Emma Bushman is a self-described dog person, but she still knows a thing or two about drawing cats. In fact, you could call her a competitive cat illustrator. Because, in the spring of 2026, she designed the first draft of what would go on to become RMCAD’s first-ever official mascot, Desi the RMCat! Looking back, her trajectory as an artist had always been primed for exactly this opportunity, even before she came to RMCAD to study Illustration.
Becoming an Artist
The arts were present early in Emma’s life. As a kid, her uncle would come up from Florida to visit and show her his work as a landscape painter, capturing the beauty of the state’s flora and fauna. In awe of his talent, Emma first began drawing small animals for him and saying, “Look what I made!” Each time, she loved “seeing him spark up because of my artistic enjoyment.” Truly unencumbered by hefty expectations, as a child she learned to draw purely for the love of creating and the connection it brought her. Though Emma’s uncle has since passed, his creative legacy lives on with her. Emma credits her uncle with being the first person who saw the artist in her, even before she did.
With a keen eye for sketching felines, it’s no surprise that her dream job as a kid was to become a veterinarian or, better yet, a zookeeper. She opened up about her childhood dreams, saying, “I love animals, and I want to take care of them, see them be happy and healthy.” Indeed, she carried this love with her for years to come, but then, when she was in middle school, everything changed thanks to the help of one cat in particular. The King of the Jungle, to be exact.
After watching The Lion King, Emma became curious about the art of animation. Like so many children attempting to unravel the alchemy of moving pictures, she started asking questions, naive and insightful, until she reached a startling and delightful conclusion. “The Lion King was not made by children; even though it’s a movie for children, it was made by adults. So technically, I can go into this as a job.” From then on, she never looked back again. Someone else was going to have to feed the gorillas because Emma was going to be an illustrator or animator or maybe even both!
Becoming a RMCat
Emma Bushman came to RMCAD in the fall of 2022, and in the time since presenting her uncle with doodles, her talent had begun to blossom. She shared that “as I got older, I got more attached to human characters.” Drawing from her love of history, her illustrations started spanning across centuries and continents. From the Wild West to the French Revolution, all the way to feudal Japan, she learned that she loved finding the details that reflected the world of her characters because those little things are what bring her characters to life. With every sketch, she got closer to the revelation that maybe she could make a career out of doing exactly this, maybe even for Pixar or DreamWorks because, in her words, “I just love figuring out why this character is the way they are.” Luckily, the perfect opportunity to get her name out there as a character designer was about to present itself.
When she was a junior in the Online Illustration program, she was just beginning her emphasis in Concept Art when, in the Spring of January 2026, RMCAD announced that for the first time, the college was going to adopt an official mascot. Better yet, the community was called on to determine the perfect idea to capture RMCAD’s unique creative spirit. Better yet still, artists could submit original illustrations on whatever concept the community deemed fit. In other words, the perfect proving ground for an aspiring character designer.
Emma was interested in RMCAD’s mascot process long before the call for artwork was put out. She first got involved when members of the community were asked to submit original mascot concepts for consideration. Admittedly, the RMCats weren’t even her first choice. Instead, her first idea was the Rocky Mountain Rainbow Trout, but even in her concept submission, she admitted that the polychromatic fish was something of an “underdog.” Unfortunately for ichthyologists, fly fishers, and Emma Bushman, when it came time for the RMCAD community to choose a mascot concept, over 900 votes were cast. In the end, the cats ran away with the vote like it was a ball of yarn.
Even though the RMCats swallowed Emma’s Rainbow Trout whole, she wasn’t discouraged. When she found out the RMCats had won, it was all the same to her because it was the next step in the process that had really caught her eye – the opportunity to draw the college’s first-ever mascot. “As the artwork contest came out, I was like, ‘I need to get into this. This is so much fun.’” You’d think she’d be mournful, but instead she said, “I just love all animals in general. So, if the mascot was gonna be a snail, I wouldn’t have minded that either.”
The initial details of her cuddly creation came together rather quickly, stating, “I definitely took into consideration RMCAD’s school colors, charcoal gray and orange, which are already the color palette for a Calico Cat. So that worked perfectly.”
Overcoming Perfectionism
Even as certain pieces of the puzzle started falling into place, Emma still had uncertainty about how to condense all of the great ideas she had into one design. She wanted to ensure “that if this is going to be a universal mascot for RMCAD, it needed to work on the website, on stickers, and maybe even for a character suit. The design needed to be flexible and accessible for every use.” Through the design process, she realized that she is “definitely a perfectionist, and every time I pick up my drawing tablet, I need to just relax and stop trying to render every single piece of this work.”
Throughout the years, she has amassed a handful of ways to work past a creative block when she needs to get into the artistic mindset. “Reading books, listening to music, and going for walks usually get some inspiration flowing,” but when those reliable tips didn’t work, she put down her drawing tablet and picked up her weights. Weightlifting gave Emma’s brain a rest while continuing to challenge her.
“Sometimes when I’m lifting, or if I’m jogging on the treadmill, I might pretend to be one of the characters. I love putting myself into my characters’ perspectives, so that if they’re a warrior I gotta think like that and then it helps me push through a lot better.” Embodying the character’s mentality made the difference night and day, sharing that “ after I work out I will sit down to draw; I feel more relaxed. I feel more flexible, and in a better headspace. They definitely do go hand in hand.”
Finding the HeART
Upon clearing her head, she began to unravel the details of the mascot’s personality and subsequently its illustration style. Emma conceived of a character who is kind and friendly yet creative and mischievous, all of which made her think back on the media that made her first fall in love with character design. “When I heard that the mascot was going to be a cat, my inspiration came from Disney cartoons,” she shared. However, she didn’t look for inspiration exactly where you might expect. Remember how we said Emma was more of a dog person? “If you look at Lady and the Tramp, for example, you can still see all of the sketch lines that they did while drawing the characters, which I think adds so much more charm to those artistic pieces. So, I wanted to do that in my own artwork. It’s kind of a throwback to these older traditional styles that I love.”
Once her illustration was complete, Emma submitted her design to go head-to-head against more than 100 other original feline designs. The battle of the RMCATs had commenced. There was nothing that Emma could do except hope that her design had captured the essence of RMCAD. She received the email that her design was selected to be one of three finalists that would go on to the public vote. At first she was overjoyed, but then when she learned about her competition, she was left speechless. Pitted against the designs of two RMCAD alumni, a professional animator, and a professional concept artist, she could feel time slow down to a grinding halt.
For a tedious 32 days, Emma had to sit and wait as community members slowly cast their votes. Like Schrödinger, she had no way of knowing if her cat’s hopes were alive or dead. Day by day, as more and more votes trickled in, she had absolutely no way of knowing whether or not her illustration was winning or losing. However, we all know how this story ends. 1,117 votes were cast, and they all added up to one thing: victory. She had done it; she had won the RMCAD mascot contest! When she received the email informing her she had won the contest, a wave of relief washed over her purely because the contest was over. Then, after processing what she had just won, a second, even bigger wave of euphoria hit her.
Even though she was honored that her work would be seen by countless people, the greatest reward was the pride of what she learned along the way. “I put a lot of love into it,” so while she delighted at the image her brain had conjured of baseball caps and T-shirts, all of which had her design on them, that wasn’t even the best part.
The best part was a feeling, and remembering to create the way her uncle had taught her to. “I learned that character design doesn’t need to be overly detailed. It just needs to be enough where everyone can still feel the heart in the design.”
Learn all about Desi the RMCat now on our official mascot page!
Looking to Begin Your Journey in Concept Art?
Both RMCAD’s on-campus Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration degree and online Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration degree focus on taking rough sketches and turning them into in-depth creations. This program grants students the opportunity to develop advanced digital illustration skills as well as explore traditional illustration techniques. The skills-based curriculum for the illustration degree program enables students to become proficient in the leading illustration techniques while learning to create visual impact in art. Request more information or apply to our program today!
