Essay - DART Senior Thesis Show

Welcome to the DART Senior Thesis Art Show. DART Department majors that are soon to be designated designers present their work for the capstone of our Digital Art and Design program. Each year, the Bisignano Art Gallery exhibits and celebrates the graduating seniors’ thesis projects. The exhibition brings together an exciting variety of work in illustration, animation, 3D design, motion graphics, and digital artwork that showcase the wide range of skills the students cultivated during their time at University of Dubuque.

Each senior worked tirelessly throughout the semester in the Senior Seminar class to showcase the immense breadth and voice of their talent. The students chose an independent and specific theme for their collection of pieces accompanied by a brief artist statement to describe their vision and passion as an artist, and their gratitude to everyone who helped them to achieve their goal.

We have the honor and privilege of witnessing their creative artwork through all of their challenges and setbacks that goes into the design process culminating in an amazing finished project – we love the journey. While each student will be graduating and moving on from the university, we thank the students for spending some time with us here and wish them our best in their exciting new adventure. Their art and creativity will continue to flow into all of their endeavors.

DART Professors: Sheila Sabers, Jean Holdener, Joe Swendenhjelm, and Alan Garfield (retired)

Jaylen Bell

Growing up I was very interested in trains and planes. To come home and have a Lego set that would then turn into something totally different from instruction manuals. Legos start turning into scrap pieces of broken or disassembled school supplies found lying around school or home and turning them into my own creation free flowing to my minds desire. All at a cost of many cuts, super glued fingers, metal piercing skin, and sparks flying to create models of miniature dimensions. Creativity can be formed in non-traditional ways that reeks of innovation and uniqueness. I’ve gotten a lot of flak, when I was younger, for dismantling of objects in effort for my art to come alive and if it wasn’t for Mrs. Thompson, who was also in art teacher in elementary school, who kept my creation growing and expanding. Going from small canvases, to wood, to plastics and metals. The important of going for your hearts content is what sparks great ideas and the methods that are impossible to the eyes of those who rely on the rule, are then proven in reality as works of art. “Hivemind” defines as implements both three physical and three digital mediums into one, adapting and implementing for use in many ranges of utilities. Hivemind to me combines; cemetery, structure, breathability, style, identity and vision.” Hivemind” relates to the time I first started to 3D animation and I instantly was obsessed and grew an attachment to the software, like the robotic limbs attaching to the humanoid in the animation. From that moment on I used the art in physical form created as inspiration for the application in 3D.

During my time at University of Dubuque I transitioned into blacksmithing and creating my own jewelry during holidays and breaks away from school while also dabbling into another 3D software like blender. I went from being a flight operations student to a D.A.R.T. with three years left and lots of credits to make up from the pandemic. Regardless, I made it to this moment to showcase my skills of digital formats, while also honing in on my blacksmith routes. Creating metal works of art and involving technology has made me some kind of a hybrid.

I created a short trailer called “Hivemind” as my senior thesis in semblance of being part human and part machine. An ominous atmosphere where creation can be made and envisioned while also be in infinite scale. The character has only his limbs being put together as the relationship of metal and flesh bind. Reminiscent of a “Robo-Cop” and “Terminator” with the ability to appear human with a robotic skeleton. The character was involved in a mission to liberate the last stronghold of pyramid tombs that has invaded the planet of Senti. The air squadron was then ambushed by drones launched by the alien stronghold and vaporized his entire squadron while the last pilot collided head on with the drone impaling him on impact through the canopy. The auto-ejection severed his pelvis and when he landed his arms was then torn apart from the pyramid tombs he collided with from the tangled parashot, he then blead out losing consciousness. Reanimated in the body bonded with foreign but compatible limbs and augmentations he remembered what happened that brought him here, as he sought out to use his renewed purpose to discover what has made him change so much and the people around him.

I would like to thank; my roommate Payton for being a second eye of critique and, Jean Holdener, Jim Cullen, Joe Swedenhjelm, Sheila Sabers, and Alan Garfield for teaching the history of the subjects utilized in all spectrums of art and the C.R.A.P you and I had to go through together. My mother Dominique for raising, believing and trusting me in the things I am passionate in to this day, and Mrs. Thompson an, elementary school teacher, for being that catalyst in continuing and keeping my creativity alive and growing along with me.

Karissa Chalus

During my four years at the University of Dubuque, I have met some truly astounding individuals. Through our time together I have learned more about these people and have come to call them my closest friends. I recognized that seeing these friends through my eyes shows just how uniquely beautiful each one of them are inside and out. Over time, I have heard each one of my friends express one insecurity or another whether that be physical or emotional. I know it is hard to see one’s self without judgement and aimed to expose my friends to the way I see them. I learned that the love and compassion I have for my friends is something I want them to feel constantly. I want my friends to see themselves the way I see them. Through this journey I have also recognized the lack of compassion I show myself while looking in the mirror. I attempted to look at myself as an art piece rather than picking out all my flaws and insecurities I see in myself. As the project went on I became more comfortable with my reflection and found appreciation for my own unique features. I learned to try to be more compassionate and loving to myself. The world is hard enough as is so why should we stand in the way of our own happiness and confidence.

Deciding on my senior thesis was a tough choice but I knew it had to involve my friends as they were on the front lines of my support team while we went through college. I finally concluded that I wanted to let my friends see themselves through my eyes and made portraits of each of them. Each picture contains a personalized message for the friend featured. I challenged myself to make less realistic and more stylized images as opposed to my normal true to life style of illustration. I took time to look at other’s works of art to find and develop a style that worked for me. Overall, I learned many new things about digital art, my friends, and myself that I did not know before this project.

I have so many people to thank for helping me get through my journey at the University of Dubuque. First and foremost, I would like to thank my mom and dad, Cynthia & Scott Chalus. They have supported me in every way possible throughout my years at school. They’ve been extremely generous, they attended every soccer game they had the chance to go to, they give me feedback and encourage me and my art, they have been there for my random FaceTime calls and comforted me from hours away. Next, I would like to thank my siblings, Elise, Tiana, and Nathan. Thank you for always being ready to receive random snapchats and pictures of projects I need your opinion on. Also thank you for always having something interesting to look forward to in our family group chat! My experience at school would not be complete without my classmates Emma and Jenna. I will forever hold on to the memories we made together with our shenanigans in class and our random runs to Sheila’s office to grab candy! Thank you to my closest friends, Noah, Erykah, Elissa, Anj, Logan, and Blake who I may not have had classes with but always found a way to spend time together. I will never forget and will always be grateful for our deep conversations, our random reciting of TikTok audios, our late nights together doing homework, and the forever friendships we have formed. Thank you to my Professor Sheila Sabers who not only was my professor but also my shoulder to cry on, friend, and mom away from home. I have learned so many different lessons while in class not only the rule of thirds or that comic sans is off limits but also to take a deep breath when I’m stressed and when I procrastinate to just take that first step and work past the fear of failure. Thank you to Professor Jean Holdener for being my advisor and always directing me down the right path for classes. Additionally, thank you for building my confidence in areas of Digital Art and Design that I previously was unfamiliar with. Thanks to her drawing course I can never say I cannot draw ever again! I’d also like to thank Jason Berna for always pushing me in soccer to be the best player I could be and teaching me to preserver and be a resilient person.

Jarrett Daniel

This journey of digital art has taken me through many different creative processes while creating pieces and collaborating with other artists. I started this major with a simple goal of wanting to know how video games were made and left with knowledge of how commercials were made, and how logos are made, and the importance of typography in everything, and so much more. This major has shown me behind the scenes of some of my favorite things growing up such as video games, tv, and movies. I pay attention to detail much more during commercials and advertisements after having had my classes. I have much more appreciation and understanding for art such as architecture, digital painting, and other forms of art that bring dreams and thoughts to reality.

My goal as an artist is to entertain with fun pieces and surprises. This project is my most entertaining. Recently, taking motion graphics as a class has made this project much easier to achieve. The goal for this project is to create a short film that is scary and entertaining. This video replicates my room and the main character loosely resembles me. The video is like a first person view of sleep paralysis. I created a movie poster for it and a poster showing off the characters. I had the idea for a scary short film when I saw a shot used in a scary film of just a dimly lit hallway with unsettling music. The camera shot from the hallway was unsettling alone but the music really put the icing on the cake. I wanted to use my knowledge of motion graphics, 3d, and adobe after effects to bring my own short film to life, taking a bit of inspiration from the scene I observed. Working on this project while keeping up with other classes has been difficult but has been an obtainable goal.

College has been tough having to balance classwork and everything outside of it but having a strong support system in my friends, family, and classmates, made this journey easier and more fun. Even the security has helped at times when they let us in late at night and ask how our work is going and give suggestions to help our thought process during projects. My classmates and I have been halted in progress when we were stuck and needed help and could always count on assistance from the best Digital Art teachers there are. The staff and students are all friendly and great people to be around every day for a semester of school. Me and my classmate Urias have spent many countless nights in the lab working together until 12 or 1 am, because we couldn’t work from home on certain projects. Jeremy, my other classmate, and I have been stuck when making 3D projects and could usually count on each other when the teachers were not around to help. Having good friends and classmates has been great and has made this experience much better. YouTube and other websites have always been at our disposal for guidance, but these teachers are amazing and always have a solution to any inquiry. Many teachers helped mold my artistic mind and I am so grateful to them. Mr. Shook, my old advisor, and Ms. Sabers, my new advisor, have been a tremendous help as advisors and teachers. Mr. Shook introduced me to the Digital Arts department and Ms. Sabers helped pick the perfect classes for me. I have learned so much from Ms. Sabers and am thankful for having such an informative teacher. Jean and Garfield were so very helpful with everything from photoshop to animation and I am glad to have had these teachers that made learning so fun and easy. Joe and Jim are wizards of 3D and made class entertaining and fun to attend. They showed us neat shortcuts in the programs we use and the importance of getting inspiration from examples and hearing critiques of your work and others. These teachers are amazing and the best at what they do and deserve all the recognition they can get. I am thankful for my family, my mom, and my nana who I feel are the sole reasons I am finishing college. I was challenged to finish college and inspire my family and the future generations by getting a college degree. I recently had a daughter and can show her in the future what is achievable. None of it would be possible without the support of my family and the encouragement I get from my mom in times when I felt like I was done with school. My mom and family have been my backbone throughout my college journey and my newborn daughter has been a big part of that bone ever since she was born. I am grateful to every single person that helped and encouraged me to get here.

Jeremy Konrardy

The project I made is a 3D model that focuses on a 1969 Camaro. I then created a scene in 3Ds max that I would animate the car within. What inspired me to model and animate this classic muscle car was my love for the Fast and Furious movies growing up. Creating this animation seemed so intriguing to me because I was able to put a classic car on display, just like they did in those movies. When I was little I used to ask my mom to buy me Hot Wheels when we would go to the store, and the ones that always caught my eye were the old muscle cars, like the 1969 Camaro. I placed the car in a country scene, with nothing but long empty roads and corn. Because growing up in Iowa, I feel the most fitting spot to take a classic car out for a cruise is out in the country.

When I began attending the University of Dubuque my goal was to find the major that I felt fit me best. After not being intrigued by my first two choices, I found myself taking a computer graphics intro class with Alan Garfield. It was the first class during my time at the University of Dubuque that I genuinely enjoyed, and taking that class is the reason I chose the digital art and design field.

All my professors have always been willing to provide help which has made this journey much easier. Professor Sabers, Welsh, Holdener, and Garfield have all helped me a ton. Also, the ones that taught me everything I know about 3D, Professor Cullen and Joe Swedenhjelm. My friends, Dominick and Jake and many more who helped provide me with joy outside of class and school. It is always nice to get my mind off of class and homework every so often. But I could have never of done any of this without the constant support from everyone in my family. From my parents, my mom Dawn and Dad Jim, for always supporting me. They have always made it their goal to give me and my siblings the best life we could have. The emotional support they provided was bigger than all. Always letting me know how proud they were of me, which helped me more than they know. When I was struggling early on to find what major I wanted to choose, there was a time where I felt so lost, I didn’t even want to go to college anymore, I felt that I was never going to find what was right for me. Without them pushing me and motivating me I don’t think I could have done it. Same goes for my siblings, my brother Jordan, and my sisters Emily and Alecia, all of them always being people I can talk to, not only about school but life in general. It’s nice going through life knowing you have 3 siblings that will always be there for you. For my grandparents, my grandmas Mary and Betty, and both of my grandpa’s, Denny and Wayne who have both recently passed, but they left me with so much knowledge that I will use throughout my entire life. It was the little things they did that would encourage and motivate me to do better. My grandpa (Denny) was always there for me, he never missed my baseball games growing up, and he would always be the loudest one cheering me on. That goes for everything I did, not just baseball, he was always there rooting for me. Sometimes he would send a little card in the mail telling me how proud he was of me. The little things like that always pushed me to be the best version I could of myself. My other grandfather Wayne, while also telling me how proud he was of me, he also taught me how to be the best man possible. Something he said that stood out to me was “have a good time, but just remember when you go through life, not only is it your life, but you effect so many other people, try to be as nice as you can to everybody, hopefully they’ll be nice to you and make the world better.” Growing up with a family like this is why I’m here today, and I’ll always be thankful for everything they have given me.

Kyla Lindsey

What does family mean to you? Family has always been the most important to me because family always comes first. Family is what gives us our identities. It is where we created our first relationships. It is a crazy thing. For my Senior Seminar project, I wanted to create something where I could include all the most important people in my life that helped me get to this point. I wanted to create something that was meaningful to me.

For my senior thesis project, I wanted to do something out of my comfort zone and include some of the most important people that mean everything to me. My goal was to create a book; therefore, we could keep it as a memory. I created each of my family members as a character, and then I gave a description of them on the page next to them. Choosing this to do as my project, I had to learn a different style of design that I was not used to doing. Doing this as my project and working on it for hours has made me expand my design skills and what I know about design. The next piece of my senior thesis project is a poster of just my intermediate family. I chose this to be its own part of the project as they are the people who made me who I am today. For this poster, I used a recent family picture and recreated each person as their own. The last piece of my senior thesis project is another poster of each page in the book that includes an illustration. I wanted to include this in my project for people to see what I have been working on for the last semester.

I would like to give a big thank you to my family. Especially my parents, Ryan and Danielle Lindsey, for always supporting me and helping me get where I am today. To my younger brother and sister, who have always been there for me. I also am beyond grateful for my grandparents, Pat and Everett, and Larry and Joanne. I know they will always be there for me no matter what. I also want to thank Shelia Sabers and Jean Holdener for being by my side the last four years and teaching me everything I know and always pushing me to do my best work. A big thanks to Shelia for being my advisor for the last four years here at the University of Dubuque. Another person I wanted to thank was Abby Smith for always being my go-to girl for the last four years. I am so glad the DART Program brought us together. I could not have done it without you! Also, thank you to my roommate Sydney Killeen who is minoring in DART, for always giving me fresh and new ideas! Thank you, Billie Galle for giving me the opportunity to take part in two amazing internships. Finally, I would like to thank my classmates that have been with me the whole way! I could not have done it without any of you. I can’t thank you enough, and I am excited to see where my next adventure takes me! Thank you!

Jared Rutkowski

For my Senior Thesis I wanted to focus on making a project which told a personal story. Personal growth has been a very relevant and main point of my college career, it has been something I’ve spent a lot of time working on during my four years here. At first, I struggled with this mainly because I felt very lost, I didn’t have the dorm experience or join a circle of people I knew. Then I chose to join the UD cross Country and Track team. The effect the people I’ve met there have had on me is irreplaceable and forever cherished.

I chose to create my pieces by following the same theme of being “lost in the universe” and have the perspective of each piece be from the main character, in this case, me. I created a painting which I wanted to depict what it felt like to feel alone in the universe, feeling isolated from people whilst still being around so many. My movie trailer poster is set to take the perspective of me as depicted in the painting in the first person. The arm reaches to a sky of hazy memories because during that time I had spent a lot of time hanging onto the past. I longed so much to go back to those high school days that I spent too much time reminiscing instead of living in the present. I illustrated it this way to emphasize how important it is to hold onto those memories without getting lost in them. Music has always been a way for me to express myself or just get into my feels. That is why I decided to make my own music video to show my journey and change in a much shorter timeframe than what it has been. Truly the most important part of my life has been the people I’ve been fortunate enough to meet, which is why I chose that to be my focal point for the video. The video needed to display how much of a difference It made while also staying simple which is also why I used an instrumental track.

I wish to thank my loving parents, Stephanie and Thomas Rutkowski for being supportive and just as interested in what I’ve spent four years learning as I am. Also, they helped pay for my tuition which is also pretty awesome. My professors Sheila, Jean, and Alan have all been fantastic to learn from. The level of care you all have shown me and everyone else in the DART program is amazing. Whether it was me starting a design from scratch the night before it was due, or spending hours editing and painting. I could never have refined my skills without your help and guidance. Of course, I have to thank everyone on the Cross-Country team and Track team as well. The distance squad in particular has my entire heart and soul. Having a group of guys and gals who love and cherish you even when you are making questionable choices you absolutely know you need to keep them close to you for the rest of your life. Joey Wohlers, Hunter Snyder, Johnny Innamorato, Nick Rotter and Dillon Leffler are five guys that will always have a place in my heart. Love you boys. Another special shout out to Dillon for being my other half in and out of the classroom. Whether we are discussing JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, making fun of Joey or Hunter, or playing Smite together at 1:00 in the morning. I can always count on you to be by my side if I need it and cheer me on better than anyone else while you watch me die for 25 laps around a track. Lastly, my coaches, Rich Maleniak, and Chad Gunnelson. You two have given me the greatest opportunity I could’ve asked for here at UD. You both have made me grow not just as an athlete, but as a person too. Thank you for everything you all have done for me.

Emma Schmit

When I was little, I used to write stories. I’d steal about 20-30 blank sheets of paper from my mom’s printer and staple them together in a booklet and start making up my own fiction stories. For as long as I can remember I’ve always been obsessed with fantasy/sci-fi books, movies, tv shows, and video games. I like the idea of being able to take a break from reality and imagine something amazing. I’ve also been incredibly fascinated with the gaming industry specifically 3D modelling and animating. Which is why I’ve made my senior project a trailer for a sci-fi video game. For the show, I will be presenting a video game trailer displayed on the tv along with 2 posters. The first poster is a title poster for the game and the second is a series of images demonstrating the design process and how the project was put together.

My project tells a grim story about Earth getting destroyed by an asteroid and everyone trying to escape at once before it hits. The main character is, of course, a strong, independent, female lead who in the midst of chaos after the news broke out of the impending doom, is desperately trying to find her other intern co workers to get on the ship they were in the processing of building to escape death. She did not find them. She found people fighting to the death and she was scared, so she chose to take the ship she was building and save herself. On the ship, we hear the screams and chaos transmitting from the ground on Earth and then we hear someone asking our main character to identify themselves and how they got on the ship. The main character questions who she can trust and decides to go off on her own to find a new place to call home.

Speaking of home, I would like to personally thank my mom for helping me be able to go to school and being a great role model. I am so grateful to those who have helped me, supported me, or at least just kept me sane during my time here at UD whether you are my friends, family, co-workers, peers, or professors. I also want to thank University of Dubuque for introducing me to such amazing experiences and even better individuals. Through UD, I was fortunate enough to get to go on the cruise to visit places all over Greece. And I got stuck with this girl named Jenna Benzing as my roommate who, at first, I thought was insanely shy, but turned out to be the weirdest (in a good way) and greatest person ever. Jenna and I were also friends with Karissa and the three of us were basically like a band. A band that would go to Sheila’s office everyday before class and steal candy. Shout out to Sheila for replenishing the candy too. Also, shout out to Sheila for being the best advisor someone could have. Sheila Sabers has been my professor since I started here while I was still in high school, and I genuinely could not have asked for a better person to do the job she does and be the person she is. You know who’s also a wonderful person? Alan Garfield. That guy is awesome. Awesome to talk to, awesome to listen to, and awesome to go on trips with. He also calls me little Em which makes me feel great. I’m also thankful for having Jean Holdener as one of my professors because she has taught me a lot and has gone out of her way to help me out on different occasions when she was busy and didn’t have to help. Another person who has definitely helped me out and didn’t have to is Joe Swedenhjelm. Joe was brought in last semester to replace someone else, and he has absolutely exceeded any expectations. Joe was my professor for last semester, but he has been teaching me this entire semester in his free own time after one of his classes and he doesn’t get paid. This is why Joe is super duper awesome and why I am so grateful for him. Lastly, I’d like to thank my twin sister, Anna, not for keeping me sane (the exact opposite) or helping me out, but for being the best twin sister anyone could have. Again, thank you to all you who have been there for me throughout all of this crazy experience.

The amount of support I have had during the creation of Digg has been amazing. Seeing how others could make my character personally relate to them would always reminds me why I wanted to be an animator in the first place. To make relatable creations that would make people either smile, laugh or just have some sort of connection to it.

Abby Smith

There was never a weekend when I was growing up that I wasn’t outside with my family. Almost every memory I can recall is either in the front yard, at a campground, or doing anything with family, and I wouldn’t want it any other way. This is why I chose to do a poster series for my senior thesis project. I wanted to create a national park poster feel for places that I found close to my heart. These places include FW Kent Park in Oxford, Iowa, Sugar Bottom Bike Trails in Solon, Iowa, my grandma’s house in Solon, and Sugar Bottom Campground in Solon. These are the places that I associate the most memories with from growing up. I’m so excited to have these posters to remind me of my roots and where my love for nature began. The FW Kent Park poster illustrates a scene of my late grandfather's bench at a park that my family spends a lot of time at. Before my grandpa passed, I spent so much time with him, and I will always find peace visiting his bench. The Sugar Bottom Bike Trails poster represents all of the bike rides I went on with my dad and brother growing up. As soon as the weather was nice enough we would ride our bikes all over. The Apache Dr poster is an illustration of my grandparents’ house. I wanted to create an image that represented the family games of kickball after holiday dinners. The chairs in front of the garage are where my grandparents sit and watch the kids play. My fourth poster, Sugar Bottom Campground, is the most representative of my family’s time together. Almost every weekend we could be found camping in the summer. I have loved every single second of my childhood and I wouldn’t have wanted it to go any other way.

To say it bluntly I would not be where I am today without the love and support of my family. My mother, Jodi, my father, Shannon, my brother, Adam, and even our family dog, Rusty have been there for me through thick and thin and I don't know where I’d be without them. I also am beyond grateful for my grandparents, Mary and Denny, and Blanche and Darrel. Their love for me has never been questioned, and I know I always have their support. Jeannie Jedlicka is the first person I shared a love for art with. All throughout high school we took all the art classes together, including introduction to graphic design. She has been one of the best supporters of my design journey and has inspired me to get out of my comfort zone. Thank you, Jeannie, for all your support and love throughout the years. My friend Brieana Dean also deserves the biggest thanks. Ever since arriving on campus in 2019 we have been inseparable. Thank you, Brie, for all the support, feedback, and advice! My friends Emma Seipel and Emma Lundquist have been amazing at being the best cheerleaders I could ask for and always being able to provide a laugh! I also need to thank my partner, Kodie, for all the feedback and support he has given me throughout our time here at UD. I also need to give a huge thank you to Kyla Lindsey. I am so grateful she decided to be a part of the DART program. She is always there for me when I need support, a laugh, a homework reminder, a critique, or literally anything at all. I truly don’t know what I would do without Kyla. My Web Design 2 gang also needs a huge thank you! All the nights in the tech building, trying to understand what the heck is going on will be some of my favorite memories from my time at UD. Sydney Killeen and Nolan Lentz, you guys are the absolute best. I also want to thank Coach Gunnelson for supporting me through my academic and athletic endeavors. Lastly, thank you Sheila Sabers. Thank you for all the honest chats, advice, and support. You have inspired me too step out of my comfort zone and strive to be the best artist. I can be. I am so grateful to have spent my last four years at UD.