We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Lauren Sudak. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Lauren below.

Hi Lauren, thanks for joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

I’ve been asked by a couple of people “How did you start a career as a CG artist?” or “Do I have to go to college to learn it?” To quickly answer the second question, no you absolutely do not have to go to college to become a great CG artist! But to answer the first is a little trickier. I’ve always enjoyed creating physical art, and throughout college, that’s where I was able to find what I enjoyed and hone my craft. What I found really helped me pick a specific part of the animation pipeline was relating it to real-life artistic processes. Personally, I really enjoy drawing and painting, as well as designing both clothes and jewelry; so that translated really well to texturing, and look development! But the same concept could be applied to every part of the pipeline! What I recommend to everyone who really wants to get into CG is to get a mentor! I was lucky enough to do two different mentor-guided projects under the mentorship of an artist from Disney, as well as Pixar. People who have industry experience are invaluable -in my opinion- for the development of your craft. I know it’s scary to reach out, but also know that every one of them has been in your position at one point in their careers; the worst they can say is no! One of, if not the most essential skill is being able to find out information on your own. You, nor your teacher won’t have all the answers, but if LinkedIn learning has taught me anything, it’s that you can find someone somewhere who can guide you (or at least in the general direction haha).
For me, I think one of my obstacles was overfilling my schedule. I really wanted to be great at everything, so I’d try to just do everything at the same time. I can be impatient sometimes, but giving yourself the time to fully focus on something will help you to learn it 300% faster and more efficiently in my opinion.

Lauren, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m a recent graduate from Texas a&m where I got a bachelor’s in Visualization and a minor in game design and development! I am a CG Generalist with a focus in look development! Outside of 3d work I love to draw, paint, and occasionally make jewelry!

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

What people can do to support artists, is to be active in both the online and their local art scene! I’ve found some lovely artists on Instagram by just looking through an artist’s followers list, as well as looking through artists’ hashtags! Alongside that, there’s a good amount of local shows, or art markets if you’re willing to look for them! Once you find them, share their work, or the location of the market! I’ve gone to plenty of places just because of my friend passively mentioning they enjoyed it, so don’t doubt the word of recommendation!

: Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My goal for myself and in my creative journey is to just enjoy my art, and not get burnt out haha. It may sound very simple, but I can personally get into my own head very quickly, as well as quickly pick up a project/ hobby, and then quickly put down said project. So for me, it’s invaluable to continue working on things outside of work so I can not only get my creative fix but also to continue to learn and practice my work.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://laurensudak.wixsite.com/portfolio
• Instagram: laurenpsudak
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-sudak-8a981a195/?original_referer=
• Other: Twitch username: sudzywudsy link: https://www.twitch.tv/sudzywudsy (where I’ll live stream working on my personal projects!)

Image Credits
Chinese Marketplace model: anim school Gremlin concept: Ivan Freire, model by: Arielle Steele Sunrise Pier concept by: Krzysztof Roslan