Meet Sarah Jaques

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sarah Jaques a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Sarah, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?

My work ethic has been pushed and prodded by a bunch of things through out the years. Some of which I will probably forget even when answering this. Initially curiosity, a love of creating, and a naive perfectionism drove me, but as time moved on my work ethic became more about spite.
The more people, or general institutions said that art was not a smart thing to pursue, or that I would never succeed or be taken seriously, the harder and harder I worked. I set my mind on creating, no matter the obstacle.
Negativity can only be fuel for so long before it takes its toll however. After a long period of burnout, of which I could only emerge from by abandoning perfectionism to a degree, the driving force of my work ethic has settled back into curiosity, and a real want to work and connect with other people. Creating something imperfect, but that connects with people, or was created in connection with other people, is now my main motive. A bit of spite lingers in it still though. AI, and the flippant distaste towards the value of art and artists that has come with it, has opened a new avenue for creating in spite of a world that seems to want to get rid of creatives at any cost.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I’m an artist working in the animation industry. Luckily I’ve had the opportunity to wear many hats in my career so far, which is one of the reasons I got into animation in the first place! Each aspect of making a show, or a short, or a movie, still holds so much wonder and interest to me. Painting, designing, boarding, writing, etc. All different skillsets working towards the same goal of telling a story. Each elevating the end product in their own specialized way.
Working with others, and being able to help them tell their stories, and create worlds that bring interest, and their own sense of wonder has been a highlight of my career so far.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

I’m not sure if I’m at the point where i could narrow it down to only three! The more I learn and navigate the world, the less I’m sure of what has helped and what has hindered. I wouldn’t be where I am without the good and the bad, and I’m not sure I’m far along enough to know the difference. The only things I’ve observed to be true so far, are luck and balance. A lot of working in animation (getting your foot in the door, or even just getting a new job when one show ends) depends on luck. Are you the right person for this role on this show at this specific time? Have you built the correct skills to be the right person at the right time? You have to work a lot, and work hard to be that right person. But even then its hard to continuously work for a goal that seems so precarious, which is where the balance comes in. Knowing when its the right time to stop and rest, and not fall into burnout (without letting your skills atrophy) is a skill that is key to staying sane. At least for me.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

I’m always looking to collaborate! Whether it be in animation, development, stop motion, children’s book illustration, sculpture–interesting stories, in interesting worlds, are something I’ll always pursue. Being able to be a part of a story, whether that be elevating someone else, or working with others to tell my own, is something I’ll never turn down. Especially if its anything having to do with magic, fantasy, baseball, or music! I can be reached though my website.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://artofsarahjaques.carbonmade.com/
• Instagram: @popularaviation
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-jaques-01ab69a3/
• Other: bluesky:
  @popularaviation.bsky.social