Today we’d like to introduce you to Dom Sharpe.
Hi Dom, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started drawing when I was a little girl. My grandfather was the one who taught me how to draw and without him, I’m not sure I would have ever pursued the arts. His support and encouragement put me down a path to strive for more in the arts and digital content. I got my bachelors in Graphic Design in 2020, and I taught myself how to do so much more. I wasn’t able to attend grad school because of a lack of money and resources, so instead, I decided that I would at least do what I could to get that same education on my own. I’ve learned basic animation principles, 3D modeling, coding with Python and motion graphs. I pushed myself to get out there and market myself and my brand, gaining not only new clients for commissions but returning clients as well.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It’s never a smooth road when venturing on a path less traveled. I’ve had people that I loved and trusted turn their backs on me. People who initially helped me suddenly decided they were too good for me. I had a lot of fake, conditional support. Sometimes I didn’t believe in myself. Then there are the money issues, just trying to survive while growing an idea into a business or a platform alone is a lot to endeavor. It’s especially hard when your mind is moving faster than you can. To have so many ideas and not enough resources or time to execute them, it became very daunting for a while.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m most known for my Twitch stingers and emotes. When people come to me for pieces, they’re coming to me because of the amount of love and detail that I put into each image. I never just do the bare minimum and I always try to add extra smoothness or pizazz wherever I can. This is especially true with the animated emotes that I make or the Apex overlays. I combine hand animation and motion graphics to make truly unique graphics, especially for affordable prices.
I’m most proud of the stingers I have made. Stingers are transitions streamers can use to switch between scenes or cameras. I have pushed my abilities and skills far making these. I’ve used a combination of 3D modeling, rigging, 2D animation, parallax, and editing to make highly detailed, fully animated scenes. I don’t draw emotes in the same style that everyone else tends to, so when you see an emote made by me, you’d know I was the one who drew it.
Aside from my commission work, I also make video games and webcomics. I have one game published currently, a horror-comedy visual novel called Last One There. I am currently working on multiple comics, a fantasy drama called Dethorned, a romance drama called Hey, GGs! and a romance comedy called Punk n’ Pop. These are fun side projects I work on to just get my stories out and make the kind of content that I’ve always wanted to see.
I have also been working on a platform to help Black artists, writers and content creators get the resources and knowledge to further their works and careers. I hope to have this site up and running in the coming months, with plans for massive expansion as well.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
My drive to always do more is definitely most important to my success. While I always listen to my clients for what they want, I always see what I can do to add more finesse to the piece. I never create something that I wouldn’t be proud to have my name attached to it, and I make sure to convey that aspiration in the work that I do. Ever since I was a child I was known for being “extra” when it came to projects, so much so that oftentimes my teachers wouldn’t have any questions because I was so thorough. Why just write a paper when I can show you? Why just make a simple PowerPoint when I can animate it? I’ve always done more than what was asked of me, and it really solidified my place as a graphics artist.
Pricing:
- Static Emotes – $15/each
- Animated Emotes – $30/each
- Full Animated Stinger – $80
Contact Info:
- Website: www.domsharpe.com
- Other: www.patreon.com/potaytofysh
