Meet Sasha (Oleksandra) Honcharova | 3D Environment Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sasha (Oleksandra) Honcharova and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sasha (Oleksandra), what’s the most important lesson your business/career has taught you?
I learned to always stay curious and be prepared to expand my knowledge by learning more new software, techniques, continuing to strengthen my art fundamentals, as well as seeking out more artistic inspirations by not getting too caught up in my own world. Instead, I remind myself to venture out to explore more of other artists’ works and real life experiences. I am also slowly learning to not internalize my art too much. As an artist, I feel like I used to have a tendency to feel like what I produce is an inextricable part of my own self, a reflection of my own value. However, I have been working very hard to detangle myself from that mindset by learning to see what I do as a craft instead. Sometimes the work does not meet my personal standards, but I know that just by putting more hours in and perhaps sometimes looking for a new, better approach, it will get onto the right path. And all I need to do is just trust myself, and trust the process.
I am continuing learning every single day, and I am sure that there might never be a point when my art will stop benefiting from others’ feedback. I am a strong believer that getting other artists’ perspectives on my work has been immensely helpful to strengthening my portfolio. While not every piece of advice has to be implemented, I do always love to learn how people perceive my work, what breaks the immersion for them the most, and what part of the piece they relate to the best. I usually spend hundreds of hours staring at my pieces as I create them, so it has been amazing to learn just how many opportunities for improvements I might miss just because I have been looking at my projects for too long.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Looking back on my journey to where I am today, I couldn’t be happier with all of the decisions I have made along the path. I began fostering my curiosity for the entertainment industry throughout my childhood in Ukraine. I always knew I wanted to pursue a career in the arts. In fact, nothing else was ever even considered as an option. However I didn’t know just how vast this career field was. All I knew was that I wanted to tell stories, and that I wanted to make my audience experience the emotional rollercoasters I felt every time I was watching my favorite films and shows. I ended up migrating to Canada to begin chasing my dream by studying media industries in the University of British Columbia while working as a photographer and dabbling in archaeology and mythology classes on the side. At the time, I felt like my life was beginning to lose focus. Now however, I believe that all of my life choices have culminated in a beautiful array of experiences that allow me to have a diverse background from which I can pull a lot of unique inspiration for my work today. The decision to pivot towards games was a very sudden, however a very organic one. I ended up accidentally playing Uncharted 4 which, at the time, I purchased as a gift for someone else, knowing absolutely nothing about video games myself. The next few months were spent tirelessly consuming everything and anything that I could find about this game’s creation. I became so enthralled with the world of 3D art, that it finally felt like all of the puzzle pieces were nestled in together.

This led me to set sail for Gnomon School of Visual Effects where I was extremely fortunate to learn a lot of the most current industry techniques, software, and workflows for and about game development. Now, I challenge myself to channel a lot of my love for travel and history into my personal work by using my projects as an opportunity for me to research more about the places I dream of being able to visit. Instead of just focusing on creating a beautiful picture, I always aim to take an approach in my work that will expand my horizons both intellectually and technically by learning more about different cultures and software. I also strive for an addition of subtle and universal storytelling elements in my pieces. My goal is for the viewer to be able to feel embraced by the environments I create, to feel the story and the life of its previous residents. My guess is a lot of this is driven by my nostalgia for my home. I have been going back to our family home in Ukraine a couple of times a year until the start of the full scale invasion in 2022. Since then my family had to flee right before our home was taken over and destroyed. There are no words that can describe the pain and difficulties of Ukraine and its nation. So, I try to find relief in knowing that my family was lucky to get out alive. And I channel my longing for home into building meaningful virtual worlds instead.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
The Venice Canals and The Little Tokyo are probably two of my favorite spots in Los Angeles. I can never visit Little Tokyo without stopping by at some of my favorite food spots. Chimchikurin has an incredible okonomiyaki that is to die for, and it is close to not one, but two of the most delicious dessert ice cream places: Somi Somi, and Honeymee. A matcha affogato from Honeymee is my personal favorite!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I wouldn’t have gotten to where I am today without the unwavering support of my family, partner, friends, and mentors. I always felt like I had a tightly knitted net to lean on, which led to me having more courage to be sincerely myself, to make bolder choices, and to trust my decisions.

Website: https://www.artstation.com/sasha_honcharova

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sasha.honcharova.art/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sasha-honcharova/