Students in the QC Design BFA program can pursue a concentration in Illustration and Animation. Here’s what some of the illustrators on faculty have been up to in the past year:
Cecilia Ruiz

In the summer of 2018, Professor Ruiz’s picture book, A Gift from Abuela, was published by Candlewick Press.

In her first book for children, Cecilia Ruiz illuminates how things can change — and the importance of holding on to our dearest relationships when they do.
The first time Abuela holds Nina, her heart overflows with tenderness. And as Nina grows up, she and Abuela spend plenty of time together. Abuela can’t help thinking how much she’d like to give Nina a very special treat, so she saves a little bit of her money every week — a few pesos here, a few pesos there. When the world turns upside down, Abuela’s dream of a surprise for Nina seems impossible. Luckily, time spent together — and the love Abuela and Nina have for each other — could turn out to be the very best gift of all. With a soft and subtle hand, author-illustrator Cecilia Ruiz draws from her own history to share a deeply personal tale about remembering what’s most important when life starts to get in the way.

Social media links: www.ceciliaruiz.com  Instagram @cecifonik Twitter @cecifonik

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Elizabeth Sayles

This June was a busy month for Professor Sayles. In addition to being a visiting lecturer at the Blanton Museum, University of Texas at Austin, (speaking about Ellsworth Kelly and the Ghost Army of WWII), her newest picture book, Americans, was published by Simon & Schuster.  Over the past year and a half, many of her students at QC  witnessed the book’s creation and learned how how a picture book is developed. The art was painted traditionally with acrylics and pencils, but also involved Adobe Photoshop when working out the layout, and for preparing the final files to send to the publisher.  The book is a timely reminder of the values and history of our country and its people.

This October some of the artwork from the book will be in the exhibit:  A Children’s America at the Rockland Center for the Arts, West Nyack, NY.

Social media links: www.elizabethsayles.com Instagram: ElizabethSayles www.facebook.com/ElizabethSaylesArt/

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Ryan Hartley Smith

In the past year, Professor Smith was awarded a gold medal from the Society of Illustrators for his work for the National YoungArts Foundation. He created a series of large-scale prints for the Delaware Art Museum orientation hall to welcome visitors to this leading museum of American illustration. He collaborated with QC Design colleague Susan Shaw on a guidebook to understand the NYC capital budget process, commissioned by the city’s Independent Budget Office. In July, Professor Smith presented a paper titled Grappling with Representation in the Age of the Comments Section at the ICON10 Illustration Conference in Detroit.

Professor Smith created posters and animated backdrops for theater director Yara Travieso for shows at Joe’s Pub and the National YoungArts Foundation. Professor Smith’s collaborative poster with dancer Jerron Herman was displayed at the Museum of Arts and Design, and is currently installed in an NYC Dept. of Transportation streetscape exhibition on 125^th Street in Harlem.

Currently, Professor Smith is working with the Center for Urban Pedagogy, the Center for Court Innovation, and Safe Horizon to create a series of illustrated books and pocket guides to help youth between the ages of 2 to 18 navigate the court system as a witness or victim.
Social Media: www.ryhartley.com Instagram: @rhartleysmith

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Daniel Zender

This year, Professor Zender has been trying to spend more time in his studio, where he works on paintings, prints and sculpture. In May he had a show of block prints at Desert Island in Williamsburg, and is currently working on a set of large mixed media paintings. Professor Zender has also been making illustration work for a variety of new clients, including VICE, Wired, and Google. In January he was awarded a gold medal from the Society of Illustrators for his work for Nike.

Social Media: www.danielzender.com Insta: @danielzender.com