The interviews we’ve been hosting on the RenderStreet blog for a while now gave me the opportunity to meet new people and learn a lot from them. With Sarah it was the other way around. I had met her before and even worked together on a project, so I already knew this was going to be a pleasure.
After switching to Blender, Sarah Laufer co-founded Pataz Studio, and specialised in character animation. In 2010 her movie was nominated for the Sundance Film Festival. Then Sarah worked for The Tube open movie. Back in Costa Rica, she was also teaching Blender to kids from poor neighbourhoods in San Jose. Pataz Studio is one of the 12 studios chosen to produce the Gooseberry Project, so now Sarah is based in the Blender Foundation’s Amsterdam HQ. And because she is the first Blender lady we are featuring here, let’s give a warm welcome to Sarita Laufer!
Marius Iatan: Your parents are Belgian, you grew up in Costa Rica and studied 3D CG in France. How did these cultural experiences influence you as an artist? Do you feel part of a certain cultural trend?
Sarah Laufer: Well, it’s even more complicated than that. My father is Portuguese and my mom is Spanish. My grandfathers are also from different places. I am not really from anywhere. My culture I think is mostly Costarican, since I grew up there, and the rest would be “European”, since I have been jumping between Belgium and France. I guess I am part of a globalised culture, if there is such thing. I do feel there is a lot people like me, that have been hopping from place to place, and have a particular way of seeing things.
Marius: Can you share some secrets of character animation with us? What gives a character its personality and vibe?
Sarah: I think research would be the best answer. Finding the little details that will make the character unique, and apply them on every action he does.
Caterpillar character, by 3D artist Sarah Laufer
Marius: What’s the story of you becoming a concept artist?
Sarah: I always wanted to draw for a living, but have a mostly technical 3D education. When I finished my Supinfocom degree, I went to Costa Rica to work as a freelance 3D animator and train myself drawing whenever I had time. Project Gooseberry gave me the opportunity to work as a concept artist and has really pushed me to get better.
Marius: You are mostly relying to Blender and Krita in your projects, how did you start using open source software in your work?
Sarah: It was a mix of consequences. I wasn’t super fond of Autodesk’s monopolistic behaviour, and was searching for a 3D program that would make me proud. I tried several, and one day I met Daniel Salazar, that introduced me to Blender, and Linux, and all that comes with it. It fitted with what I was searching for.
Marius: Did the Blender community have a role in your decision to quit Maya?
Sarah: TOTALLY. Plus, since Daniel was constantly on Blender coders IRC channel, I experienced the “ask for a feature—have it the next day” thing, which was really new to me. I was actually being part of the making of the tool. I love Maya for a lot of things, but it feels very stiff and tends to be overly complicated for some simple tasks. The Blender way really seduced me.
Marius: Tell us the story of founding Pataz Studio. What were your initial challenges and where are you now?
Sarah: Pataz Studio was created shortly after Daniel and I met. He started teaching me Blender and I had my very first client with a pretty cool project. We started working together and it’s been 5 years now. I think the bigger challenge was to learn how to treat with clients. They don’t teach you that at school, you have to learn from mistakes! Right now, since we are both working for Project Gooseberry, we are temporarily not doing freelance work.
Marius: A big part of the creative process relies on research. Can you name a few of your sources where you get your inspiration from?
Sarah: Uff… most of it from the internet. I love using Pinterest because is allows me to make specific boards by project, with the images I find. I always tend to use my personal comics, illustration books I collect since I remember. I try to use all that ever inspired me and mix it with the specific requirements of the project.
Marius: From what I’ve seen, your artwork has a sense of vitality, it shows power and joyfulness. Do you think this relates to your own personality? Do you usually choose the type of work where your can best express yourself, or do you like to challenge yourself with different approaches more?
Sarah: I think I like the challenge. I don’t have yet a really specific style of my own, I like trying new things all the time. I am normally open to any project that gives me the opportunity to learn.
Jungle scene, part of the Gooseberry Project
Marius: Are you ‘one of the buddies’ in the teams you work with? Are there any advantages of being a woman in this industry?
Sarah: I think I am : ) The Blender Institute is a really friendly environment and I felt integrated really fast. I don’t think there is any advantage of being a woman. Woman or man, you are judged by the quality of your work, and this is how it should be!
