Joseph De Lorenzo Jenkins Senior Art Thesis 2021

Joseph De Lorenzo Jenkins
Forbidden Fruit: Fimbulwinter
Graphic novella and animated short

For my project I wanted to incorporate techniques I’ve explored and built upon when the pandemic first hit. I wrote short stories back in high school but never to this extent. I wanted to push myself to form a narrative of interweaving plot threads that’ll sow the seeds for a future expansions I have planned as the story came to fruition. I switched from traditional pencil and paper to digital not too long ago and have expanded my arsenal in terms of what I can do, from environmental concepts to character & creature design. My main inspirations when it comes to genres for my work are Cyberpunk noire style movies like Bladerunner from the 80’s and dark fantasy works like Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones. I sought to blend these genres in a more grounded way that I plan on expanding upon with later iterations.

This story subtitle Fimbulwinter refers to Norse mythology’s term for the long winter before Ragnarök occurs, the end up the world so to speak. There are certain parallels between characters and groups of people that if one has a keen eye for history they can be sure to spot the similarities between the two. In my book, Fimbulwinter is told across three chapters in separate vignettes but are still in chronological order. When we reach chapter 3 events slow down for a more interpersonal narrative as the plot is more character driven and action heavy. Apart from the illustrations I have displayed across the book there’s also time lapses for most of these works so readers can get a look into my process.

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