Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Miller.
Hi Sarah, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
Hi There! My name is Sarah Miller. I am a 3D Modeler and Look Development Artist and SCAD Alum. I began my journey in my hometown. I grew up in an underdeveloped region in rural Georgia, with no internet, one stoplight, and everyone knew everyone’s business. I attended a Title I school, so access to technology like computers was reserved for only the typing classes.
The idea that art and computers could be one was foreign to me. However, I was privileged enough to have a TV and VCR at home; where I could watch my favorite animated movies. That’s where I discovered the art of animation. I started with flipbooks, stapling together any scrap of paper I could get my hands on. One year, when I was about 10 years old, I got a digital camera for my birthday. I created amateur stop-motion sequences with my Legos and dolls. I didn’t realize that this was my future, I was just having fun. In middle school, I had a teacher that changed everything.
That teacher, Mr. Farber, showed me how I can use computers to express my creativity. Without him, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
He showed me a simple 2D animation software called Stikz, which opened my eyes to the possibility that I could one day become an animator. In high school, SCAD came to visit our poor little school. They sold us ideas of a magical learning place where all our dreams could come true, and then they told us the cost. So many defeated and disappointed kids left school that day. But I was determined, no matter the cost, I was going to achieve my dreams.
That year, I begged my parents to let me attend a SCAD Summer Seminar, where high school students have the chance to take one week of classes with real SCAD professors. We applied for the scholarships, and my parents generously gave me the rest of the funds for my birthday. At the SCAD Summer Seminar, I had the opportunity to take my first real animation class. Since that moment, I was hooked.
Finally, in 2020, I was a SCAD student. Everyone around me had been to STEM schools or Magnet schools, with extensive art and computer courses. I was terrified that because of the situation I came from, I wasn’t going to make it. Well, I proved that fear wrong and graduated with a 4.0 a few years later.
Through hard work, I was the first person from my area to graduate from SCAD and pursue a creative career. Now, post-grad, the recent strikes, and economic hardships have made the job search fruitless, I am taking every opportunity with all I’ve got.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It hasn’t been easy to get where I am today. As I mentioned before, I was limited by the resources around me. However, that has made me a more grateful person and every day I am fortunate enough to be where I am today. Even the smallest things, that seem so insignificant to others, mean the world to me. One example is the SCAD Admissions process. When I applied, SCAD didn’t require a portfolio. To some, this makes SCAD seem like they have lower standards and shouldn’t be held at the same level as other art colleges that do require a portfolio. However, because SCAD doesn’t require a portfolio, I was able to come from very little and still make it to SCAD. I didn’t have anywhere near the art education my peers did, but SCAD accepted us both equally and I was able to go on to master my program and come out on top.
While I was in school, everyone had the newest tech, the best programs, and immense high school experience. So I had to work twice as hard to make sure I got everything I could out of my classes and put out work that showed my effort. I remember at the end of my first year, I was saving up for an iPad so I could draw on a real tablet like literally everyone else at the school. I didn’t know how to draw digitally, but I took the leap anyway, I could only afford a pre-owned older version iPad, and a few people around me said that it wasn’t good enough, but I still have that iPad, and I use it every day.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a 3D Modeler and Look Development artist. I specialize in creating 3D Models for Animation and Games. I am skilled in both hard surface modeling and organic modeling. One of my favorite things is texturing, where I hand-paint models and bring them to life. I have worked on a few films, including “Three Raccoons in a Trench Coat,” which is in its festival run right now, and “The Last Dungeon,” a student-led film that was created in Unreal Engine.
I also have an interest in sculpting action figures and 3D printing. I have designed a line of adult collectible action figures, based in the 70’s a TA and her paranoid professor stumble upon an ancient war between angels and demons. The line is called “The Devil’s in the Details.” I also have printed and sculpted maquettes for use during the animation pipeline.
What would you say has been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
No matter where you come from, and how much life pushes against you. There is nothing you can’t achieve.
Pricing:
- $30 hr
Contact Info:
- Website: www.sarahanneanimations.com
- Instagram: @sarahanneanimations
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-miller-205980205/
Image Credits
Three Raccoons Property of Audrey Randazzo
