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Illustration: Success

MIAD graduates are individuals whose lifelong passions have become lifelong careers. Many MIAD alumni have pursued directly related to their academic program, while others have taken their culmination of skills in many areas and them to interdisciplinary projects and professional opportunities. For many of our graduates, their degree has led them to places they never expected, and they have redefined the role of artist or designer to contemporary society.

Explore this small sampling of the many paths our graduates have followed.

Alumni Profile: Kevin Werth ’11

image | MIAD

Kidney | commissioned work

Kevin Werth
BFA Illustration | 2011

Artist, TruScribe
Freelance Cartoonist, MAD Magazine
Madison, Wisconsin

“MIAD provided me with the skills to articulate my ideas about art and the creative process process with clients in a collaborative way. I also learned how to be critical of my work and the work of others, and to provide professional, constructive feedback. MIAD helped me hone my imagination muscles.”

Panther. 2017. Digital. Commission for Amy May.

Bearded Kid | Mad Magazine


See more of Kevin’s work at:

COROFLOT.COM/KEVINWERTH

Alumni Profile: Tifani Vancil ’15

Tifani detail

Lightbox Project – Window Installation. 40 North Champaign County Arts Council. 2017. Mixed media.

Vancil Tifani

Tifani Vancil
BFA Illustration | 2015
Communication Design Minor

Freelance Illustrator
Art Director, Weiskamp Screen Printing
Champaign, Illinois

“MIAD provided me with the knowledge of how to handle doing a creative job and managing a freelance career.  Having learned the skills in both illustration and communication design, I have been able to succeed in my job in a way that I otherwise would not have been able.  I also gained a creative community of classmates and professors.  More than anything else, that community is the most valuable thing to me.”

Cool Jobs

Fresh Artists Cool Jobs Expo. Pattern Design. 2017. Digital.

exterior

Lightbox Project – Window Installation. 40 North Champaign County Arts Council. 2017. Mixed media.

Project Description: "There’s very few things in life that I love as much as my cat Cheddar. I wanted to take this window display as an opportunity to make him larger than life and to play out a fun narrative – some cats out on a treasure hunt and hitting a bit of bump along the way. At the very front of the display, you’ll see the big cheese himself, stuck hanging upside down with a treasure map hanging from his paw. The idea is the closer you look, the more fun details of the narrative you see. I wanted a display that was fun, bright and happy."

 

See more of Tifani’s work at:

TIFANIVANCIL.COM

website

Alumni Profile: Adam Osgood ’06

Assistant Professor of Illustration
Columbus College of Art & Design, Columbus, Ohio

Freelance Illustrator & Animator

osgood mad men

 

Adam Osgood is an Assistant Professor at the Columbus College of Art & Design and teaches a variety of Illustration courses with a focus on bridging motion, 3D, and interactive with illustration concepts and ideals. Osgood has worked as an illustrator, motion artist, and designer for clients such as Hyundai, Aquent, Barnes & Noble, Chico’s, Exxon Mobil Corp., and Rockwell Automation. His illustration & motion work have won several awards and been featured at national and international film screenings. He earned a BFA in Illustration from the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design and a Master of Art & Design in New Media/Animation from North Carolina State University.

 

“There are two facets to my professional career. One one side I’m an illustrator and animator pursuing freelance work. On the other I teach in the Illustration department at the Columbus College of Art & Design.

From the perspective of my freelance work, the Illustration program at MIAD provided me with the fundamentals of design, an attention to craft, and the importance of narrative and concepts. The curriculum at MIAD does a wonderful job of training artists to approach and tackle projects in a way that enables repeated success in their work.

As far as my academic career, I had never given teaching any thought until my sophomore illustration professor, Chris Beetow, asked me to be her teacher’s assistant for a summer program. Through this, I discovered that I really loved working with students and sharing my craft. The illustration faculty supported my endeavors to continue on to grad school and provided some important early teaching opportunities. Overall, I think its the people at MIAD that really make it special. The relationships that I made with peers and faculty have and continue to support my professional career as an illustrator and educator.”

 

 

Alumni Profile: Scott Taylor ’98

Alumni Profile: Briana MacWilliam ’04

Reaching Out: Art as Therapy.

  • attended Milton High School, Milton, MA/ Riverside University High School, Milwaukee, WI
  • graduated 2004 BFA Illustration / 2006 MPS Pratt Institute
  • currently a Senior Rehabilitation Counselor at Lincoln Medical + Mental Health Center, South Bronx, NY
macwilliam_01

Briana MacWilliam

“At the end of four years, all the majors seemed to fuse into one, and they were all so integrated into each other it was hard to know where one focus began and another ended. Designers influenced painters, printmakers influenced design, drawing influenced sculpture, sculpture influenced interior architecture + design, and so on and so forth. Do what you love.”

Q. What did you want to be when you grew up?

A. I always wanted to be an artist. Ever since nursery school I remember wanting to be that. An artist or a carpenter, or a ballerina, which ever came more naturally.

Q. What was your first memorable experience with art and design?

A. My most memorable experience was when I was in Pre-Kindergarten and I was attempting to represent Santa Claus’ beard with a yellow marker. The teacher interrupted me and showed me that simply drawing a black outline, instead of trying to create the illusion of white with yellow, was more effective. I have never looked back.

macwilliam_02

Q. How did your MIAD education affect where you are today?

A. MIAD brought me to Ireland my junior year on an exchange, to the Burren College of Art, where I feel I had a kind of spiritual awakening of sorts. It lead me in the direction of Art Therapy, which was the area of study for my Master’s Degree. MIAD also challenged me to think differently about the ways that I viewed things, really pushed the creative parts of my brain that a public education tends to ignore.

Q. What’s the one thing you would tell a high school student who is considering attending MIAD now that you’ve experienced life after graduation?

A. Don’t worry about being practical. Don’t be a designer because you think it will make you more money. But don’t feel self-conscious about being a designer because you aren’t ‘artsy’ enough.

At the end of four years, all the majors seemed to fuse into one, and they were all so integrated into each other it was hard to know where one focus began and another ended. Designers influenced painters, printmakers influenced design, drawing influenced sculpture, sculpture influenced interior architecture + design, and so on and so forth. Do what you love. The loans will take care of themselves. It’s just a bill you pay like the phone or electric.

Q. If you had to sum up your job in a single sentence, what would it be?

A. Before I graduated [from Pratt] I was already hired at Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center in South Bronx, NY, as the supervising activities therapist for the adult inpatient psychiatric unit; my official title being “Senior Rehabilitation Counselor.”

Q. What are your goals for the future, in art/design and in life?

A. Currently, I am earning hours toward my license as a Creative Arts Therapist, and my ATR (Art Therapy Registration) with the American Art Therapy Association. My goals are to complete the license, work for a few years with various populations, gain some more experience and then go back to school for a PhD in something related. I would like to eventually have my own practice and open a kind of community center for the arts and art therapy. Oh, and learn spanish.

Q. Are there any specific parts of your resume that you’d like to share?

A. I graduated with Honors from Pratt’s program in Creative Arts Therapy in 2006, with a Master’s in Professional Studies and Creativity Development. My thesis was a research project, which was a phenomenological study on the use of visual journaling as a therapeutic intervention for men in the military. Q. Please define how you saw your major while in school, and how that definition has changed over the years.

A. In school I though illustration was more practical, and suited my process of working and narrative style. After I went to Ireland, however, I realized that the commercial aspect of it was not the direction I wanted to go in. The art became more about process than product, and so I went to graduate school to further investigate my inclinations.

macwilliam_03macwilliam_04

Alumni Profile: Autumn Brown ’13

Pineapple

Prints/Apparel Graphics. 2016. Digital. JCPenney Purchasing Corporation.

Autumn Brown
BFA Illustration | 2013
Communication Design and Writing Minors

Freelance Designer in Graphic & Textile Design
MFA Candidate University of Wisconsin-Madison
Madison, Wisconsin

“My education at MIAD taught me to think like a designer, and exposed me to career possibilities I’d never considered.”

Prints/Apparel Graphics. 2016. Digital. JCPenney Purchasing Corporation.


See more of Autumn’s work at:

BE.NET/AUTUMNBROWN

Alumni Profile: Madeline Dall ’15

Dromaeosaur Re-sculpt

Dromaeosaur Re-sculpt (MPM Hell Creek refurbishment project). 2017.

Madeline Dall

Madeline Dall
BFA Illustration | 2015
Communication Design and Science Minors

Exhibit Artist and Designer, Milwaukee Public Museum (MPM)
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

“In MIAD’s Illustration program, I learned technical and analytical skills that correlate to the way we critique work, and the processes we use to create graphics and design exhibits in my current role. MIAD also instilled in me a work ethic that has greatly benefitted me in my professional career.”

MPM 3809

Learn more about MPM’s dinosaurs at:

MPM.ORG

Alumni Profile: Jenny Kim ’02

Bringing Design to the World.

attended high school in Canada | graduated 2002, BFA Illustration
currently a graphic designer @ Rishi Tea Company

 

“I don’t think I wanted to be something specific as a child, but I remember I always found myself doing art.”

kim_1

Jenny Kim

Jenny Kim has come a long way to find a new home here in Milwaukee; she was born in Korea, graduated from high school in Canada, entered the Samsung Art & Design Institute in Korea and eventually transferred to MIAD to complete her degree in Illustration. While at MIAD, Jenny spent a summer in Ireland through an exchange program. “The Ireland trip opened my eyes as an artist. I learned that expressing my feelings and communicating with others are the most important elements of being an artist.”

kim_2
kim_3

Since graduating from MIAD, Kim has had many freelance jobs, including poster and scenery design. She is currently employed as a designer at Rishi Tea Company, designing package labels, posters, flyers, the company website and promotional projects. Asked about her career goals at Rishi Tea, Kim replied, “I want to use my design skills to advertise Asian tea-drinking traditions to American customers.”


Alumni Profile: Max Estes ’99

A Passion for Creating that’s “no joke.”

Max Estes
BFA Communication Design | 1999
Children’s book and graphic novel author and illustrator
Fredrikstad, Viken, Norway
maxestes.com

 

“Don’t be afraid to run full force toward what you want to do most with your art.”

Writer. Illustrator. Teacher.

Max Estes

Max Estes

Max Estes does it all. Growing up, Estes was surrounded by art and creativity (Max’s mom wrote choose-your-own-adventure books that were mostly medieval fantasy novels, and Max’s stepdad created sci-fi board games like “Snit’s Revenge” and “The Awful Green Things From Outer Space”). Now, on his own creative journey, Estes just published his first graphic novel, with the second following this Spring. He works in his studio as much as possible conceptualizing, writing, and illustrating graphic novels, children’s books, and comics. Estes is currently pursuing a Master of Fine Arts degree so that he can teach illustration and sequential art courses in the future.

Cover for Hello Again, Estes' first graphic novel

Estes’ first graphic novel

Q. What did you think you wanted to be when you grew up?

A. I didn’t really think about it much. I just knew I’d go to art school.

Q. What was the most valuable thing you learned at MIAD?

A. You don’t stop learning when you leave the campus. It’s not just classrooms and assignments; your college experience spans far beyond the campus walls. You take your lessons with you onto the streets, into your life.

Q. What’s the one thing you would tell a high school student who is considering attending MIAD now that you’ve experienced life after graduation?

A. Don’t be afraid to run full force toward what you want to do most with your art. You can make a living doing most anything with enough passion put forth.

Q. Please define how you saw your major while you were in school, and how that definition has changed over the years.

A. I graduated with a Bachelors in Communication Design, but upon graduation, I found that I was more interested in design theory as opposed to the graphic design industry (i.e. a 9 to 5 design job). I learned to take what I wanted from my background in graphic design and apply it to my illustration/cartooning career.

 

Nattman

Estes’ new book, Nattman

Alumni Profile: Erica Lyn Huppe ’06

Erica Lyn Huppe
The Art of Information: Scientific Illustration.

  • attended Madison East High School, Madison, WI
  • graduated 2006 BFA Illustration
  • currently works as a Scientific Illustrator at the Burpee Museum of Natural History, Rockford, IL
huppe_e_1

Erica Huppe

“MIAD taught me many important things about dealing with professionals in my field, and the art of self-promotion.”

Q. What did you want to be when you grew up?

A. I always had a passion for the arts, and that I would never be satisfied with my life if I didn’t go somewhere with it. From an early age, my art had always centered around animals and wildlife, but growing up I was never certain how that would tie in with my future.

Q. What was your first memorable experience with art and design?

A. When I was in second grade, everyone in my art class sat down to draw pictures. Later that day, a friend’s mom noted that my drawing was one of the strongest. I already knew that I loved drawing, but this showed me that there are people who appreciate it, and that was encouraging.

Q. How did your MIAD education affect where you are today?

A. MIAD taught me many important things about dealing with professionals, and the art of self-promotion. I also obtained useful skills both in concept and in technology. I’m using all of the skills now in my career.

Q. What was the most valuable thing you learned at MIAD?

A. To loosen up. Technically speaking. My work used to be pretty stiff and to the point, but I learned how to open up and take more liberty with it.

Q. What’s the one thing you would tell a high school student who is considering attending MIAD now that you’ve experienced life after graduation?

A. You really have to want it. Being an artist requires dedication and hard work — but when it feels right, it’s the most rewarding work in the world. If you’re willing to put in the effort, you can make it.

Q. If you had to sum up your job in a single sentence, what would it be?

A. I am doing scientific illustration for the Burpee Museum of Natural History — ranging from exhibit art, museum booklets, and highlighting specimens from their permanent collections.


Q. What are your goals for the future, in art/design and in life?

A. Working for a museum really fits in with what I’ve loved to do from childhood, and I’d love to further explore this field of work. I would love if this enabled me to travel, because it would be great to see more of the country. Most of all, I want to keep creating art.

Q. Are there any specific parts of your resume that you’d like to share?

A. I created illustration for the Homer CSI exhibit at the Burpee Museum of Natural History in Rockford, IL. I’ll also be having a future solo art exhibition at the Burpee Museum in October, 2007.

Q. Please define how you saw your major while in school, and how that definition has changed over the years.

A. I felt like kind of an oddball in my major, because the type of work I wanted to do was unlike anyone else’s in the three years ahead of me and the three years behind. This was frustrating at the time, but now that I can look back at my education, even the seemingly irrelevant projects taught me something. There may not have been any courses on scientific illustration specifically, but MIAD provided a broader sense of the major, which can really be translated into an aspect of the illustration field.

huppe_e_4

Alumni Profile: Keith Negley ’00

image | MIAD

Spring Suicide for The New York Times. 2013. Mixed media, digital.

Keith Negley
BFA Illustration | 2000

Freelance Illustrator, Bellingham, Washington

Keith Negley is an illustrator currently based out of Bellingham, Washington. He has been published in a wide range of major newspapers, and national magazines and is a frequent contributor to The New York Times and New Yorker. He received his MFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York in 2013. Negley has been honored with three silver medals from the Society of Illustrators (in addition to being a jury member), as well as two bronze medals from 3X3, and The New York Times "Best of OpEd Art". He also writes children’s books for Flying Eye Books.

“I owe my passion for what I do to a handful of gifted teachers at MIAD. Between their enthusiasm for teaching and the connections I made during internships I received through Career Services, it’s easy to see that MIAD was an integral step to starting my career in illustration. If I could do it again I wouldn’t change a thing.”

Aspen for the New Yorker. 2013. Mixed media, digital.

Origins for Tor Books. 2015. Mixed media, digital.
Jungle for Sub Pop Records. 2014. Mixed media, digital.

See more of Keith’s work at KEITHNEGLEY.COM

Alumni Profile: Uriah Fracassi ’15

Samson & the Lion. Digital drawing.

Uriah Fracassi
BFA Illustration | 2015
Communication Design Minor

Owner and Lead Designer, Uriah Fracassi Creative, LLC
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Currently pursuing a degree in Christian Theology, to better assist our Christian clientele.

The professors at MIAD gave me an expanded appreciation for diverse visual languages.  I was encouraged to explore and evolve, a practice that I’ve continued, which has resulted in the evolution of work closer and closer to my vision.”


See more of Uriah’s work at:

URIAHFRACASSI.COM

Alumni Profile: Ryan Carter ’09

Alumni Profile: Rob Schrab ’92

Endless Ambition.

graduated 1992, BFA Illustration
currently writing, producing + directing television and feature films, as well his own short films. www.robschrab.com

schrab_1

“I took everything I learned at MIAD and dumped it into one big thing.”

schrab_1

Rob Schrab

Few people have as broad a résumé as Rob Schrab; illustrator, comic book creator and publisher, film and television writer, producer, director, improv actor, storyteller, and “Gorath the Destroyer.” First, he created, wrote and published Scud the Disposable Assassin, a comic about “a robotic assassin bought from a vending machine.” Since moving to Hollywood, he has worked with Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Zemeckis, Ron Howard, Jim Henson’s company, and Sid and Marty Kroftt. His directorial debut, Robot Bastard!, is “a short, sci-fi, action film made completely out of cardboard and broken toys.” It has won several film awards and is a definite crowd pleaser. In reference to his short film, Schrab says, “I took everything I learned at MIAD and dumped it into one big thing.”

And where did this journey begin? “My mother was the first to tell me ‘you draw good.’ I guess that’s what gets me up in the morning. I live to impress my mom, make my dad proud and my brothers laugh.” MIAD’s illustration degree gave Schrab a sense of craftsmanship and pride in his work.

What advice would Schrab give to young artists? “If we all had the power to see ourselves through the eyes of others, we’d check out how neat we really are. I’ve always walked through my life thinking that everyone thought I was a dork or untalented or worthless. It took me 33 years to realize that’s how EVERYONE thinks. Actually, if I had my druthers (and I do) I wish fears were curable.”

Want to see Schrab’s skills?
Check out his website, www.robschrab.com, where you will find:

schrab_compliatinon

Schrab’s writing or directing credits

  • the short Robot Bastard!
  • Heat Vision & Jack, an unaired television pilot for the FOX Network. Heat Vision & Jack was written and created by Rob Scrab, and his partner Dan Harmon, directed by Ben Stiller (with Schrab directing the title sequence and another sequence), and stars Jack Black, Christine Taylor, Ron Silver, and Owen Wilson.
  • previews of each issue of Scud: The Disposable Assassin.
  • other short films and animations.

…OR…

  • Check out the scene in the movie Zoolander when Ben Stiller gets hypnotized by Will Ferrell. That entire sequence was directed by Rob Schrab. “During that time, I learned so much from Ben (Stiller). He took me under his wing and was trying to teach me. I really look up to his style of filmmaking and comedy.”

Schrab won an Emmy for his design production and songwriting for the 2009 Academy Awards

Alumni Profile: Kevin Werth ’11

image | MIAD

Kidney | commissioned work

Kevin Werth
BFA Illustration | 2011

Artist, TruScribe
Freelance Cartoonist, MAD Magazine
Madison, Wisconsin

“MIAD provided me with the skills to articulate my ideas about art and the creative process process with clients in a collaborative way. I also learned how to be critical of my work and the work of others, and to provide professional, constructive feedback. MIAD helped me hone my imagination muscles.”

Panther. 2017. Digital. Commission for Amy May.

Bearded Kid | Mad Magazine


See more of Kevin’s work at:

COROFLOT.COM/KEVINWERTH

Alumni Profile: Tifani Vancil ’15

Tifani detail

Lightbox Project – Window Installation. 40 North Champaign County Arts Council. 2017. Mixed media.

Vancil Tifani

Tifani Vancil
BFA Illustration | 2015
Communication Design Minor

Freelance Illustrator
Art Director, Weiskamp Screen Printing
Champaign, Illinois

“MIAD provided me with the knowledge of how to handle doing a creative job and managing a freelance career.  Having learned the skills in both illustration and communication design, I have been able to succeed in my job in a way that I otherwise would not have been able.  I also gained a creative community of classmates and professors.  More than anything else, that community is the most valuable thing to me.”

Cool Jobs

Fresh Artists Cool Jobs Expo. Pattern Design. 2017. Digital.

exterior

Lightbox Project – Window Installation. 40 North Champaign County Arts Council. 2017. Mixed media.

Project Description: "There’s very few things in life that I love as much as my cat Cheddar. I wanted to take this window display as an opportunity to make him larger than life and to play out a fun narrative – some cats out on a treasure hunt and hitting a bit of bump along the way. At the very front of the display, you’ll see the big cheese himself, stuck hanging upside down with a treasure map hanging from his paw. The idea is the closer you look, the more fun details of the narrative you see. I wanted a display that was fun, bright and happy."

 

See more of Tifani’s work at:

TIFANIVANCIL.COM

website

Alumni Profile: Adam Osgood ’06

Assistant Professor of Illustration
Columbus College of Art & Design, Columbus, Ohio

Freelance Illustrator & Animator

osgood mad men

 

Adam Osgood is an Assistant Professor at the Columbus College of Art & Design and teaches a variety of Illustration courses with a focus on bridging motion, 3D, and interactive with illustration concepts and ideals. Osgood has worked as an illustrator, motion artist, and designer for clients such as Hyundai, Aquent, Barnes & Noble, Chico’s, Exxon Mobil Corp., and Rockwell Automation. His illustration & motion work have won several awards and been featured at national and international film screenings. He earned a BFA in Illustration from the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design and a Master of Art & Design in New Media/Animation from North Carolina State University.

 

“There are two facets to my professional career. One one side I’m an illustrator and animator pursuing freelance work. On the other I teach in the Illustration department at the Columbus College of Art & Design.

From the perspective of my freelance work, the Illustration program at MIAD provided me with the fundamentals of design, an attention to craft, and the importance of narrative and concepts. The curriculum at MIAD does a wonderful job of training artists to approach and tackle projects in a way that enables repeated success in their work.

As far as my academic career, I had never given teaching any thought until my sophomore illustration professor, Chris Beetow, asked me to be her teacher’s assistant for a summer program. Through this, I discovered that I really loved working with students and sharing my craft. The illustration faculty supported my endeavors to continue on to grad school and provided some important early teaching opportunities. Overall, I think its the people at MIAD that really make it special. The relationships that I made with peers and faculty have and continue to support my professional career as an illustrator and educator.”

 

 

Alumni Profile: Scott Taylor ’98

Alumni Profile: Briana MacWilliam ’04

Reaching Out: Art as Therapy.

  • attended Milton High School, Milton, MA/ Riverside University High School, Milwaukee, WI
  • graduated 2004 BFA Illustration / 2006 MPS Pratt Institute
  • currently a Senior Rehabilitation Counselor at Lincoln Medical + Mental Health Center, South Bronx, NY
macwilliam_01

Briana MacWilliam

“At the end of four years, all the majors seemed to fuse into one, and they were all so integrated into each other it was hard to know where one focus began and another ended. Designers influenced painters, printmakers influenced design, drawing influenced sculpture, sculpture influenced interior architecture + design, and so on and so forth. Do what you love.”

Q. What did you want to be when you grew up?

A. I always wanted to be an artist. Ever since nursery school I remember wanting to be that. An artist or a carpenter, or a ballerina, which ever came more naturally.

Q. What was your first memorable experience with art and design?

A. My most memorable experience was when I was in Pre-Kindergarten and I was attempting to represent Santa Claus’ beard with a yellow marker. The teacher interrupted me and showed me that simply drawing a black outline, instead of trying to create the illusion of white with yellow, was more effective. I have never looked back.

macwilliam_02

Q. How did your MIAD education affect where you are today?

A. MIAD brought me to Ireland my junior year on an exchange, to the Burren College of Art, where I feel I had a kind of spiritual awakening of sorts. It lead me in the direction of Art Therapy, which was the area of study for my Master’s Degree. MIAD also challenged me to think differently about the ways that I viewed things, really pushed the creative parts of my brain that a public education tends to ignore.

Q. What’s the one thing you would tell a high school student who is considering attending MIAD now that you’ve experienced life after graduation?

A. Don’t worry about being practical. Don’t be a designer because you think it will make you more money. But don’t feel self-conscious about being a designer because you aren’t ‘artsy’ enough.

At the end of four years, all the majors seemed to fuse into one, and they were all so integrated into each other it was hard to know where one focus began and another ended. Designers influenced painters, printmakers influenced design, drawing influenced sculpture, sculpture influenced interior architecture + design, and so on and so forth. Do what you love. The loans will take care of themselves. It’s just a bill you pay like the phone or electric.

Q. If you had to sum up your job in a single sentence, what would it be?

A. Before I graduated [from Pratt] I was already hired at Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center in South Bronx, NY, as the supervising activities therapist for the adult inpatient psychiatric unit; my official title being “Senior Rehabilitation Counselor.”

Q. What are your goals for the future, in art/design and in life?

A. Currently, I am earning hours toward my license as a Creative Arts Therapist, and my ATR (Art Therapy Registration) with the American Art Therapy Association. My goals are to complete the license, work for a few years with various populations, gain some more experience and then go back to school for a PhD in something related. I would like to eventually have my own practice and open a kind of community center for the arts and art therapy. Oh, and learn spanish.

Q. Are there any specific parts of your resume that you’d like to share?

A. I graduated with Honors from Pratt’s program in Creative Arts Therapy in 2006, with a Master’s in Professional Studies and Creativity Development. My thesis was a research project, which was a phenomenological study on the use of visual journaling as a therapeutic intervention for men in the military. Q. Please define how you saw your major while in school, and how that definition has changed over the years.

A. In school I though illustration was more practical, and suited my process of working and narrative style. After I went to Ireland, however, I realized that the commercial aspect of it was not the direction I wanted to go in. The art became more about process than product, and so I went to graduate school to further investigate my inclinations.

macwilliam_03macwilliam_04

Alumni Profile: Autumn Brown ’13

Pineapple

Prints/Apparel Graphics. 2016. Digital. JCPenney Purchasing Corporation.

Autumn Brown
BFA Illustration | 2013
Communication Design and Writing Minors

Freelance Designer in Graphic & Textile Design
MFA Candidate University of Wisconsin-Madison
Madison, Wisconsin

“My education at MIAD taught me to think like a designer, and exposed me to career possibilities I’d never considered.”

Prints/Apparel Graphics. 2016. Digital. JCPenney Purchasing Corporation.


See more of Autumn’s work at:

BE.NET/AUTUMNBROWN

Alumni Profile: Madeline Dall ’15

Dromaeosaur Re-sculpt

Dromaeosaur Re-sculpt (MPM Hell Creek refurbishment project). 2017.

Madeline Dall

Madeline Dall
BFA Illustration | 2015
Communication Design and Science Minors

Exhibit Artist and Designer, Milwaukee Public Museum (MPM)
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

“In MIAD’s Illustration program, I learned technical and analytical skills that correlate to the way we critique work, and the processes we use to create graphics and design exhibits in my current role. MIAD also instilled in me a work ethic that has greatly benefitted me in my professional career.”

MPM 3809

Learn more about MPM’s dinosaurs at:

MPM.ORG

Alumni Profile: Jenny Kim ’02

Bringing Design to the World.

attended high school in Canada | graduated 2002, BFA Illustration
currently a graphic designer @ Rishi Tea Company

 

“I don’t think I wanted to be something specific as a child, but I remember I always found myself doing art.”

kim_1

Jenny Kim

Jenny Kim has come a long way to find a new home here in Milwaukee; she was born in Korea, graduated from high school in Canada, entered the Samsung Art & Design Institute in Korea and eventually transferred to MIAD to complete her degree in Illustration. While at MIAD, Jenny spent a summer in Ireland through an exchange program. “The Ireland trip opened my eyes as an artist. I learned that expressing my feelings and communicating with others are the most important elements of being an artist.”

kim_2
kim_3

Since graduating from MIAD, Kim has had many freelance jobs, including poster and scenery design. She is currently employed as a designer at Rishi Tea Company, designing package labels, posters, flyers, the company website and promotional projects. Asked about her career goals at Rishi Tea, Kim replied, “I want to use my design skills to advertise Asian tea-drinking traditions to American customers.”


Alumni Profile: Max Estes ’99

A Passion for Creating that’s “no joke.”

Max Estes
BFA Communication Design | 1999
Children’s book and graphic novel author and illustrator
Fredrikstad, Viken, Norway
maxestes.com

 

“Don’t be afraid to run full force toward what you want to do most with your art.”

Writer. Illustrator. Teacher.

Max Estes

Max Estes

Max Estes does it all. Growing up, Estes was surrounded by art and creativity (Max’s mom wrote choose-your-own-adventure books that were mostly medieval fantasy novels, and Max’s stepdad created sci-fi board games like “Snit’s Revenge” and “The Awful Green Things From Outer Space”). Now, on his own creative journey, Estes just published his first graphic novel, with the second following this Spring. He works in his studio as much as possible conceptualizing, writing, and illustrating graphic novels, children’s books, and comics. Estes is currently pursuing a Master of Fine Arts degree so that he can teach illustration and sequential art courses in the future.

Cover for Hello Again, Estes' first graphic novel

Estes’ first graphic novel

Q. What did you think you wanted to be when you grew up?

A. I didn’t really think about it much. I just knew I’d go to art school.

Q. What was the most valuable thing you learned at MIAD?

A. You don’t stop learning when you leave the campus. It’s not just classrooms and assignments; your college experience spans far beyond the campus walls. You take your lessons with you onto the streets, into your life.

Q. What’s the one thing you would tell a high school student who is considering attending MIAD now that you’ve experienced life after graduation?

A. Don’t be afraid to run full force toward what you want to do most with your art. You can make a living doing most anything with enough passion put forth.

Q. Please define how you saw your major while you were in school, and how that definition has changed over the years.

A. I graduated with a Bachelors in Communication Design, but upon graduation, I found that I was more interested in design theory as opposed to the graphic design industry (i.e. a 9 to 5 design job). I learned to take what I wanted from my background in graphic design and apply it to my illustration/cartooning career.

 

Nattman

Estes’ new book, Nattman

Alumni Profile: Erica Lyn Huppe ’06

Erica Lyn Huppe
The Art of Information: Scientific Illustration.

  • attended Madison East High School, Madison, WI
  • graduated 2006 BFA Illustration
  • currently works as a Scientific Illustrator at the Burpee Museum of Natural History, Rockford, IL
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Erica Huppe

“MIAD taught me many important things about dealing with professionals in my field, and the art of self-promotion.”

Q. What did you want to be when you grew up?

A. I always had a passion for the arts, and that I would never be satisfied with my life if I didn’t go somewhere with it. From an early age, my art had always centered around animals and wildlife, but growing up I was never certain how that would tie in with my future.

Q. What was your first memorable experience with art and design?

A. When I was in second grade, everyone in my art class sat down to draw pictures. Later that day, a friend’s mom noted that my drawing was one of the strongest. I already knew that I loved drawing, but this showed me that there are people who appreciate it, and that was encouraging.

Q. How did your MIAD education affect where you are today?

A. MIAD taught me many important things about dealing with professionals, and the art of self-promotion. I also obtained useful skills both in concept and in technology. I’m using all of the skills now in my career.

Q. What was the most valuable thing you learned at MIAD?

A. To loosen up. Technically speaking. My work used to be pretty stiff and to the point, but I learned how to open up and take more liberty with it.

Q. What’s the one thing you would tell a high school student who is considering attending MIAD now that you’ve experienced life after graduation?

A. You really have to want it. Being an artist requires dedication and hard work — but when it feels right, it’s the most rewarding work in the world. If you’re willing to put in the effort, you can make it.

Q. If you had to sum up your job in a single sentence, what would it be?

A. I am doing scientific illustration for the Burpee Museum of Natural History — ranging from exhibit art, museum booklets, and highlighting specimens from their permanent collections.


Q. What are your goals for the future, in art/design and in life?

A. Working for a museum really fits in with what I’ve loved to do from childhood, and I’d love to further explore this field of work. I would love if this enabled me to travel, because it would be great to see more of the country. Most of all, I want to keep creating art.

Q. Are there any specific parts of your resume that you’d like to share?

A. I created illustration for the Homer CSI exhibit at the Burpee Museum of Natural History in Rockford, IL. I’ll also be having a future solo art exhibition at the Burpee Museum in October, 2007.

Q. Please define how you saw your major while in school, and how that definition has changed over the years.

A. I felt like kind of an oddball in my major, because the type of work I wanted to do was unlike anyone else’s in the three years ahead of me and the three years behind. This was frustrating at the time, but now that I can look back at my education, even the seemingly irrelevant projects taught me something. There may not have been any courses on scientific illustration specifically, but MIAD provided a broader sense of the major, which can really be translated into an aspect of the illustration field.

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Alumni Profile: Keith Negley ’00

image | MIAD

Spring Suicide for The New York Times. 2013. Mixed media, digital.

Keith Negley
BFA Illustration | 2000

Freelance Illustrator, Bellingham, Washington

Keith Negley is an illustrator currently based out of Bellingham, Washington. He has been published in a wide range of major newspapers, and national magazines and is a frequent contributor to The New York Times and New Yorker. He received his MFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York in 2013. Negley has been honored with three silver medals from the Society of Illustrators (in addition to being a jury member), as well as two bronze medals from 3X3, and The New York Times "Best of OpEd Art". He also writes children’s books for Flying Eye Books.

“I owe my passion for what I do to a handful of gifted teachers at MIAD. Between their enthusiasm for teaching and the connections I made during internships I received through Career Services, it’s easy to see that MIAD was an integral step to starting my career in illustration. If I could do it again I wouldn’t change a thing.”

Aspen for the New Yorker. 2013. Mixed media, digital.

Origins for Tor Books. 2015. Mixed media, digital.
Jungle for Sub Pop Records. 2014. Mixed media, digital.

See more of Keith’s work at KEITHNEGLEY.COM

Alumni Profile: Uriah Fracassi ’15

Samson & the Lion. Digital drawing.

Uriah Fracassi
BFA Illustration | 2015
Communication Design Minor

Owner and Lead Designer, Uriah Fracassi Creative, LLC
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Currently pursuing a degree in Christian Theology, to better assist our Christian clientele.

The professors at MIAD gave me an expanded appreciation for diverse visual languages.  I was encouraged to explore and evolve, a practice that I’ve continued, which has resulted in the evolution of work closer and closer to my vision.”


See more of Uriah’s work at:

URIAHFRACASSI.COM

Alumni Profile: Ryan Carter ’09

Alumni Profile: Rob Schrab ’92

Endless Ambition.

graduated 1992, BFA Illustration
currently writing, producing + directing television and feature films, as well his own short films. www.robschrab.com

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“I took everything I learned at MIAD and dumped it into one big thing.”

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Rob Schrab

Few people have as broad a résumé as Rob Schrab; illustrator, comic book creator and publisher, film and television writer, producer, director, improv actor, storyteller, and “Gorath the Destroyer.” First, he created, wrote and published Scud the Disposable Assassin, a comic about “a robotic assassin bought from a vending machine.” Since moving to Hollywood, he has worked with Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Zemeckis, Ron Howard, Jim Henson’s company, and Sid and Marty Kroftt. His directorial debut, Robot Bastard!, is “a short, sci-fi, action film made completely out of cardboard and broken toys.” It has won several film awards and is a definite crowd pleaser. In reference to his short film, Schrab says, “I took everything I learned at MIAD and dumped it into one big thing.”

And where did this journey begin? “My mother was the first to tell me ‘you draw good.’ I guess that’s what gets me up in the morning. I live to impress my mom, make my dad proud and my brothers laugh.” MIAD’s illustration degree gave Schrab a sense of craftsmanship and pride in his work.

What advice would Schrab give to young artists? “If we all had the power to see ourselves through the eyes of others, we’d check out how neat we really are. I’ve always walked through my life thinking that everyone thought I was a dork or untalented or worthless. It took me 33 years to realize that’s how EVERYONE thinks. Actually, if I had my druthers (and I do) I wish fears were curable.”

Want to see Schrab’s skills?
Check out his website, www.robschrab.com, where you will find:

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Schrab’s writing or directing credits

  • the short Robot Bastard!
  • Heat Vision & Jack, an unaired television pilot for the FOX Network. Heat Vision & Jack was written and created by Rob Scrab, and his partner Dan Harmon, directed by Ben Stiller (with Schrab directing the title sequence and another sequence), and stars Jack Black, Christine Taylor, Ron Silver, and Owen Wilson.
  • previews of each issue of Scud: The Disposable Assassin.
  • other short films and animations.

…OR…

  • Check out the scene in the movie Zoolander when Ben Stiller gets hypnotized by Will Ferrell. That entire sequence was directed by Rob Schrab. “During that time, I learned so much from Ben (Stiller). He took me under his wing and was trying to teach me. I really look up to his style of filmmaking and comedy.”

Schrab won an Emmy for his design production and songwriting for the 2009 Academy Awards

COMPANIES AND INDUSTRIES THAT UTILIZE ILLUSTRATORS

RELATED INDUSTRIES:
Industries you might expect

  • illustration
  • editorial illustration
  • cartooning, comic book design
  • interactive design
  • animation
  • game design

Industries you might not expect

  • Apparel and fashion design
  • Film, television, video design
  • environmental graphic design
  • package design
  • publication design

Companies where MIAD illustration graduates are employed or own:

  • 4Design, package design and brand identity, Minneapolis, MN
  • Academy of Art College, instructor, San Francisco, CA
  • American Film Technologies, film effects & technology, San Diego, CA
  • Aurora Art Company (owner), graphic design firm, East Aurora, NY
  • Bellwether Communications, communications firm, Racine, WI
  • Bradley Communications, communications firm, Charlotte, NC
  • CI Design, interactive media design, web, Milwaukee, WI
  • Clancy/Rogan Advertising, advertising agency, Somerville, MA
  • CSE, customized merchandise and promotional items, New Berlin, WI
  • Dallas Morning News, editorial illustration, Dallas, TX
  • Dimensional Finishes LLC, clay textured wall finishes and mosaics, Milwaukee, WI
  • Discover Financial Services, graphic design specialist, Riverwoods, IL
  • Dydog Illustrations and Designs, Miwaukee, WI
  • Engenuity Design Studio, illustration, Milwaukee, WI
  • Estee Lauder, cosmetics, Manhattan, NY
  • FCI, graphic design firm, Madison, WI
  • Fire Man Press, comic book illustration and animation, Milwaukee, WI
  • Flux Design, custom furniture, sculpture and interior design, Milwaukee, WI
  • GC2 (Great Circle Gaming), video game development/design, Vernon Hills, IL
  • Glencoe Jr. High Project, non-profit, educational, Chicago, IL
  • GMR Marketing, event marketing, New Berlin, WI
  • H&M Distributing Company, alcoholic beverage distributor, Madison, WI
  • Hallmark Cards, greeting cards and novelties, Kansas City, MO
  • Hanson Dodge Creative, graphic design firm, Milwaukee, WI
  • Harley-Davidson Motor Company, motorcycle manufacturer, Milwaukee, WI
  • Haus of Design, comic book illustration, Dousman, WI
  • Hi-Mount Community Elementary School, pre-school teacher, Milwaukee, WI
  • Internet Presence Consulting, internet design firm, Downers Grove, IL
  • J D Publishing, Milwaukee, WI
  • Kimberly Clark, manufacturer, paper products, Neenah, WI
  • Kohl’s Corporation, freelance production designer, Menomonee Falls, WI
  • Mary Vitold Gallery, manager, Seattle, WA
  • Milsco Manufacturing Company, motorcycle components, Milwaukee, WI
  • Milwaukee Public Television, graphic producer, Milwaukee, WI
  • Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Milwaukee, WI
  • Pixelpaint Graphics (owner), graphic design and production, Mukwanago, WI
  • Pleasant Company, toy and doll manufacturer, Middleton, WI
  • Primedia Business and Media, trade magazines, Atlanta, GA
  • Quad / Graphics, printing and publishing, Lomira, WI
  • Rockwell Automation, industrial automation products, Milwaukee, WI
  • Santa Fe Communications, West Allis, WI
  • Straight-Up, creative design, Hartland, WI
  • Strive Media, non-profit, teaching media to youth, Milwaukee, WI
  • Studio8Design, design studio, Lake Zurich, IL
  • THIEL Design, marketing, communications, planning, Milwaukee, WI
  • UW-Milwaukee, art director, Milwaukee, WI
  • Wis.net, internet design, Wauwatosa, WI
  • Wisconisn Early Autisim Project, therapist, Madison, WI
  • Xorbix Technologies, network consulting and web applications, Milwaukee, WI