Today we’d like to introduce you to Olivia Seone Sternjohn
Hi Olivia Seone, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I always like to start with middle school when I think of describing who I am. After discovering and consuming hours of anime, I decided I wanted to be someone who could animate and tell stories themselves. I became a shut-in for years, dedicating all my time after school to finding any kind of resource I could on how Japanese animation was made and practicing to develop my own style. Eventually I ended up being able to visit Japan with my old dancing group and learn about Japanese life in general. It was a really wonderful experience and I hope to go back again when I can speak more of the language. I continued to learn all I could about the animation industry while practicing my skills until graduating from college for animation. I can’t say that college taught me much but I did learn that animation is a skill I individually improve through understanding how my mind personally processes form and movement. I did end up getting a minors education to better understand how to teach others animation in a way that works with their own mind, now I work as a mentor while working on solo animation projects until I can get more funding.
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?
I think my road has been pretty smooth in a way that I don’t give myself enough credit. I’ve made a lot of accomplishments just in how long I’ve spent believing in myself figuring out how to animate. Even though I don’t have many animations in my portfolio I’m now at a point where I can design my own progress. I try to remind myself by looking back at my old art and remind myself how much effort I’ve put into the work I’ve done. A struggle I do often face is finishing a project. I love to get carried away in the experimentation phase but I can often get stuck re-working a piece because I keep thinking of different ways I can continue to add details. I do think it helps in the end because I always feel most confident when I look at my finished product.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
My main focus points when I create my animations are representation, education and entertainment. My style is definitely anime inspired with a focus on infusing afrocentric features and culture into my works. The main themes I’m known for in my work are the women of color I design for my animated works and the culturally subversive environments I place them in. Being a digital animator has given myself the ability to push the limits of my self expression as a Black Woman. Especially in hair and fashion, these are two points I always emphasize with intention in both my animated projects and character designs.
How do you think about happiness?
The top things that bring me joy are cute games and good food. Currently I’m obsessed with making BLTs and playing a lot of the new princess peach game that came out. Being able to collect all her cute different outfits has been so much fun. I often feel like I have so many responsibilities that I don’t know how to relax but when I play a game that matches my gaming mood it helps calm me. I often need a reminder to take things slow and enjoy the moments I have free time not fill it with another project to work on.
Pricing:
- If you can’t decide how to price a work try offering a sliding scale price range for your customers to pay what they can afford.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://sotagurls.my.canva.site/about-me
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oni.tree/
