Curriculum Vita

Sierra Soulakis
6560 Kiest Forest Drive
SierraSoulakis@gmail.com

Objective: Become an animator and create great films, video games or other media.

Current Position: Senior at Liberty High School

Education: High school education

Work Experience: Babysitter, Videographer for Fysh Vids LLC, Frisco Tx

Travel: Summer 2012- Rhodes, Greece. Summer 2010- Bahamas

Languages Spoken: English (mother tongue) Greek (moderately)

References:

Ms. Pernie Fallon                  Mr. Mike Soulakis                   Ms. Stacy Walker
Instructor of Art                   Manager of Fysh Vids            Instructor of Animation
Liberty High School             6560 Kiest Forest Dr                 9889 Wade Blv
15250 Rolater Road             Frisco, Texas 75035                Frisco, Texas 75035
Frisco, Texas 75035                214-509-0019                         469-633-6780
469-633-5855 x25897         mgsoulak@gmail.com             Swalker@gmail.com
fallonp@friscoisd.org

Artist Pedigree

Hayao Miyazaki- I grew up with his movies and his unique, lovable art style. Often considered the one of the great masters of animated movies, he was my idol and inspiration to learn animation and create characters that could be enjoyed worldwide. I also consider him one of my favorite visual storytellers, as he has an ability to create worlds and stories so fantastic and inviting that is hard not to be completely drawn into his films. I wish to someday be able to shape fictional worlds with the same mastery as he does. He has since retired but his timeless works will continue to inspire long after he is gone.


Hiromu Arakawa- Author and Illustrator of my favorite fiction series to date, Hiromu Arakawa is the most current and most influential artist on my own work and style. Her work is a masterful blend of storytelling, character development and fantastic art. Working beyond typical Japanese art, she has created something wondrous and new, but still familiar and inviting. Her story, Fullmetal Alchemist, is the greatest piece of fiction that I personally have experienced. While not classic or acknowledged much by the west, her work has managed to make me feel a myriad of emotions and draw me closer to her characters than any other piece of fiction or art has done before. Much of my art has subtle influences from her style. It would be a dream to have a fraction of her skill in art and storytelling someday.

Ken Sugimori- My childhood idol and first favorite artist, Ken Sugimori was the one who got me hooked on drawing monsters and creatures of all types. He is the artist of the Pokemon franchise to this day, and as a child, his art was everything I wanted to achieve. Loving Pokemon myself, I filled sketchbook after sketchbook with attempts at replicating his art that appeared on the Pokemon cards and promotional art. While by my standards now, those drawings were terrible, they were got me drawing in the first place. I still love Pokemon and still love drawing in Sugimori's art style.

Svetlin Velinov- Also a bit of a childhood favorite, Velinov's illustrations were what filled the pages of my greek myth books. His incredibly detailed illustrations of great beasts and monsters captured my imagination. I tried for hours as a kid trying to create a dragon head that looked even remotely like one of the pictures in my book. I never got very close and even today any attempt at Velinov's level of detail is bound to end in disappointing results. But I still greatly admire his work and the influence it had and continues to have on me.

Wenqing Yan- Her art is the kind that dazzles you with the endless layers of detail they contain. For me, it was probably the best digital art I had ever laid eyes on back in 2007. Even today, I find it hard to find an artist that matches her in pure attention to detail and skill. All of her works also carry a meaning, often environmental or philosophical in meaning, giving them an intense sense of importance. She opened my eyes to the horrors of shark finning, divorce and the wastefulness of the human race. Whenever I wish to convey meaning in my work, I am inspired by her techniques.

Walt Disney- The infamous king of animation and our childhoods, Disney's films and art style influences any and all animators in the United States and others all over the world. I am no exception, I ate up every minute of his films as a youngster and still do to this day. He was the first exposure I had to moving pieces of art being used to create a movie. Drawings that depicted people, worlds and stories. Animation is what I am pursuing and the fact I can do that at all is thanks to him. Though he is no longer with us, his presence is immortalized in his works that have continued to captured hearts to this day.

Artist Statement

The essence of my work is history, myth and the fantastical. My Greek heritage is one of great legends and stories that my ansesters used to explain the elements of the world they didn't understand. Tornadoes became great serpents, Earthquakes the footsteps of enormous beasts and volcanic eruptions were great plumes of fire breathed by a creature from the underworld. I grew up reading these stories and looking at the detailed depictions of these monsters printed on the pages. I became so fascinated by these myths that I plasted all the loose paper I could find with serpents, dragons and chimeras.

It started my great obsession with doodling and the mythological. Now here down the road I am revisiting these myths and childhood fantasies. With new skills, I am able to depict these ancient beasts with the detail and presence they deserve. I chose bleach paintings and black paper to highlight a dark vs light motif and give a greater emphasis on detail. I carve each hair, scale or wrinkle in with a toothpick, slowly bringing the creature to life. I give them a realistic feel while still preserving their fantastical, unreal appeal. When I create a piece within this topic, I feel as if it connects me with those ancient Greeks that I never could never know. I can feel their fear and awe as I depict the creatures that were so real to them.

These myths may only live on decendants like me and legend alone, but given the right dignity, they can still be honered and respected today. Even as I push on I into the future with my more cartoony current style, I will carry these myths with me. They will remind me of where I came from and how my heritage shaped me as a person and me as an artist. I continue to improve and will work to creating masterful art that depict the Greek myths in a way that brings the same awe the the Ancient Greeks had towards these creatures to the public.

Sierra Soulakis
May 21, 2014

Statement of Current Research

Currently I am creating bleach paintings on black paper depicting the fantastic creatures of Greek myths. My previous work consisted of mostly watercolor and colored pencil pieces depicting the vast varieties of colors and species of frogs. I am now working in a new medium and with more complex and detailed subjects. The bleach allows me to highlight details and bring out the illusion of power and mystery these creatures posses in their country of origin. I was inspired by minimalist depictions of the Greek myths using line art which I then reversed to bring out a darker feeling.

Sierra Soulakis
05-19-14