Featured Pro Portfolio: Sarah Petruzzi
Sarah Petruzzi is a former set designer turned 3D character and props artist from Turin, Italy. As a young artist in search of opportunities, she’s been spending time building her portfolio and exploring new ideas.
Check out Sarah’s ArtStation-powered portfolio website.
“ArtStation Pro is easiest way to customize your website and make it unique. It’s quick and automatically updates when you upload something onto your profile and I like that it still has the option to not synchronize everything (for instance when you apply for a job in a specific field and not all of your pieces are relevant). I use the Insta theme because it’s minimal and smart. In one page, you can have an overall view of my work.”
Tell us about one of your favorite pieces in your portfolio.
I don’t have a favorite piece in my portfolio. I love all of them as well as I hate them. More often, fall in love with the fuzzy early ideas for the new pieces. However, my two characters “Ostara” and “Rachael 02005” represent pivotal points of my recent research, namely both stylization and hyper-realistic rendering. They also clearly refer to two of my favorite movies, Blade Runner and Star Wars.
While Rachael is more recognizable, I just translated her into a cartoon shape and Ostara is a new version of Padmé. I tried to give her solemnity and power in a more oriental and African feature.
How did you transition from Set Design to 3D Modeling?
In my last year of university while I was working on a TV series as a graphic designer and set designer assistant, I realized that I would have liked to bring my creations to life. Since then, I started studying motion graphics and working on 3D mixing in the creation of short videos.
A few months later, I graduated taking on an experimental thesis on these studies then I looked for a Master’s degree in 3D. After that, I was hooked on to digital art. It’s been just a path, a twisty one. The real link between set design and 3D was my love for movies, where all types of art coexists.
Model by Sarah Petruzzi. Concept by Johannes Helgeson.
Where do you go to find inspiration?
Basically everywhere. It may sound predictable but among online resources, ArtStation comes first. I also have a fair number of books on various topics and a decent library of movies. Sometimes a soundtrack can head me in the direction of an idea. I like to observe my surroundings as carefully as possible and then drawing them can help me a lot.
What are some of the biggest obstacles you face as an artist?
There are many things, such as making myself visible, being more sociable on the web, learning to promote my art (though I don’t think I’m very good at this) as well as interacting with stimulating art by other incredible artists. In my day to day, sometimes it can be hard to just organize all the daily chores and work with my studies and research so it boils down to consistency. The most dangerous enemy is procrastination. Keep it away!
See more of Sarah’s work on her portfolio website. Find out more about ArtStation Pro websites here.
