative work are often created purposely by illustrators to challenge the audience, in order to push them outside their comfort zone.
Illustration and Women's Rights Activism

Illustration and Women's Rights Activism

Nikki Scioscia
  • 2022
  • Illustration (School of Graduate Studies)
  • Text
  • Thesis
Throughout American history, women’s rights activists have used illustration to visualize an equal society beyond patriarchy, the dominant sociopolitical system in which men hold the majority of power and withhold opportunities from women. Illustration strengthened the ideology of the women’s suffrage movement of the 1840s to 1920 and the women’s liberation movement of the 1960s and 1970s with persuasive imagery that advocated for their social and political goals, including the right to vote, equal pay, and reproductive rights.
Beyond Narnia: The Life and Legacy of Pauline Baynes

Beyond Narnia: The Life and Legacy of Pauline Baynes

Avery Reed
  • 2022
  • Illustration (School of Graduate Studies)
  • Text
  • Thesis
Pauline Baynes was J.R.R. Tolkien’s illustrator-of-choice, creating the most recognized map of Middle Earth and art for his short stories. Baynes went on to illustrate C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia series, sparking the imaginations to this day of young children emersed in the woods of Narnia. While Baynes’ work is well known, her name, among both illustration professionals and Tolkien’s and Lewis’ audiences, is rarely recognized.
Otomo Katsuhiro’s Art and its Differing Influence in Japan and North America

Otomo Katsuhiro’s Art and its Differing Influence in Japan and North America

Junyu Lin
  • 2022
  • Illustration (School of Graduate Studies)
  • Text
  • Thesis
Otomo Katsuhiro is one of the most famous and successful Manga artists and animation directors in Japan. He began as a manga artist in 1973. He became successful by 1980 with his Manga work Dōmu. Katsuhiro works in a realistic style that differs from other Manga artists’ simple and cartoonish style of the same time period. His most famous work, Akira, was the best seller in Japan in 1988. In the same year, its Anime film adaptation was also released. Later, Akira became the first Japanese Manga ever to be completely translated into English and shown in North America from 1988 to 1995.
Comic Books versus Graphic Novels: The Differences, the Schism and the Future

Comic Books versus Graphic Novels: The Differences, the Schism and the Future

Ramon Gil
  • 2022
  • Illustration (School of Graduate Studies)
  • Text
  • Thesis
Since the debut of “Superman” in 1938, superhero stories have dominated American comic books. Nevertheless, in the past decade, original graphic novels have emerged as an almost separate medium, offering various genre reading far beyond masks and capes. An era ushered in by Will Eisner with the term graphic novel, which he coined and first used to describe his book “A Contract with God” (Baronet Press, 1978), Followed by Art Spiegelman’s Pulitzer-prize-winning “Maus” in 1980 (Pantheon Books) The flood gates have been widening ever since. The difference is not only in content but also in the diversity of the creators, the art styles, the physical formats of the books, and the production, business, and distribution models through which they are made. However, where did this new movement come from? How was it influenced by the comics and comic makers of old? Why is there a separation, if any, and what does the future hold for these two camps?
The Changing Depiction of Evil in Fairy Tales from Grimm to Disney

The Changing Depiction of Evil in Fairy Tales from Grimm to Disney

Penelope Fournier
  • 2022
  • Illustration (School of Graduate Studies)
  • Text
  • Thesis
Fairy tales as part of European oral history date back to folk tales and urban legends used to trick children into behaving, and instill values and virtuous principles. Stories with villains such as Babayaga, Dybbuks or Krampus have served historically to entertain as well as to serve as cautionary, morality, educational, indoctrination and cultural tales in every culture. For example the tale of Cinderella has had more than 500 versions have been found, all cautionary. These tales began as exclusively oral history before printing allowed them to become part of literature, culture and eventually, history.
Ancient Rock-Color Art and Its Impact on Japanese and Chinese Illustration

Ancient Rock-Color Art and Its Impact on Japanese and Chinese Illustration

Wenqi Feng
  • 2022
  • Illustration (School of Graduate Studies)
  • Text
  • Thesis
The rock painting is a type of ancient oriental color painting which has a history of thousands of years, it is made by grinding the rock mineral into powder and painting it with animal glue and vegetable gum. It has been widely spread in China and Japan since around A.D.900 to today. The color system of rock paintings consists of five categories: pure natural mineral color, new rock mineral color, water dry color, mica color, and glitter color, combining with metal foil to complete the work. Rock color will produce different visual effects when viewed from different angles. The aim of this thesis is to investigate the difference between the Rock-Color art’s impact on Japanese and Chinese illustration. In general, the Ancient Rock-Color Art makes contemporary Asia illustration more valuable for the exhibition because of its special material, and it makes the illustrations show strong oriental characteristics.
The Reasons for the Growth of Illustrations in Classical Literature

The Reasons for the Growth of Illustrations in Classical Literature

Xingzhou Cheng
  • 2022
  • Illustration (School of Graduate Studies)
  • Text
  • Thesis
Illustrations have been included as an essential part of classical literature since before the invention of the moveable type. Classical literature is defined as works generally accepted to be of excellent and enduring quality and about major cultural themes. Historically, such works have had various reasons to include illustrations. On one hand, authors have relied on art to explain and expand on the text and give an overall aesthetic to the theme. On the other hand, publishers used illustrations to attract new often less educated readers who had access to many types of books printed during and after the industrial revolution.
The Modern Video Game Market Promotes a Variety of Illustration Styles

The Modern Video Game Market Promotes a Variety of Illustration Styles

Christian Ray C. Blaza
  • 2022
  • Illustration (School of Graduate Studies)
  • Text
  • Thesis
Video games are electronic interactive images viewed on a display, controlled by a player or players. There are as many illustration styles as illustrators and for the gaming industry, this has proved to be very beneficial to the market. Illustration’s role has rapidly grown in modern video game development. Initially entirely non-existent, it now plays a significant role in a video game’s visual style. The illustration style for video games has changed from limited rudimentary graphics to be more sophisticated and varied because of several factors.
Vanity

Vanity

Carlos Aponte
  • 2022
  • Illustration (School of Graduate Studies)
  • Text
  • Thesis
The qualifying paper will examine Vanity, a 1980’s (1981-1989) avant-garde Italian fashion magazine, one of the publications that revived fashion illustration. The collaboration of Director Anna Piaggi and the illustrator Antonio Lopez at Vanity during the eighties inspired many in the industry and broke conventions. For example, Vanity used fashion illustration on its covers in a timely fashion illustration that was declared dead, and photography dominated editorial and advertisement.
A Spine-Chilling Tale of American Illustration: The Enduring Visual Legacy of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and The Value of Malice

A Spine-Chilling Tale of American Illustration: The Enduring Visual Legacy of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and The Value of Malice

Jensine Eckwall
  • 2021
  • Illustration (School of Graduate Studies)
  • Text
  • Thesis
This essay aims to analyze and discern the reasoning behind the enduring cultural power of Stephen Gammell’s illustrations for Alvin Schwartz’s Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, a three-part series of collected American folktales and urban myths, beginning in 1981. Gammell’s illustrations were polarizing enough to incite many attempted bans of Scary Stories over the last 40 years, as well as to galvanize a strong adult fanbase that reacted strongly to the publisher’s decision to commission new illustrations by Brett Helquist for the series in 2010. This essay will employ art criticism and history, gothic scholarship, interviews, and context from the education and publishing spheres to assess this unique case of public investment in illustration and how it has evolved and changed over time, intersecting with notions of cultural and religious values along the way.
Illustrators on the Record: The Evolution of Illustration in Emo Music from Punk (1979-2020)

Illustrators on the Record: The Evolution of Illustration in Emo Music from Punk (1979-2020)

Rinn Wight
  • 2024
  • Illustration (School of Graduate Studies)
  • Text
  • Thesis
The music genre, Emo, took the stage in the late seventies on the East Coast of North America, presenting itself as an emotional force from artist to listener. Emo stemmed from the Punk genre, expressing more of the emotionally fraught lyrics and brash tone, rejecting punk’s anti-establishment position and embracing personal expression. Illustrative album art for Emo music bands originated as a medium that could be well represented and enjoyed by both its audio and artwork, including album art, poster art, and merchandise. These illustrations on album covers highlighted common subjects, including heartbreak, violence, drugs, horror, celebrity rifts, stereotypes, oddities, and freaks, as a selling point to its genre’s masses. The quality and technical skill of the various illustrators ranged from album to album. Nevertheless, each artwork had a direct and brash attitude, similar to the music it protects, inciting an emotional reaction to which the viewer can relate to. This qualifying research paper surveys the evolution of Punk in the late seventies to Emo in the twenty-first century. It considers emotional imagery in the context of subgenre standards and changes in personal narratives following the evolution of its culture. This paper will then explore the direct collaborations between illustrators and musicians, such as Out of Step, Dookie, In Love And Death, and Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge. Examining how illustrators approached personal narrative and emotion in their work for Emo music, it will become apparent that its sound and imagery tell the personal stories and lifestyles of its creators, one to which its respective following could relate. The purpose of this qualifying paper is to acknowledge the role illustrators play in creating successful artwork that stands the test of time and give credit where credit is due; since the musical artists’ typically receive most of the attention in an album, less interest is paid to visual artists who create its artwork, thus it is hard to find any credible information at all.
Lorenzo Mattotti’s Unique Visual Language

Lorenzo Mattotti’s Unique Visual Language

Xiao Lyu
  • 2024
  • Illustration (School of Graduate Studies)
  • Text
  • Thesis
Lorenzo Mattotti, one of the essential Italian illustrators and cartoonists and also recognized as one of the most outstanding international exponents of art today, was born in Brescia, Lombardy, Italy, on January 24, 1954. Now he is living and working in Paris, France. Different from artists who usually do their works in a single personal style, Lorenzo Mattotti has various illustration styles and is especially famous for those dynamic shapes and vibrant colors painted with oil pastels, colored pencils, and acrylics. However, he can still keep his distinct personal characteristics to achieve the narrative he wanted to express in his artworks when keeping a delicate balance between different schools from different periods. Therefore, he is considered an artist who is equally concerned with complex imagery and sharp storytelling. This research paper will study Lorenzo Mattotti’s illustration style and analyze his visual language, which is mainly executed with traditional media, focusing on the variety of Lorenzo Mattotti’s illustrations and the relationship between his abstract or concrete visual languages and various schools, to explore what they bring to his art which made him achieve his two extremes: high-level storytelling and drawing that suggests unique emotions and why they matter in today’s field of illustration.
Evolution of the Witch Archetype in Illustration -- From Renaissance Europe to Today

Evolution of the Witch Archetype in Illustration -- From Renaissance Europe to Today

Miranda Moorhead
  • 2024
  • Illustration (School of Graduate Studies)
  • Text
  • Thesis
This qualifying paper examines how illustrators have implemented the witch archetype throughout several centuries of art. Starting with illustrations created during the height of the Witch Trials in Renaissance Europe (1450-1650 AD) and following the evolution to the modern age, this paper examines the various representations and purposes artists have used for the witch and how artists and art styles have evolved to complement the changing times. Since the Renaissance, the illustrated witch has evolved from a tool to cause moral panic and control women to become a satirical symbol commenting on society’s failures, a reflection of society’s interest in the occult, both a hero and villain in children’s books and films and as an icon for feminists. This paper will compare representations of the witch in contemporary illustration with illustrations of the past to show how imagery from Renaissance Europe, in particular, still influences modern illustration.
The Murals of Yongle Palace of China

The Murals of Yongle Palace of China

Linzi Chen
  • 2024
  • Illustration (School of Graduate Studies)
  • Text
  • Thesis
The murals of Yongle Palace in China belong to Chinese Taoist murals and are used to promote traditional Chinese Taoist culture. Located in Ruicheng, Shanxi, China, they were painted in 1247 BC in the early Yuan Dynasty. They are important both historically and to modern illustrators because of their rich subject matter and superb painting technique. They are a part of a unique artistic style developed from the Tang and Song Dynasties and integrated the characteristics of paintings from the Yuan Dynasty. Today, the murals of Yongle Palace are treasures of ancient Chinese painting art and are considered rare masterpieces universally. They are also incredibly valuable for artistic research. Modern illustrators reference them for techniques and themes. Through an in-depth study of the painting language of the Yongle Palace murals in China from the aspects of composition techniques, character modeling, line styles, and color expressions, this qualifying paper hopes to further explore this artistic language system as well as its patterns with Chinese national characteristics, and how its ancient traditional painting techniques influence the innovative development of modern Chinese illustration art.
The Visual Language of Disabilities In Comics: Villains, Victims and Victories

The Visual Language of Disabilities In Comics: Villains, Victims and Victories

Izzy Singer
  • 2024
  • Illustration (School of Graduate Studies)
  • Text
  • Thesis
Disabled characters have been present in comics since the beginning of the Golden Age of Comics (1938- 1956) in America. Comic illustrators are tasked with quickly visualizing characters and utilize human traits such as gender, race and body type to express the humanity of the character; disabled characters have been utilized by comic illustrators in ways that mainly build on negative stereotypes. Comic book characters are drawn with disabilities to express the character’s otherness, wrongs or pitiable nature. Exceptions exist within the realm of American superhero comics, modern graphic memoirs, and fantasy. In order to explore the full spectrum of ways in which disabilities are characterized in comics, this paper seeks to review the few disabled characters that appear in comics between the Golden and Modern Ages (1985-present). This paper will trace Golden Age tropes with Modern Age representations to prove that the use of disability in the visual language of comic book illustration has not changed drastically and highlights artists who have broken out of stereotypes. Through analysis of these characters this paper will ask if disabled characters will continue to change, or else, remain stagnant.
The Women of Underground Comix

The Women of Underground Comix

Christina Lee
  • 2024
  • Illustration (School of Graduate Studies)
  • Text
  • Thesis
Underground Comix was a style of independently published comics that primarily originated from the San Francisco Bay Area from the 1960s-70s. The word “comix” was used to differentiate the work from mainstream comics and imply the X-rated content of the work. The illustrators of the Underground Comix style depicted explicit content that was forbidden to major publishers by the Comics Code Authority, passed by the Comics Magazine Association of America in 1954, such as drug use, politics, violence, and sexuality. During a revolutionary time for culture, Underground Comix changed the comic book industry by publishing edgy work unfettered by censorship and societal norms, paving the path for new comic genres to emerge beyond superheroes and newspaper strips. While the illustrators from this era, such as Robert Crumb, S. Clay Wilson, and Spain Rodriguez are well-regarded; the women from this era, such as Joyce Farmer, Shary Flenniken, Aline Kominsky-Crumb, and Lee Marrs, are rarely recognized. Historically subjugated, the women of the Underground Comix embraced creative freedom and produced groundbreakingly personal and feminist comics that continue to influence illustration today.
Visual Thesis Selections 2020-2021

Visual Thesis Selections 2020-2021

  • 2022
  • Illustration (School of Graduate Studies)
  • Image
  • Exhibitions (events)
  • Exhibition installation photographs
This exhibition includes highlights from the FIT MFA Illustration classes of 2020 and 2021.
Each year the graduating MA candidates complete a visual thesis project that represents the culmination of their three years of graduate study, artistic growth, and professional training. The Class of 2020 titled their show "Jacaranda" after a species of tree they encountered on the program's trip to Los Angeles, a formative experience for the group. "Off the Grid" is not only an oblique reference to the two and a half semesters the Class of 2021 spent learning remotely, but also an invocation of their eclectic artistic voices. The quality of this work is a testament to the artistic visions, personal dedication to craft, and to the strength of the bonds these cohorts built. The FIT Alumni participating in this exhibition finished their degrees online during the extreme circumstances and unprecedented conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the conclusion of their studies, they were unable to exhibit their bodies of work in person or celebrate their accomplishments with their fellow students, friends, families, and professional peers. We are proud to finally present their work to the public and to recognize their achievement together.
Illustration MFA Visual Thesis Exhibition 2022: End of the Line

Illustration MFA Visual Thesis Exhibition 2022: End of the Line

  • 2022
  • Illustration (School of Graduate Studies)
  • Image
  • Exhibitions (events)
  • Annuals (exhibitions)
  • Exhibition installation photographs
The work included in this exhibition represents the culmination of three years of graduate study for eleven MFA Illustration candidates. Those years were marked by hard work, personal exploration, and artistic growth during a historically challenging time. Throughout, these artists have remained dedicated to developing their craft and personal voices. The bodies of work displayed here are visual manifestations of those artistic voices. As a cohort, they have supported and encouraged each other, and pushed each other to realize their personal and professional ambitions. Together, they have reached the end of their academic experience and now embark on a new phase of their artistic and professional lives - drawing a new line as they continue to explore, grow, and create.
Illustration MFA Visual Thesis Exhibition 2023: Pareidolia

Illustration MFA Visual Thesis Exhibition 2023: Pareidolia

  • 2023
  • Illustration (School of Graduate Studies)
  • Image
  • Exhibitions (events)
  • Annuals (exhibitions)
  • Exhibition installation photographs
The 2023 MFA Illustration candidates collectively titled this exhibition Pareidolia, the tendency to perceive a specific, often meaningful image in a random or ambiguous visual pattern. This choice reflects their shared pursuit of finding and articulating meaning in their visual artwork. The images in this gallery, however, are far from random or ambiguous. These bodies of work are the final result of a year-long thesis process of research, creative ideation, and technical execution. It is the culmination of three years of artistic exploration and personal growth during graduate study.
Discs, Bones & Priestesses: A History on the Art of the Tarot

Discs, Bones & Priestesses: A History on the Art of the Tarot

Cristina Carrera
  • 2017
  • Illustration (School of Graduate Studies)
  • Text
  • Thesis
Throughout history, a silent form of divination and disparate world of illustration —known as the Tarot—has had profound influence on areas as varied and significant as scientific study and religious warfare.
Providing essential narratives of destiny and fate, the Tarot originated centuries ago with popular card games, and has continually evolved through the development of global spiritualities. Throughout its existence, the Tarot has manifested a whirlwind of debate, theory, desegregation, and revolution. Even today, as the Tarot appears as commercially printed works of art, its divinatory properties remain as taunted or in question, as much as they remain willfully respected.
As we know it, the Tarot took form under fourteenth century Christian influence, with underlying roots in civilizations ranging from Egypt to China. As a work of illustration, it has rendered a visual, cultural, and spiritual evolution, redefining the power of symbols in art.
As a popular pastime, it has introduced society to a metaphysical phenomenon that allows one to develop intuitive and extrasensory responses to their questions. While secular viewers may question the metaphysical worth in these works of art, the illustrative property of these cards is rich in history, myth, and unnerving truth.
Fabrications

Fabrications

Samantha Struzzieri
  • 2023
  • Illustration (School of Graduate Studies)
  • Image
  • Paintings (visual works)
Creating my thesis was combining the familiar with the unfamiliar. Before my graduate studies, I was primarily a painter with a fine art approach, and have always appreciated fun, beautiful patterns. Thinking about how to marry the two, expanding my skills at FIT by getting my MFA felt like the right move. I have broadened my textile knowledge, which has led me to design my own patterns. My visual thesis combines these two passions while also acknowledging the very special people in my life.
This body of work explores portraiture in both the literal and the abstract sense. Each pattern has been carefully planned to capture the essence and story of each person depicted. I have taken into account motifs, color scheme, and composition to cultivate each design. Some motifs are more literal, some are more symbolic. All imagery chosen reminds me of each person I love and their unique energies. I have also communicated with each person through this process to ensure the designs chosen resonated with them.
Using paint as my medium was an easy choice for me. Although each piece was meticulously planned digitally, I wanted them to have a more personal touch - returning to my roots. My passion for painting fuels my love for art, and painting will always hold a special place in my heart. While painting is natural to me, the tedious nature of painting a repeat pattern was not, and I felt that this combination of familiarity and challenge really elevated my work.
During this process, it was apparent how vastly unique each piece became. This variety was important to me - the individuals I chose each have a special place in my life and reflect a different type of relationship. My thesis has also given me the opportunity to explore new ways to design a pattern. I am immensely grateful for this experience and the opportunity to create a body of work that I am truly passionate about.
Stitches of Time

Stitches of Time

Meina Zhang
  • 2023
  • Illustration (School of Graduate Studies)
  • Image
  • Mixed media works
As an artist, my embroidery illustrations titled 'Stitches of Time' are a celebration of the beauty and complexity of life, and the many ways in which our experiences are woven together over time.
The process begins by dyeing the canvas with watercolor paints, which serve as a vibrant and dynamic backdrop for the embroidery thread and wool felt. These materials are carefully selected and combined to create a tactile, textured surface that draws the viewer in and invites exploration.
To further enhance the visual impact of the work, I also incorporate watercolors and colored clay, which add depth and dimension to the finished piece. Through the use of these varied materials and techniques, I am able to create a work that is both visually striking and emotionally resonant to me.
To bring my family's story to life, I use a range of materials and techniques, starting with dyeing the canvas with watercolor paints, serving as a vibrant and dynamic backdrop for the embroidery thread and wool felt. I carefully select and combine these materials to create a tactile, textured surface that reflects the complexity and depth of our family's journey.
'Stitches of Time' are a tribute to my family and the unique experiences we shared. Growing up with four sisters and a single mother was a challenging yet rewarding journey, and I am grateful for the many memories we created together.