Project Three
Senior Thesis: The Goddess and the Soldier
The Goddess and the Soldier
The Soldier stumbles upon the Goddess’ idyllic Meadow full of lush green hills dotted with flowers, where the two learn about love and connection. Their peace is shattered by War, personified as a creeping gray-blue mist that brings pain and destruction.
This story reflects my perspective on modern society: humanity’s relentless march forward fuels cycles of division and environmental ruin. Inspired by Romantic poets who warned against industrial “progress,” this project urges viewers to appreciate and protect what they have—friends, nature, and fleeting moments of peace—before they are lost.
For my undergraduate senior thesis, we were tasked with creating a body of work that explores a certain theme or idea, given complete creative liberty when it came to concept, medium, and presentation. I knew I needed to do something that showcased both degrees, English and Art, and already thought about working as a book designer post-grad. I decided to take a short story I wrote in high school, edit it, and create an illustrated short story with a total of 9 paintings, 2 linework illustrations, and a dust jacket design which I then produced into a physical book. This project solidified my love of book design, and is the entire reason I applied to NYU’s Summer Publishing Institute
Cover and Illustrations
All of the paintings bellow follow the story of the two main characters: The Goddess and the Soldier. Using warm and cool colors, I depict the emotion of the story, using bright oranges to represent happiness and love, and deep blues to represent loss. Bellow, you’ll find all 9 paintings in the story, and the dust jacket design
Interior Design
With the paintings finished, I started working on the interior layout. Since the story operates in a frame narrative, I wanted to book end the “frame” part with ink drawings to seperate them from the main story, illustrated through my acrylic paintings. Bellow, you’ll find the ink drawings, the title page, a page break design, the layout for the illustrations, and a self portrait I drew for the dust jacket.
