Congratulations to Caitlin Houting, the winner of our 2025 MSU Art Scholarship!

Caitlin is a traditional and digital artist based out of Wyandotte, MI, specializing in comics, acrylic painting, and mixed media art. Additionally, she received her BFA from Michigan State University’s Residential College of Arts and Humanities in 2025.

She's especially interested in body horror, female-oriented trauma, and the complex relationship between love and control that has been inspired by creators like Octavia E. Butler, Mary Shelley, and Kate Bush. She's felt connected to comics from a young age and finds them an incredible way to make complex stories more accessible (especially to young audiences).

In the future, Caitlin plans to extend her artistic career to more books, zines, and maybe even collaborations with video game designers. Her goal for 2025 is to continue creating story-motivated pieces that connect her, through her point of view, with like-minded people.

We are pleased to announce the Seventh Annual Capital City Comic Con MSU Art Scholarship for 2025, in conjunction with the Michigan state university (MSU) Comics Forum and the Michigan state University Comic Art & Graphic Novel Minor.

The scholarship is offered exclusively to current Michigan state university comic studies students to Encourage the study of comic art. One scholarship is awarded based on artistic merit of original artwork submissions as determined by a comprehensive jury.

This year's application form can be found HERE. The deadline for applications is November 22nd and the winner will be chosen by our jury in early December. The winner will then work with Capital City Comic Con to create a piece of original art by January 31st of 2025, to be used for the 2025 comic con.

The recipient of the capital city comic con MSU Art Scholarship is awarded:

• A commission of $1000 to create a piece of original art inspired by Capital City Comic Con
• A commemorative letter and certificate
• A dedicated table at Capital City Comic Con to highlight and/or sell work

The scholarship is subject to the condition that the commissioned scholarship artwork and artist will be:

• Featured as a dedicated press release from Capital City Comic Con to local media
• Featured as Official Capital City Comic Con Commemorative Art for the event
• Featured in event program and promotional materials
• Featured on web and social media
• Reproduced as 11 x 17 digital prints and sold as official Capital City Comic Con artwork to benefit the scholarship fund

Past Scholarship Recipients

• 2024 - Shreya Balla
• 2020 - Toni Davis
• 2019 – Lora Root, www.lemonbrows.com
• 2018 – Mary Mitchell
• 2017 – Christy Hans, www.christyhans.com
• 2016 – Grace Fish