Well, all,
It was a long time coming, and I almost didn't make it, but my senior thesis.... is now COMPLETE. One whole year of noodling over this single project, and I'm ready to move on.
I'm gonna tell you a secret:
I changed my thesis idea two weeks before it was due.
Terrifying, right?
Last semester, I took both a comic book class and an experimental book writing class. And despite the crazy workload of making a comic, writing a book, and drawing storyboards for my planned animation project, I had a blast!
My grades reflected this, too. For the first time since middle school, I got all A's in my classes. I couldn't believe it!
After those classes, I had a equally horrifying and exciting realization -- I wanted to make comics and write stories for the rest of my life.
But... I had an obligation to fulfill. I needed to complete my senior thesis project before I could make anything new. And so I tucked comic making onto the back burner, something I'd pursue once spring semester was over, writing fanfiction in my free time to fill the void.
Unfortunately, this meant that my current project was no longer something I was excited about. Animating felt like a chore, thinking about animating felt awful, and seasonal depression meant that nothing was getting done.
Two weeks before thesis was due, one of my teachers came in clutch during that low point. She said if I wanted to make a comic, then why not make a comic? It wasn't a matter of if it could get done on time, but what it would take to get it done on time. The important thing was presenting a thesis I could be proud of.
And so, with two weeks left to create and showcase a comic in a gallery setting, I grabbed the comic I made last semester for my comic book class, and got to work on a new comic. I scripted, thumbnailed, typeset and inked a new one in the exact same format, and scrambled together everything else I needed for my display. I thrifted supplies, formatted my pages 3 different ways for print, digital download, and posters, and handbound 20 copies of each comic booklet.
And I did it! I had a fantastic show, and (after a short break, because ow) I'm already looking towards the next comic project.
Most importantly, I was able to walk into my thesis talk proud of what I had made.
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Read My Comics!
My two thesis comics are available on itch.io FOR FREE! Check them out!
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Tips for Your Own Senior Thesis:
If I were to do this project again, here are some things I'd keep in mind.
- Whatever you plan on doing, plan to finish it by the end of the first semester. Leave the second semester for figuring out how to display your work in a gallery setting.
- Break your project into weekly or biweekly tasks, and focus on completing them one step at a time.
- Even though our school requires you to meet with several teachers that aren't from your field, dont hesitate to reach out to teachers who are from your particular field for a meeting as well. The advice I got from teachers from my field were far, far more relevant and helpful than from those who weren't.
- Learn to take critique gracefully, but also learn to discern whether the critique you were given was actually helpful. Don't explain yourself or make excuses for your mistakes when feedback is given, and always be kind and courteous to the critiquer. That being said, you have my permission to disregard a critique if it isn't helpful. Ask yourself: "Is what they're critiquing actually an oversight, or is it a deliberate style choice?" "Does the person giving the feedback understand the background influencing this work, or are they misunderstanding what the project is about?" Remember: YOU HAVE THE FINAL AUTHORITY ON YOUR WORK. You understand best how to achieve what it is you want to achieve with this project.
- During Winter Break, don't work on your thesis at all. You'll be working on this beast for six months straight, so pace yourself accordingly. By the end of the semester, you'll hate whatever it is you're working on, so work on a different project to blow off steam.
- If you, like me, find yourself struggling to find the motivation to work on your project after discovering something new about your art practice, HIT DA BRICKS AND DO SOMETHING ELSE!! Looking back, if I had pivoted to a comic much earlier, I could have easily had a 20-page comic or possibly a 70-page comic to show by exhibition time. Because of my stubbornness, I wasted precious time on something that made me miserable and didn't even make it into the final project.
- For setting up in the gallery, leave figuring out how to hang your work to the professionals. Ask Micheal Hurst (or whoever at your school is responsible for hanging and taking down artwork) what the best method for display is, and follow their advice. They know much more than you do, so you can get a much cleaner and more professional look for less struggle on your part.
- Dance the line between your comfort zone and your limit. Push yourself as far as you can comfortably go, and no more. I see it like stamina management in Breath of the Wild -- if you blow through all your stamina, it'll take a while before you're able to run again, so the fastest way to run is to run until there's a little sliver of stamina left, let the green bar recover about a quarter, then blow through it again. That way, you're able to get the most out of your work without falling into burnout.
I hope these tips were helpful! If you've got any advice of your own, I'd love to hear it.
I want to say that you've got this, but realistically, there is no guarantee whether or not you'll finish your senior thesis. There were many times throughout the year I thought I would fail. You may fail.
And that's fine.
Your worth is inherent, not determined by a single project. Sow good seeds, and maybe they'll yield good returns.
Statistically, almost everyone manages to pass their senior thesis, no matter if their work was exceptional or below par.
Keep putting in the work.
I believe in you :)
Updates
Stuff I've worked on this April:
- Obviously, my senior thesis is now complete! You can read both 6-page comics on my itch.io page.
- I was a vendor at AAC's Spring Art Market on Saturday! A huge thanks to everyone who showed up to support my art. It was a lot of fun meeting people within the community, and really touching to watch strangers connect with the work I made.
- Speaking of which, I have three new zines up on my itch.io page. If you missed your chance to purchase these during the market, I have digital downloads available for you to print them out yourself, for FREE!
- This is WAAC: Issue 7, Dimensions Unknown has been officially released! You can find my prose piece Flowers and Hubris on page 28 and 29. This means my work is officially in bookstores! That's a dream I had planned to accomplish for myself in the far future, and now it's already been achieved... Thank you so much, everyone at WAAC!
- I've been posting more regularly to my Instagram. I still see my website and my newsletter as the core of my audience, but it's been nice being able to keep in touch with my art friends. Hopefully, once I get the ball rolling on Insta, I'll be able to add Tumblr and Bluesky to the app rotation. For now, though, its enough for me to maintain the one.
- Small rebranding change -- in order to maintain a more "professional" web presence, I've been going around and rebranding my socials to use just my name, Vio Rasmussen. It's felt a little bit vulnerable at first, but its the name I plan on using going forward.
- If you're reading this as an email, chances are you signed up for this newsletter during my senior show. Thank you so much! Your support means the world to me. Let's keep working towards building this art career... together!
