Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Schmidt.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I grew up in the small town (which was deemed a ‘city’ in 2020) of Johnstown, just 40 minutes northeast of Columbus. I drew up drawing as much as possible, especially knock-off Pokémon characters. My family owned a gas station off of a state route which really influenced my perspective on people, customers, and business. I learned a lot about discipline and work ethic from our giant-for-a-small-town marching band. I was obsessed with bands and was very loyal to my Alternative Press subscription!
After graduating Columbus College of Art & Design in 2014, I found myself at a local, boutique motion graphics studio called Super77. There I learned a lot about managing projects and timelines for clients. After hours I always found myself working on projects with friends, including a ton of concert-promotion stuff for BravoArtist, until going full-time freelance in 2017. I taught a few semesters as an adjunct professor at CCAD and started my own studio, Sunshine Mall LLC, with my partner Ian Ballantyne in 2019.
My typical work week is a balance of client-facing jobs and my own studio animation practice. My favorite gigs so far have been a music video for Run the Jewels (directed by one of my earliest freelance friends, Sean Solomon), and loads of Giphy/Instagram stickers for Bath & Body Works. I am currently working on personal animated short films in Animate CC, on paper, and with magazine cutouts.
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?
A challenge I run into all the time is hands down the general population’s perception of Animation. As a student, I was active in the “Animation Student Collective”. I loved the sense of camaraderie within my department, but felt confused why no one ever wanted to join me across campus at “Fine Art Critique Night”. As a senior, I had to opt-out of the big group project: I was too nervous that I wouldn’t be able to finish my capstone animation project. I saw a lot of talented friends graduate and then never touch the medium again.
After college, I discovered the world of independent animation found at international animation festivals. I was thankful to visit the Animation Block Party in New York with my coworkers and have been lucky enough to attend every year of GLAS Animation festival in Berkeley, California. Ottawa International Animation Festival has been happening since 1976 in our very own timezone! It all felt like the missing piece of the puzzle. Late 2016 I created Malt Adult Animation Night/Fanzine, a screening series and DIY publication with the goal of curating fresh, independent animation works to the local arts community of Columbus. I loved having my animation, comics, and illustration friends in the same room as those I met at art galleries. We’ve screened work from 200+ animators out of downtown Columbus, plus pop-up shows in Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles. We hosted a few events online during the pandemic, too. It was incredible being able to fill chatrooms and zoom meetings with local friends and international filmmakers. My favorite event was by far our 2019 Anniversary show at Gateway Film Center.
The biggest challenge has been balancing the showcases with my own practice. I really did find myself pouring a ton of time into Malt Adult while my personal work took the backseat. I’ve most recently taken a hiatus to refocus and prepare myself for grad school.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
At Sunshine Mall LLC, we provide animation services for clients. This most often includes .mp4/.movs of 2d and 3d animated works – commercials, social media ads, and music videos. I specialize in digital, hand-drawn 2d character animation. Animated stickers and posters are my specialty, and I am probably most known for the music video I made for the band La Dispute. The day after its release, the band sent me a tattoo someone had gotten of my deer character. I have since seen plenty more, including a full sleeve’s work of art inspired by the video.
The work I am most proud of is the work I’ve done outside of the direct-to-client workload. My cartoons/short films “Angst Shorts #3” and “#4” are autobiographical, slightly embarrassing, and honest. I’m nearly finished with another about a bunny who breaks her veganism once a year during a bachelorette-party-style feast.
I am very obsessive about my sketchbook practice. I work through multiple sketchbooks a year, including everything from life-drawing, stream-of-consciousness doodling, and light scrapbooking collage. My goal as a 2d animation artist is to get closer to the style found in my sketchbooks as opposed to clean-cut cartoons made on a production line. I like to work with a really loose storyboard and see what I feel like animating/drawing in the moment.
Any big plans?
Ever since curating Malt Adult screenings, I’ve watched tons of thesis films and have thought about how great it would be to get a graduate degree. I’ll be moving to Chicago this coming fall to work on my MFA at DePaul University. The professors on staff over there include artists I really respect and admire. The hope is to start hosting in-person screening events there after a few months of getting comfortable.
There’s one super cool Sunshine Mall job I’m excited about that delivers just before starting classes. A big part about going back to school for me is to become more proficient as director of not only 2d projects, but mixed media and stop-motion projects as well. After grad school, I hope to expand Sunshine Mall LLC to a greater studio space that can house more artists and create internship/job opportunities for up-and-coming animation & media artists. The dream is to do so in Columbus, as long as Chicago doesn’t make me fall in love~!
Contact Info:
- Email: sarah@sarahmaes.com
- Website: sarahmaes.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahmaeschmidt
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/sarahmaes
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SarahSchmidty
- Other: https://www.thesunshinemall.com/
Image Credits
Victoria Vincent (For the animation shown on screen in the last photo)
