Day in the Life of Bert

For this project, the Wood County History Museum asked me to create a series of nine illustrations detailing the story of Daniel the Squirrel meeting his new neighbor, Bert Gifford. Bert Gifford was a real-life resident when the museum was an infirmary for the physically and mentally disabled. He was so beloved at the infirmary that he was on local newspaper after his passing. The museum wanted to tell a story for children, showing that people with disabilities still live meaningful lives full of purpose and friendship and, despite their outward differences, are no different than anyone else as a person.

Bot-To-Go

In this project, I was tasked by LoH Studios to lead a team of 3-4 3D artists in modeling the cast for their upcoming independent film “Bot-To-Go.” Each artist was assigned a character to model, myself included, and every week I conducted meetings to check on progress and inspect each model to ensure they would be optimized for the next stage in the pipeline. Above is the model of one of the characters I created and a representation of the quality I expected from the artists. The film is set to be released in mid to late 2025.

Where the Giants Roam

For my senior thesis, I wrote and illustrated a pitch deck for a feature-length movie titled “Where The Giants Roam.” The story details a little boy named Oliver who escapes into his imagination to cope with the death of his father until one day, it isn’t enough. Desperate to avoid the pain, he follows a strange masked creature, who’s been lurking for some time, into another world called the Giant’s Realm. From there, Oliver must find his way back home by traversing through the four territories, each inhabited by a guardian, and find the masked creature.

The story is a coming-of-age about learning to accept grief and the negative emotions that come with it. As a proud aunt of many nieces and nephews, I wanted to create a story that resonated with a younger audience and wouldn’t talk down to them. Children experience grief too and at times, it feels like they are taught to repress their “negative” emotions. This story shows that it’s okay to cry, get mad, and ask questions because losing someone is hard, but you don’t have to do it alone.

If you’d like to learn more, there is a link to the full pitch attached to the cover page.