Michael Wheeler – The University of Tampa – The Artist’s Kitchen

Since the end of fall semester, I had struggled with the idea for my senior project. This was supposed to be a project that encapsulated all of our knowledge and skill of digital art while still showing our passions and who we are. I had tossed around ideas like making an animation or shooting a short film but nothing was really sitting right with me. I went back and forth about what I am passionate about and how I could connect it to my project.

It wasn’t until early spring semester, though, when I finally had my “Ah Hah!” moment. I had just gotten a new job working at a new restaurant in Tampa called Oak & Ola and came to realize that I have such a passion for hospitality. I have been in the hospitality industry for 5 years now. I have always been a server, and restaurant culture was a lot of what I knew growing up. When I put my love for hospitality and my love for digital art together, I had finally figured it out. What was one way that I could combine my love for hospitality while still showing all of my skills in my field? I then decided that I was going to completely create my own restaurant, from concept to completion.

I wanted this project to be as fun as it was challenging, as it was my final project as a University of Tampa Digital Art student. I knew I was already pretty proficient in layout design and illustration, but I had to push myself. I then decided that I was going to go out of my comfort zone and design a complete 3D Model of the building. This was by far the hardest part of my senior project and took me most of the entire semester to complete. I knew I wasn’t going to have too much trouble with creating a logo, which in turn gave me the inspiration for my menu and business card. I definitely put most of my time and effort into creating the model because 3D modeling is one of my weak spots as a designer.

The concept of my restaurant was that of a gallery. I wanted it to be a place where people could come and eat, drink, and explore the different talented artists of the area. People could come and submit their work to be displayed proud on the walls of the restaurant..

The menu completely caters to the artistic soul as well. The Artist’s Kitchen menu is completely customizable. From sandwiches and pastas, to salads and chicken fingers, you are completely in control of what you want your meal to look like. I can’t say how many times I have had people order food off of a menu and still completely customize it to their liking. This way, everyone can have their meal exactly how they want it to be.

This project really pushed my boundaries as an artist and as a creative and truly showed me that I can accomplish anything that I put my mind to. This project was definitely very daunting and took a lot of trial and error to complete. In all, I have never been more proud of a collective piece of artwork I have created and now, I have one solid piece to show employers my abilities as a digital artist, and I have The University of Tampa’s FMX department to thank for that.