Meet Shania!
Shania is a senior in the Illustration program and a very talented artist with a refined sense of style. If you would like to know more about Shania and her experience studying art at Marywood, then keep reading!
Name: Shania Nelson
Major: Illustration
Minor: Animation
I am majoring in art because I’ve always been passionate about the arts since I was a kid. I remember always drawing and thinking I wouldn’t be doing anything else but this, majoring in anything outside of art feels alien to me. It’s the one outlet I consistently utilize to express myself.
If starting a career in art feels right to you, allow yourself to work towards that to the fullest.
The kinds of things that inspire me are always cartoons and comics! I take heavy inspiration from shows like Sym-bionic Titan and comics like the Scott Pilgrim series. Sometimes I take inspiration from photography and posters too, such as artists like @whydarian and @thebutcherbilly on Instagram!
My favorite art class so far was both Digital Design and General Illustration 2. Digital Design helped introduce me to the basics of the Adobe suite programs and how to apply those to my art. General Illustration 2 allowed me to improve on my current art style with different projects that challenged me artistically
When I am not in class I’m either in the Learning Commons completing some class work, hanging out with friends or at home drawing personal things! I spend a lot of time working on personal projects and stories that I hope to expand upon in the future through comics.
The coolest thing I have done at Marywood so far was having the pleasure of making some graphics for The Wood Word, Marywood’s Online News Source. I typically made illustrations for articles when they needed them. Although I’m not able to participate in that for this semester, it was really cool to experience what working with an online news source with journalists was like.
When I graduate I hope to start a career working in the realm of character design and storyboarding. I love designing characters and telling their stories through their designs. I also enjoy artistic storytelling with my art, so pursuing storyboarding would allow me to indulge in that.
I would recommend the Art program at Marywood because it has amazing facilities and the faculty is incredibly supportive. You are able to grow artistically and personally through this program which I appreciate. The community you form in the department and in your art classes is a bonus.
What excites me most about art is seeing everyone else’s differing styles surrounding yours and realizing how diverse and extensive artists are. I also love seeing how much I’ve improved over the years. You never truly realize how much you’ve improved until you actually look at older artworks and see what new skills you’ve acquired or the new direction your art is taking.
The advice I would give to someone who is interested in going to school for Art is don’t let others discourage you from pursuing a different path based on their own opinions. If starting a career in art feels right to you, allow yourself to work towards that to the fullest. Art school can be daunting, but you meet some great people while also getting the chance to take your art to a new level that will take you where you want to go after graduation.
I hope that you all enjoyed reading about Shania! Check back soon to see more posts from me and my fellow bloggers. Bye for now!