Meet Nadya Sugiarto

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Nadya Sugiarto. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Nadya, so excited to have you with us today. So much we can chat about, but one of the questions we are most interested in is how you have managed to keep your creativity alive.
As a kid, I have always loved reading books and watching films. The things I grew up with have been a great influence on my work, be it in my day job or side projects I worked on late at night or on the weekends. Whenever I get stuck on ideas, I like to look back to comic books I used to read or shows I used to watch. Usually, what happens next is, I would get inspired to create something and it helps to get the ball rolling. Once I start the project and start filling in that blank piece of paper (or in my case, that blank Maya scene haha), ideas would keep flowing and I ended up trying out a bunch of ideas!

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I have been working in LA as a Previs Artist since 2020. As a Previs Artist, my job is to design shots before the production team goes to the field to shoot the film. Basically, we are creating storyboards in a 3D animated form. We plan the camera work which includes designing how the camera moves, the composition of the shots, camera lensing, and continuity between shots. We make sure that the whole sequence flows well, is easy to follow and fun to watch, and that it’s the best version it could be to serve the story.

I think the most exciting part about my job is when I see the final film in the theater (or these days on streaming services), and I got to see how much things stayed from previs to final or how much things evolve from the previs version. It’s also really fun to share some behind-the-scenes stories with the person I’m watching the film with! It always means a lot to me when I get to share that moment with the people I love.

Some of the films I have worked on are Rescue Rangers: Chip n’ Dale (2022); Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile (2022), Shape Island (2023), Ghosted (2023), and the upcoming Transformers: Rise of The Beasts (2023).

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
I have been praised for my speed and my acting/animation skill in past projects. Problem-solving and my willingness to try different ideas are also something that I take pride in. Being able to say yes to challenges without complaining has also been helpful in my career.

I think these qualities are something that I developed with experience and looking at people around me. I am surrounded by amazing people that I have been fortunate enough to work with and it’s always inspiring to see their work and how they can achieve them so fast under harsh deadlines. I think the best way to develop these is by staying humble and staying hungry! There’s always something you can learn from other people.

What would you advise – going all in on your strengths or investing on areas where you aren’t as strong to be more well-rounded?
I would say, try to go with the best of both worlds. You don’t want to invest all your eggs in one basket. I think it’s good to have one skillset you specialized in, but it’s important to have the generalist skillset as well. For example, the animation/VFX industry is a competitive industry to be in. One thing that can separate you from other artists might be that one skill or knowledge you didn’t think much of but ended up being useful on a project when you least expected it. On Chip n’ Dale, there were times when I had to make props and rigged them for specific shots. The skill set that I learned from Spies in Disguise where I got to work as a Technical Animator ended up being really useful!

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Paramount Pictures, Walt Disney Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Skydance/Apple TV

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