What's Up.
I'm Emily Rice
I enjoy illustration, collecting rocks, taking pictures of my fat cat, and playing Dungeons and Dragons.
About Me.
Emily Rice, from Lake Mills, Iowa, is entranced by storytelling in any medium. This has carried over into her own projects, where she tends to add a bit of humor - such as placing hidden jokes or puns in the background - and narrative in her graphic design and illustrative works.
She found influence from an early age. Recently, her work has combined this influence with more classical traits. She is now searching to incorporate elements from anime into a wider range of styles in both her graphic designs and illustrations.
Majoring in marketing at Buena Vista University allowed her to learn how to build a story narrative for companies, which helped foster the biggest motivator for her works - her love for storytelling. Now this is something she attempts to include in most of her works. By including the viewer in her more illustrative pieces, they can then become more invested in the work, as they themselves become a part of the piece.
Growing up, being able to choose what happens (such as in Choose-Your-Own Adventure books) or solve the case with Scooby and the gang was when she felt happiest. This is something that she hopes those who view her pieces can experience, too.
Artist Statement
Physical objects allow for the viewer to place themselves in the universe much more easily than digital. By adding more physical, or physical-looking elements, this allows part of the effect to transfer to the digital medium. This is also achieved by creating other elements that may force interaction between the observer and image or object - such as implementing codes to crack or hidden messages to find.
The viewer should be considered the main character in this work. By inserting the viewer into an image or narrative, their fate is now intertwined with the story being told, and they can then become more invested. This is done by using paper objects, or paper-resembling objects (or by completely unrelated means, such as employing reader investigation to find key objects), and inserting them into digital mediums.
Creating objects that can retain both their digital likeness and physicality is a unique experience. An immersive and interactive experience that includes the observer is what creates the drive for my pieces - and I want the viewer to be able to experience this. Some of my favorite memories about books were when they actively wanted me to participate in them - for example - Choose-Your-Own Adventure books. By creating this sort of environment, I hope that viewers can feel the same excitement and inclusion that I have so enthusiastically participated in in the past.
