Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Jaques.
Sarah, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
I was a super curious child growing up. I was very interested in learning about things and observing the world—I think art was my way of exploring what I saw in my everyday life in a way I understood. As a kid, I was constantly creating things— whether that was making comics, flip books, writing, painting, or just doodling in class. Thankfully my parents were extremely supportive of all my creative pursuits and really pushed me to be as creative as possible. I explored a bunch of different paths in high school, lots of traditional paintings, writing and photography, though in the end, I decided I wanted to be an animator.
Art school was a bit of a wild ride, I ended up studying concept art for video games, and only minoring in animation. Despite working the hardest I could, I was constantly debating switching majors and having to work through a lot of self-doubt. After graduating, I applied to the Nick Artist Program-a 6 month mentorship at Nickelodeon-and after a very long few months of waiting, I got in! I’m working there right now and I honestly still can’t believe it.
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
My most favorite thing to do is visual develop worlds and stories for animation. Learning things has always been the driving force behind my art and visual development is very research heavy. I love having to take in a bunch of information and think of new creative ways to create content that works for a story. Figuring out the tiny little details of a world and how they are affected by the people of creatures that live in it is super exciting to me, and having to do that in a way that looks cool is a whole other challenge in it of itself. I tend to focus heavily on environments and props and how those can be presented through color and shape. Working with color offers so many ways to interpret an image and create specific emotions when it comes to story—which I definitely hope to convey in my own art both personally and professionally! In the Artist Program, I’ve done both illustrative work as well as work for an adorable and exciting preschool show, which is more along the lines of what I studied in school.
Pretty much all of my work is done in Photoshop, aside from some very sketchy initial thumbnails, which I tend to draw on post-it notes.
In my free time, I’ve been really enjoying playing around with gouache. It’s a quick and fun way to wind down and get out of my comfort zone while still focusing on learning about light and color.
How can artists connect with other artists?
Oof, this is a hard one, I often find myself falling into this category. Art can be both incredibly solitary and very collaborative, depending on the communities you find yourself in. The way I’ve fought this is by trying to meet as many creative people as possible. Finding a group of people that support you is key–whether that be your family, your colleges, or your peers.
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
I am most active on my Instagram account (@popularaviation). This work tends to be more playful and less serious. You can also find more professional work on my website. The best way to support my work (other than interacting on Instagram, come say hi!) is to consume more animated content and create the need for more features, t.v. shows and short films.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://artofsarahjaques.carbonmade.com/
- Email: artofsarahjaques@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://artofsarahjaques.carbonmade.com/
Image Credit:
Sarah Jaques
Getting in touch: SDVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
