Emily Russo

Wallingford, CT

Illustration

Animation, Art History, English (minors)

Emily Russo is a character designer, poet, author, and artist. She is an Honors student majoring in illustration, with minors in animation, English, and art history. She plans to create video games with her brother, also a game designer. Her favorite cartoon is Winnie the Pooh and her favorite video game is Zelda: Twilight Princess.

erusso_20's Theme Self Portrait-1

erusso_Bearly-a-Portrait

erusso_Bird Woman-1

erusso_Jack and Sam-1

erusso_Running Robots-1

erusso_Slumbering Dragon-1

erusso_The Bear and the Kitten-1

erusso_Thor and Tanngnjóstr-1

erusso_Sam-and-his-Balloon

20s Theme Self-Portrait

Digital

1800 x 2400 pixels

A self-portrait in the fashion of the 1920’s. This belongs to a group of self-portraits created by the Illustration seniors to celebrate graduating in 2020.

Bearly Self-portrait

Digital

Bird Woman

Digital

1800 x 2400 pixels

A portrait of a female bird-human crossbreed. I wanted to explore character design in relation to more naturalistic human and animal features.

Jack and Sam

Digital

1714 x 2400 pixels

Jack and Sam are two characters I created for my Honors Animation project. I illustrated their friendship, as it is an important theme to focus on right now.

Running Robots

Digital

2400 x 988 pixels

This piece is a tryptic depicting three pink and gold robots fleeing from a larger, dark red robot. I experimented with non-biological characters that still conveyed human emotions.

Slumbering Dragon

Digital

2400 x 1642 pixels

A large blue dragon finds a peaceful place to slumber atop his pile of gold coins, as his soft glow lights up the cave around him. This tiny bean was so much fun to work on!

The Bear and the Kitten

Digital

2400 x 1553 pixels

She sits beneath the big oak tree / paws squelching, thick with loam / she cries, wondering / why she has to be alone / when out of dark damp bushes steps / a cat with purple fur / and golden eyes / yes, he sees her heart- / large even for a bear / her tears have matted dark, soft fur / despair soaking the dirt / wanting to comfort her he trots / ahead, a bleeding heart / he climbs up fur, into her lap / his chest rumbles, embraced / with the soft rhythm, she pets / and a smile graces her face

Thor and Tanngnjóstr

Digital

2400 x 1642 pixels

Viking legend states that Thor races across the sky in a chariot pulled by two goats, one whose name is Tanngnjóstr. On a cloudy day, Thor takes time out of his day to care for his companion.

Sam and his Balloon

Digital

Friendship and Fortitude

Digital

1920 x 1080 pixels, 1 minute and 16 seconds

For my Honors Thesis, I explored the topic of anxiety in children. I tell the story of Sam, an anxious student, who learns to cope and thrive through the ability to reach out and connect to others.