Graduation Spotlight: Maggie Lloyd, Visualization
Maggie Lloyd was inspired by superhero media and comics in her youth, as well as animation including “Gravity Falls,” “The Muppets,” “Avatar: The Last Airbender” and “Steven Universe.”
As the Fayetteville, Arkansas native began exploring her academic interests, she knew she wanted to pursue a degree that included animation.
“I chose the Visualization degree at Texas A&M because of its emphasis on learning technical and artistic skills,” Lloyd said. “Throughout my time in Viz, I have worked on animations, games and virtual production shorts. I’m really proud of all the projects I’ve worked on.”
She is set to graduate Thursday with a Bachelor of Science degree in Visualization. Lloyd will also be honored as a distinguished student in the College of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts’ Graduation Recognition Ceremony on Wednesday.
“This award is such an honor,” she said. “I’m prone to imposter syndrome and it feels a bit surreal to be receiving it. I would not be where I am without the work of my talented friends and peers in the program, and the support of my family.”
Lloyd said she was grateful to work on several Visualization events. She served as president of the Texas A&M SIGGRAPH chapter, and helped put together GigaJam, a 36-hour competition to create technology-based art. Her 3D puzzle game studio project “Tunnel Vision” won best video game honors at Viz-a-Gogo 30. She also spent a semester in Bonn, Germany, where she served as the art director for a visual novel titled “The Great Butterpond Heist.”
“I made the character art for the story, and I still get a lot of creative passion for the story of that game,” she said. “I’m constantly working on updated designs and storylines.”
Two instructors were pivotal, Lloyd said: Sam Woodfin, instructional assistant professor; and Dom Nguyen, who was a graduate teaching assistant in the program.
“Both of them have such a mastery of digital art and figure drawing, and the feedback that they gave me was eye-opening,” she said. “I also took a figure drawing course with Professor Woodfin in fall 2023. That led to the creation of my current passion project ‘SYZYGY,’ which I plan to release as a webcomic.”
Following graduation, Lloyd plans to continue working as a camera operator and program aide at KAMU-TV, the university’s public broadcasting station. She also hopes to build her portfolio over the summer.
“It feels great to work for PBS since I’ve landed in TV production,” she said. “In the future, I want to work as a 3D texture artist or as a concept artist on children’s media.”
Photo by Zaria White.
