2024 Merit Scholarship Recipient: Wei Vivian Lu

Describe the work you submitted for merits.

Fireheart is a comic exploring the relationship between society and nature. In the depths of the Dragon Ridge Mountains, a rare magical gem "Yue" able to enhance a person's physical ability, is being sought out by the world. After her village was extorted for their precious gems by a neighboring empire, Yora must find a way to protect the land from the devastating consequences of a resource war.

What made you choose to come to MCAD for your MFA?

The mentor program was the biggest reason I chose MCAD to pursue my MFA. There’s a lot of freedom in what projects we choose to do in the curriculum. Our mentors guide the way to help our work reach a professional level in all aspects. This structure helps me to be more independent and ambitious in my practice. The program also gives lots of opportunity to network and meet new artists around the world.

Favorite thing about the program or the community (so far)?

I've been enjoying the company of my cohort, mentor, and the nice studio space. I love the balance of the coursework that allows me to have lots of time focusing on my project. I also like how supportive the MFA community is in general, not only are the faculty and students very supporting of each other, alumni are also actively engaging with current students. They come to shows, do studio visits, and provide opportunities for us to connect with others in the field.

What inspires you?

I like narrative work a lot. I am inspired a lot by animation, games, film, and manga, especially science fiction, dystopian, and fantasy. The lore of Elden Ring and A Song of Ice and Fire have been huge inspiration in my making of Fireheart. Both of these works are very successful in enriching the world with magic, mystery, and history. It's so fascinating to read and explore this technique of world building in my own projects.

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

I am very fond of Fireheart so far. It's been a challenge to make it since Fireheart is my first comics project, but all the effort I give has been very rewarding. I wanted to write a story with an adventurous main character, and have some more serious political background. I am excited to keep working on expanding the story. I have lots of other parts of the world, characters, and plots to be introduced. I have lots of fun doing concept work, designing characters, and making physical books that I can share with everyone. Definitely my most fun project yet.

Anything you're obsessed with at the moment?

I am obsessed with a few things right now - I love the show House of the Dragon and its original book Fire and Blood. So much drama, so many cool dragons. I am getting back into rewatching the animated Avatar: The Last Airbender. I also recently watched Dune: Part Two. I like watching these films/shows that have good choreographed fighting scenes. Around this time of the year, I also get back into reading more Shojo manga, my most recent favorite is A Sign of Affection. I'm also obsessed with book binding right now. I made a hardcover version of Fireheart, and it's absolutely addictive. I'd like to make a hundred more.