Tell me about your senior project. 

It's intricate and it's a lot of work. I'm doing kind of a play on an “Art Of” book. I am actually working on creating a book that is full of concept art for the storyline that I've come up with — which would be in an animated film-type setting. It would be a short hour to three hour time period to get the entire story across instead of a video game or something that could be longer. The book is everything from the character development to the setting, it's all of it, everything that you see. At the very least it’s going to be 50 pages, a lot of it is process-type work instead of necessarily finished art because to get the essence of a character, you really need to sketch, you don't have to have this fully rendered painted, or a super rig, if that makes sense. 

What themes are you expressing in this work and what do you usually express? 

This work, I'm basing it all on the hero's journey classic — a normal person through an entire situation has to deal with it. I really want to emphasize the idea of rising to the challenge. That's something that's an overarching theme that I really like in all the characters and movies that I watch for fun. The idea of you starting as something, but then having to grow into something else to accomplish tasks. 

I know that previously you've been really inspired by Disney movies, what other artists/works have inspired you?

Well, Disney is a huge one but other artists include Ivan Earl, Maxfield Parrish, Dylan Cole is a cool one. It's not so much specific artists, because when you look at the old masters, like Norman Rockwell, [his work] makes you feel something but it's more about the image than the artist. I haven't found a specific artist that speaks to me consistently; it's more like a collection of images and phrases. Everyone has their own preferences. I like deep, rich colors. I like things that show a life to them. 

What does your workspace look like right now? 

My workspace varies. Right now I'm in my family's game room and that's where I do most of my digital stuff because my siblings are gone off to school so I get the house to myself and my mom. Downstairs, we have the spare bedroom that I've covered in plastic white tablecloths. That's my painting studio. I have an easel set up and I have a table with all my paints. And I have my own expensive art light called an Ottlite that shows true color a whole lot better. That's not as good for being in a class setting, but for just working on paintings and stuff, it's perfect. 

I imagine you must've had to take a lot of extra classes to do a double minor. 

It's not that many extra actually. I came in with a lot of credits because I took AP classes in high school, so I didn't have to take 2D Design. I didn't have to do Figure 1. I also did a bunch of independent studies last semester because I wasn't at school so I had room in the schedule for it, to be completely honest. 

Last semester you were doing a Disney internship, right? 

I did the Disney college program last semester. That's where I was when everything shut down. I was working for Disney as part of their program for about six weeks. 

How was that, with the shutdown? 

One of the best periods of my life, for sure. I wouldn't trade it for anything. I'm glad that I got to be there at all. Disney was really kind about the way that everything ended. I was actually at work when I found out that the program had been suspended. I was finishing my 30 minute break and was about to go back outside to lifeguard because I was working for the parks and resorts. But I saw that email and went right back inside and I was like “I need to make calls.” They let me go home within about an hour of that. They didn't make me come in the next day for work. They let all of us, that could, go and play in the parks and enjoy our last day. So I got into Hollywood studios for free. I got into Magic Kingdom that night. They let a lot of us skip the lines on a lot of the rides. There was someone that gave me a free dessert in Animal Kingdom and they were really sympathetic and amazing.

Is that part of your plan for after you graduate? Going to work for Disney? 

Absolutely. It showed me that I could absolutely do it and I would be happy even if I don't end up doing art. The dream is to work for Walt Disney Animation or Imagineering [which is] the park design and layout. It's bringing the experience together in a way. But it also showed me that I would be happy just lifeguarding. Within a couple of weeks of me being there, my coordinator pulled me aside and told me that if I decided to stay long-term, I would be promoted within a year because I already had five years of lifeguard experience under my belt and it came across. There's just so much that I learned and you can really rise up in the company fast if you're willing to work for it. 

It's really amazing that you got that experience. How did you go about it? 

I did research. It's one of my favorite things to do. I looked at the Disney college program website and looked at the requirements and watched videos on what kind of questions they ask for interviews, what kind of program it is, what you do. Then I also looked at all the other Disney internships. There's the college program and then there's professional internships, which are different. They're both pretty competitive, but they're for different things. I looked at all those requirements and kind of started piecing together what I would be good at or what I would like. 

How far do you think you've come since the beginning of your college experience in art or just even in personal growth? 

I think that I've come miles for sure. You get out of it what you put in. I think that's really important to remember: if you're not willing to work outside of class and you don't do your homework, it's going to show. It's really obvious. No one was pushing me to look for the Disney college program and to look at those internships, I started looking my first semester, freshman year. A lot of people don't realize I was looking that early on. It may or may not be immediately, but you can definitely tell who puts in the extra hours and it is so worth it. 

How do you see your work engaging with the world? I imagine that since you're doing Disney you might be interested in making children’s media? 

It's not necessarily children. There's a lot of bad things going on in the world right now. We can both say that. If I can distract people for a minute and bring them some kind of joy and take them out of that awful situation, then I've done a good job. I've done my job. Some artists thrive and see it as their job to provide commentary for what's going on, but I want to bring people together because the world is so divided and there's so many bad things happening. There has to be happiness at some point. [Story-based art] provides an escape. It really does. 

How long have you been at the school? 

I went straight from high school into what was then NHIA. I looked at three different schools. I'm from Texas and I didn't apply to any in-state schools. There was one in Milwaukee, one in Laguna Beach, California, one in New York City and then NHIA. 

How do you feel that the community here or the school itself has impacted you? 

I think that it has really increased me taking everything that everyone says with a grain of salt. Not necessarily ignore everyone's critique, it's more like, things may not be what they seem on the surface and I think ultimately you should look out for yourself. Do what's best for you and take everything with a grain of salt. 

What other advice would you give underclassmen? 

If I had any advice for them I would say try things, make a mess, keep a sketchbook, put in the hours, and ask questions.