RISD Illustration Students Explore Storytelling Through Miniature, Interactive Art

Everyday objects are becoming little worlds in RISD’s Illustration course, Miniature Studio: Storytelling in Scale. Through miniature art, students are exploring how objects, movement, and interaction can create new storytelling possibilities.

“The amazing thing about miniatures is that there are five different ways to do any one thing,” says course instructor Ruchika Nambiar MA 23 GAC, who’s an alum of RISD's Global Arts and Cultures graduate program. “There are five different ways to create a realistic brick wall, create a figure, create a doorknob or a fridge.”

Students are being challenged to think beyond the traditional diorama and consider how mini art can extend illustration into three-dimensional, interactive forms through a series of hands-on assignments, in-class demos, and material experiments.

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The semester is structured around four assignments, which each introduce a different approach to working at a smaller scale. One assignment has students transforming two-dimensional compositions into spatial experiences through techniques such as layered tunnel books and pop-up elements. Another project asked them to create miniature scenes inside unconventional containers. Weekly, students give quick demos of techniques they have learned or experimented with, such as origami techniques and how to use flocking to create grass or trees.

The group presented their projects for the assignment “The Interactive Tableau” in late October where they were instructed to develop miniature environments that transform or advance a story through audience participation. The possibilities were intentionally open-ended, encouraging students to consider what a miniature can do beyond simply depicting a scene.

“It's not just, ‘I created a scene, it's a diorama, it’s going to sit inside a box,’” Nambiar explains. “What more can you do with it? What storytelling possibilities can it offer? What interactive possibilities can it offer?”

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Amanda Yu 28 IL made a mini abandoned carnival with spinning rides. Nicole Kim 28 IL built a convenience store with a rotating interior that shifts with the time of day. Lila Vianna 28 IL built a miniature kitchen mystery game modeled like a scavenger hunt, which she play-tested with a friend. “It took them 45 minutes to find everything,” she noted as she presented the project to the class. 

Emma Bromley 27 IL created an autumn-themed miniature photo booth that accepts tokens and produces pictures with interchangeable expressions. Bromley told the class that the parts were constantly breaking while she was making the set. “There’s always a way around these setbacks,” Nambiar reassured her. 

The class will spend the rest of the semester working on an open-ended final project applying the techniques they’ve learned to an idea of their own. “They’re learning to tell interesting stories using three-dimensional scenes,” Nambiar says, “and stumbling upon new ways of doing things they couldn't have predicted before actually making miniatures with their hands.” 

Kaylee Pugliese / Top image: work by Emma Bromley
November 12, 2026