Artist Inspired by Vintage Animation

Artist Dahlia Theriault’s dad is a pen and ink artist, drawing Greek-inspired cityscapes in his free time, and her cousin, Jessica, draws medieval and Renaissance-inspired illustrations. “My mom also used to design clothes, and she makes jewelry. So I kind of got that from her,” said Theriault.

Theriault was inspired to pursue art mostly by cartoons she watched as a child. “I grew up watching Disney movies and reading comics and I always wanted to draw in Disney style… so I draw mostly people and illustrations, a mix between realism and cartoon,” said Theriault. “I think the old Disney movies carry so much artistry, it’s different from the computers now… I get inspired by [them], especially the artwork in the background and the way the artistry was back then.”

Theriault’s dream job is to be a character designer or a storyboard artist at Disney or Pixar. “Even though people don’t care about old Disney movies anymore, they should because it’s just so different from what they have now and I don’t want to lose that. If I get to work at Disney, what I really want to do is bring that back,” she said.

Senior Yuki Shafer, Theriault’s friend and fellow artist, said, “Once she starts drawing, she’s in her zone. And I can definitely tell she becomes more concentrated, but at the same time she’s relaxed. I think she’s very attached to her art.”

Theriault participates in the Campolindo art program. “Last year we did a light project at Campo. We got CD’s and we hung them, and attached little fins and mouths and made them into fish that were reflected on the ground and the ceiling,” Theriault said.

Recently, Theriualt has been developing her own comic series. “It takes place at a witch academy. I kind of got inspiration from a combination of American Horror Story and this witch comic I used to read, and then I just made up outfits,” she explained.