Sarah

Just a starving artist with a dream. I want to draw, and color, and paint, and design, and model, and create! I've been in love with art and video games since I was 12, I could have maybe been a doctor or a fire fighter or an astronaut but NO! I chose art, not for money, fame, and wild sexy parties- but because its my true passion, it's what drives me. I want to make my life a work of art, and my art a work of life!

What can I say? I was born and raised in Las Vegas, NV, and while that may sound potentially scandalous, I turned out to be your typical gamer nerd. Yes I admit that the phrases "LOL" and "QQ moare" are quite frequent in my vocabulary. I have been in love with video games since I was 12 years old, and we can place all of the wonderful invited blame on Final Fantasy 3 for the Super Nintendo. This game changed my life, and introduced me to a world of magic and imagination! I started to pay attention to words like "story line" and "character". From here I began my love affair with the art of Yoshitaka Amano, and from inspiration like him (and Sailor Moon) I began to draw. Really draw! I started to pour my own story lines and characters onto paper, and I wanted to see these ideas come to life through video games that -I- created.

So I went to college for it, and in 2004 I got my BA from the Art Institute of Phoenix in Game Art and Design. I absolutely loved every minute of school, even the hardest times I would relive over again! I discovered a new world of art, it was fun and exciting to be modeling in 3D, and I ran like a hysteric school child to the digital playground of Photoshop. It's here I truly began to get comfortable, not in 3D artwork which I was so fascinated by, but in illustration, and sketching, and concept. I should have known when the nick name "2D" stuck, that I needed to be pursuing my dreams in a media with one less dimension.

I spent some time working for a real company, being a real adult, and I couldn't complain, I got to draw everyday and get paid for it. (Hey, look at that, I was hired to be an illustrator for childrens learning software.) After I got laid off, as we all do, I gypsied around and did a bit of freelance here and there, holding prestigious titles such as Graphic Artist, Illustrator, Chocolate Maker, Wine Consultant and of course: Barista! I still dabble in 3D, I even spend my summers teaching kids at camp how to work in game engines, modeling programs, and photoshop! But now the bug has certainly bit me and I know what I'm supposed to be doing, which brings me here to the Academy of Art.

Getting my MFA in Illustration is something I have wanted to do since the day I graduated from AiPX. I know exactly where I want to go with my artwork, and someday this will allow me to teach (outside of summer camps) and share my passion with kids and adults wherever I end up! I have so many stories to tell, and characters for you to meet. And I'm certainly excited for this part of the journey!

Cheers!