PCA&D internships design characters for real-life superheroes

Creating characters is a skill that is embraced by Pennsylvania College of Art & Design artists. But what if the assignment is to create superheroes based on real kids? 

It is a chance to practice collaboration, giving back, inspiration, and bringing the creative visions of both artist and subject to life. 

A group of eight PCA&D students, majors in Illustration and Animation & Game Art, recently took on the challenge of creating those characters for The Superhero Project, a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering youth facing serious illnesses, disabilities, community trauma, and other complex mental health or medical needs through custom artwork. As part of the College’s internship program, the student artists created Power Posters — bold, inspiring designs that reflect the unique strengths and personalities of their young collaborators. Through creativity, they transformed those youngsters’ real stories into impactful superhero visuals, bringing joy and confidence to children and their families. 

More than 1,700 superheroes from nearly two dozen countries have been created as part of the organization’s project, with digital illustrators from around the world — a “League of Extraordinary Artists” — taking part. 

Now on display in the College’s 2nd-floor gallery walls is a lineup of a dozen superhero posters and animations based on real kids. It’s the work of Endia Clark ’26, AGA; Sandy Farrare ’25, AGA; Onix Guadalupe-Rivera ’25, Illustration; Abby Howe ’26, AGA; Connie Saunders ’26, AGA; Samantha Sidesinger ’25, AGA; Aaron Vankirk ’26, Illustration; and Bryana Walker ’26, Illustration. 

Animation & Game Art Assistant Professor Matt Novak “reached out to us to ask about collaboration opportunities with our nonprofit,” explained Taryn Cozzy of  The Superhero Project. “From there, we discussed the different ways we’ve worked with design schools in the past, from doing presentations, to working with illustration classes on poster assignments with offered critiques by me. Intrigued by these options, Matt pulled in (PCA&D’s Illustration Department) and Maria Provencher, Assistant Dean of Career Development & Internships, to come up with a solid plan for ways to work with PCA&D students in the best way possible.”

“Getting to hear the kids’ descriptions of their superheroes and creating a drawing out of that was super fun,” Vankirk said in an artist statement. “It’s very interesting to see how the creative process looked when working off the fantastical ideas of kids.” Vankirk created both “Tumbling Warrior” and “Strong D. (D. el Valiente)”.

“My poster was inspired by a young girl’s passion for the planet,” stated Farrare, who created “Earth Warrior”. “I admire someone her age already having such a love for the planet and wanting to save and protect it. It gave me a very clear vision of what I wanted to draw, along with her own ideas.”

Guadalupe-Rivera, who created “Happy H.”, noted it was rewarding to know that “what I make could potentially brighten someone’s day … What I take away from my experience at the internship is keeping in contact with your art director is key to your success.”

It was, Clark said in an artist statement, a moving experience. “I can’t describe how … amazing it was to work with her and her family,” Clark said of the real-life superhero they were assigned to turn into a superhero character, “Beautiful B. the Brave”. “My piece was inspired by all the superhero shows I used to watch as a kid myself growing up.” And it was, Clark said, a chance to explore their own creative process. “The ideation phase, sketch phase, and mostly the color and rendering phase — I think the teamwork and collaboration aspect was really nice to have.”

Students attend the opening of The Superhero Project on the 2nd-floor gallery wall.