Student Spotlights

If you've visited the 8th floor of the Broad Art Center, you'll notice the walls are now adorned with various original pieces from several School of the Arts and Architecture students. Over the course of the spring and summer, Associate Dean Anya Booker led a call for students to submit their artwork to be part of the Inaugural Student Exhibition. Three VAPAE students, Luis Martinez, Kiki Ouyang, and Luis Ramirez, were part of this inaugural crop of student work. VAPAE students Luis and Kiki shared below what their process and inspiration was for creating their piece that was chosen for the exhibition.

Luis Martinez, Design|Media Arts & VAPAE Student

Asset, 2025 by Luis Martinez

VAPAE: "What was your process for creating your piece?"

Luis: This piece was created in Autodesk Maya, textured in Adobe Substance Painter and rendered in Unreal Engine. My process consisted of modeling a high-poly and a low-poly version. This process is primarily used for games as it saves rendering power and is more efficient. It took a couple of months to finish since I would work on it between classes and work. When creating this piece, I was mindful of being as accurate as the original concept by Andrey Melkoev. I remained faithful to the colors and textures. After modeling, I imported the low poly version of the model to Substance Painter where I baked on the details of the high-poly model to the low-poly version. This allowed me to get more details without the need for extra topology. After baking, I began texturing. From a custom glass texture to the scratches on the TV, I textured on different materials to give it different effects. After I was happy with the texturing, I imported the model into Unreal Engine where I used their lighting system and post process effects to render. I used a self-made “Toon-Shader” to give it a more stylized look. The last thing I did was animate the eye so it would move and look around.

VAPAE: "What was the inspiration behind this piece?"

Luis: This piece was inspired by a 2D concept drawing made by Andrey Melkoev. Although it was inspired and deeply influenced by Andrey Melkoev, I altered some aspects of the model to better fit in a game setting. I created the back of the model by adding cables and ports. Overall, my deep love for technology and all things horror drew me to this original concept 

Kiki Ouyang, Art & VAPAE Student

The Outcast Immortal, 2025 by Kiki Ouyang

VAPAE: "What was your process for creating your piece?"

Kiki: The conceptual phase of this painting took much longer than the actual time spent creating it. I first began sketching the early version in my sketchbook. Not intentionally for this painting, but simply because one day, inspiration struck and I picked up my pen to draw. I really liked that initial sketch, so later I redrew it in more detail, experimenting with different background settings and approaches to the facial features. This piece is actually my first non-practice work done in oil paint, so during the process I explored different techniques and really enjoyed it. Compared to painting block by block, I was able to make choices about when to blend softly and when to emphasize certain details, which made the process both challenging and rewarding. 

VAPAE: "What was the inspiration behind this piece?"

Kiki: The main inspiration for this painting came from William Cronon’s essay “The Trouble with Wilderness”, where he discusses the idea of “wilderness.” Cronon suggests that even Jesus might lose himself in the wilderness—but does this kind of loss also represent a form of renewal or rebirth? When freed from established frameworks, can an individual reconstruct themselves within that wilderness? These questions deeply influenced my creative process. In my work, I tried to portray a divine being who, after undergoing alienation, rediscovers and rebuilds themself within the wilderness. This deity serves both as a symbol of traditional culture and as a reflection of how modern society continually deconstructs and reconstructs cultural symbols. Through this image, I wanted to explore how contemporary culture reinterprets traditional myths, and to question whether, in doing so, we truly understand their original meanings—or if we are simply creating new myths that fit the needs of our present time. 

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