2024 Senior Thesis: Illustration

Trip Across the Universe

It has long been said that when you sneeze, someone is thinking of you. And that when thunder shakes the sky, the gods bowl. Through stories, what is unknown is given form. Humans have told stories for as long as they have been perplexed by the world around them. These stories are a fundamental part of the human condition, and not only allow us to make sense of what we don’t understand but to form complex emotional connections. 

The stories that we have chosen to share explore facets of our own experiences as we attempt to not only be understood but to make sense of what we have yet to master. Beneath the layers of fantasy and social commentary housed within our stories is an attempt to tell you what we know, so that you can apply it to your own experience. It is to form a connection between you and me.

Reception: Wednesday, March 27, 5-7 pm
23 Essex Street, Beverly, MA

Open to the Public

Featuring:

• Kelly Aquilar
• Hiro Alvarez
• Sam Bissitt
• Allison Codner
• Kira Cohen
• Ash Cruz
• Lucas Francisco
• Sarh Ginocchio
• Nyk Griffith
• Scott Hayden
• Junkai Kai
• Ben Kingston
• Aidan Kitt
• Meaghan Lamontagne
• Tobey Marroquin
• Marisa Perez
• Natalie Plourde
• Dominic Sepulveda
• Anita Sousa
• Gisselle Torres
• Kelaya Valliere

BIOS

Kelaya Valliere

Kelaya Valliere is a pet illustrator from southern Maine. For her thesis, Kelaya painted stylized animal portraits focusing on adopting pets from rescues. To do so Kelaya reached out to several organizations and painted many kinds of animals from each. By choosing to paint on unorthodox wooden rounds she hopes that people choose to keep an open mind while considering a new furry or feathery companion to a household.

Marisa Perez

Marisa “Mari” Leyla Francisca Perez, is a Mexican-American non-binary, queer illustrator. Their work mainly focuses on creating mythical and otherworldly concept art with engaging character designs that strive to capture the beauty of the Fantasy and Sci-fi genre. Mari’s thesis project, “The Luminaries,” is a series of visual development illustrations based on the characters and world of a current DND campaign. Mari’s goal was to create a visual representation of how they see the world and characters while allowing the illustrations to tell their story without it being written.

Nyk Griffith

Nyk Griffith is a tattoo artist, primarily inspired by horror and metal music, with other inspirations sprinkled within his art. To begin learning how to tattoo, Nyk used his thesis project to design tattoos that stem from aspects of his interests and past life experiences and tattoo them onto synthetic/practice skin. These tattoos all vary in terms of what part of the human body they are designed for and, alongside help from his internship at Salem Ink Tattoo and Art Gallery, kickstart Nyk’s journey down the road to becoming a professional tattoo artist.

Benjamin Kingston

Benjamin Kingston is an illustrator and concept artist from Billerica, Massachusetts. His process includes a blend of both traditional and digital mediums utilized together. Benjamin’s thesis project is creating various props under two distinct themes. Themes are fantasy dwarves life and grandmas of the post-apocalyptic world. His goal with these two themes is to create wild, outlandish designs and have fun with them while still having their structure grounded in reality.

Aidan Kitt

Aidan Kitt is a Beverly-based illustrator specializing in the digital medium who uses bold colors and sharp linework to create new worlds and unique, character-based storytelling. His comic, Caspin, is a retro-futuristic science fiction space opera following the titular character as he is hunted and chased throughout the galaxy.

Anita Sousa

Anita Sousa is a New England-based illustrator and creative writer. Her work focuses on the fantastical and whimsical, specializing in character and creature-based illustrations. Passionate about world-building and storytelling, Tracks of the Taraxippus is a Tabletop Roleplaying Game module following two adventurers, Callahan and Talieson, as they search for the titular Taraxippus. Along the way, they discover a plethora of enchanted artifacts and curious creatures. 

Junkai Kai

I’m a trans, queer, first-generation Cambodian-American digital illustrator and concept artist from Lowell, Massachusetts. Human emotions are difficult to understand. There are some in this world much more in touch with their own emotions, and some much more understanding of others. However, in my case, it was neither. As a result, the intent that goes into different aspects of a character or scene fascinates me and has helped me to understand others around me. People are a product of nurture and nature, and this affects how they present themselves to others… In a similar way, deep sea creatures tend to have a bad reputation simply because they look a certain way, but they have evolved as a result of their circumstances. So, based on deep sea creatures and my own observations as a first-generation Cambodian American, I created character designs for a pixel-simulation game called Tartha. 

Hiro Alvarez

Hiro Alvarez is a Puerto Rican, queer, non-binary illustrator focusing mostly on fantasy horror-based world-building and concept design. Their pieces are created digitally, using a mixture of bold lines and watercolor-inspired texture. Their thesis project, “The Decay of Eurocin”, combines these elements, creating a uniquely whimsical yet horrifying narrative with a fresh take on the classic theme of infection and cosmic horror. 

Kira Cohen

Kira Cohen is an illustrator who specializes in blending traditional and digital work in her art, with a focus on fantasy and horror. Kira’s thesis project had her creating dust jackets for various books, focusing on bringing out the unique ideas from each book.

Scott Hayden

Scott Hayden is a New England-based illustrator and writer who utilizes narrative to make sense of a world that can otherwise be enormous and terrifying. Scott believes that stories are not only how humans have communicated with one another for centuries, but how we have come to share our individual experiences and empathize with those around us. Their comic, MECHANICA: Displaced, exercises this philosophy by interpreting the universal experience of change in an attempt to better understand it.

Allison Codner

Allison Codner is a New England-based illustrator who uses acrylic paint, graphite, and watercolor to create moments of fantastical narrative. Magic dwells within the sea, sky, and world beyond reality, and is where she draws her inspiration from and where her illustrations play within. Where the organic world meets its more whimsical counterpart is where her work truly shines, with saturation and luminous qualities. Her collection of work “Celestial Commentary”, communicates and highlights the lesser-known constellations as they were storytellers and storybooks to those long before us. 

Tobey Marroquin

Tobey is an internet-dwelling comic artist in love with the concept of space, spaceships, weird planets, corporations, bureaucracies, black suit-and-tie-clad secret agents, and the horror of having a body. He is currently making an example of himself, hoping to embody the dangers of allowing yourself to be led by the madness of the narrative.

He isn’t here right now, so please don’t confuse him with Norman.

Sam Bissitt

Sam Bissitt is an illustrator and fine artist based in New England. He takes inspiration from the natural world around him and creates visually appealing illustrations with pleasing environments and unique animal-based characters. Sam’s thesis project is a picture book about a frog and a turtle, promoting the idea that different kinds of animals can coexist together and be friends.

Dominic Sepulveda

Dominic Sepulveda is a New England-based concept artist with a passion for fantasy who works digitally, designing wondrous characters and creatures chock-full of personality and charm, and intricately crafting the worlds they inhabit. Dominic’s project explores the process it takes to create a fantasy world that feels unique, considered, lived-in, and engaging. Showing off every stage of development from ideation to completion, Dominic’s work will introduce you to a cast of characters that inhabit a world that fuses ancient and futuristic.

Lucas Francisco

Lucas Francisco is an illustrator and comic artist from South Coast Massachusetts. Inspired by superheroes and manga, Lucas seeks to create Sci-Fi Fantasy stories filled with lovable characters and breathtaking action. His thesis work gives you a small glimpse into just one of his worlds. Don’t worry though, he has plenty more on the way!

Gisselle Torres

Gisselle Torres is a Non-Binary Mexican-American Illustrator, focusing on realism and semi-realism portraits. Their thesis is based on their culture and the topic surrounding immigration and its effects on their family. Each piece represents their interpretation of some of the most important and influential people in their life, their grandparents. Gisselle wishes to tell the story of their family and background to potentially connect with others like themselves and become a voice for many and speak for their people. 

Kelly Aguilar

Kelly Aguilar is a first-generation Mexican American artist whose artistic journey is a celebration of color, texture, and cultural fusion. Her thesis project, “Papel Cultural”, is a statement of her passion for representation and connectivity through her love of stationery items. Each piece within this collection is imbued with the essence of her heritage and aims to inspire others to embrace their roots, finding beauty in the simplicity of everyday life.

Ash Cruz

Ash Cruz is a Black and Puerto Rican illustrator. The work they create emphasizes imaginative concept design, blending natural elements of the real world with aspects that exist purely in fantasy. Their thesis project centers around the fear of the unknown, creating atmospheric concept environments and more than what meets the eye. The aim of these works is to create environments with character and ambiguity that others can immerse themselves in. Each person is a storyteller, whether they are aware of it or not. This project is meant to drive others to begin making their own narratives and become a part of the creative process.

Meaghan Lamontagne

Meaghan Lamontagne is an illustrator and comic artist who delves into the absurd with a unique style of dark, referential humor inspiring many of her creations.  She works to inject her art with a delicate elegance while still embracing its Kafkaesque qualities.  For her senior thesis project, she created the 26-page comic, Our Faire End, an urban fantasy comic about a human girl living in a crime-riddled city who gets roped into joining two mercenaries on a dangerous mission.

Natalie Plourde 

Natalie Plourde is an American artist and illustrator from central Massachusetts. She utilizes soft colors along with subtle lines and edges in order to convey delicateness and sentimentality. Her work tends to focus on femininity and invokes a sense of nostalgia for a simpler but ultimately imaginary time. She creates an idealized world that is inhabited by doll-like women— it’s as if you could reach through the page, pull them out, and hold them in your hands.

Sarah Ginocchio

Sarah Ginocchio is an Illustrator and comic artist based in Massachusetts. She captivates storytelling through traditional graphic novels, but also through a visual array of color, expression, and surrealism. Her thesis project “Burnout” is the visual story of her experiences, and her thoughts during the Covid 19 pandemic, and how it impacted her as an Art student at the time. Burnout narrates the looming melancholy, nostalgia, and the effect on mental health throughout a series of pages and illustrations.