2024 Merit Scholarship Recipient: Calvin Stoeger

Describe the work you submitted for merits.

I submitted a variety of comic and animation work, as I like to live between both of those worlds of sequential art. Most of my comic work is traditionally pencilled and inked, and then finished with digital grey-toning or color. In addition to finished work, I displayed color mock-ups of a risograph comic page and original art pages. I displayed two digital hand animated pieces and one 2-D rigged animation piece.

Why did you decide to come to MCAD?

I initially came to MCAD planning to study animation, however I realized that I wanted to be more involved with writing. After taking Intro to Comics and Intro to Animation in the same semester, I decided on switching to being a Comic Art major.

What are your plans for your senior year? And beyond?

During senior year, I plan to continue to develop both my traditional and digital toolboxes and to improve my writing. Beyond college, I would like like to write and publish graphic novels, work as part of a comic production team, work as part of an animation production team, or some combination of all three.

Favorite thing about college life (so far)?

My favorite thing about college life at MCAD is the professors. All of my professors have taken time to get to know me and to become familiar with how I enjoy working, and they tailor their feedback based on that knowledge to make sure that it will be useful to me.

What inspires you?

I draw inspiration from all types of media as well as my own experiences (though I don't tend to get autobio in any of my comic projects). From looking at paintings, posters, prints, photos, books, and movies I find color palettes, camera angles, rendering styles, storytelling methods, and much more. I think the best thing to do as an artist is to consume all kinds of art, media, entertainment, etc and find what sticks out to you.

Do you have a favorite piece you've made? Describe it!

The piece that I am most proud of is 6 pages of a comic that I have been calling "QUOTHA". To me, it represents the development of both my digital and traditional production, as it uses traditionally inked and lettered pages, digital color & half-toning, and some digital type. It was included in my Merit Scholarship display, and it was also accepted into the Made at MCAD 2024 Gallery.

Anything you're obsessed with at the moment?

I went on a large reading (and re-reading) binge over Winter Break, which I am still not over. I just finished reading Neil Gaiman's "American Gods", and a lot of that book and my other recent reads have influenced the way in which I have been planning out the writing in my comics.

Lastly, do you have a favorite question we didn't ask? Tell us and answer it!

Do you have any declared Minors? Yes, I have declared triple minors in Animation, Creative Writing, and Art History.