Meet Danielle Sabolch: Motion Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Danielle Sabolch and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Danielle, how do you think about risk?
Risks are important. Risks sometimes lead to mistakes. Those mistakes are what help us develop new skills and ways of thinking. We grow from it. When it comes to my career I’ve always done things that made me uncomfortable. Taken risks. I’ve left the US a couple of times in pursuit of my creative development and to generally switch things up. Leaving everything I’d ever known behind, starting from scratch, not knowing if I’ll make it or not – it was incredibly challenging. But worth the risk. Working with different people from all over the world taught me so much. Try to make an effort to shake things up and take yourself out of your comfort zone. 

Please tell us more about your career. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
I’m a self-taught Motion Designer. Any tutorial I could find online was my professor. I struggled a lot trying to convince studios to take me on as an intern because I wasn’t studying motion design at a university and had never been in a professional, fast-paced work environment. It was rough. A studio called Circus Family in Amsterdam accepted me as an intern for about a year. I had amazing mentors, Shoutout to Edwin! And because the studio was a shared space with other creatives I was introduced to Cinema 4D and Octane. The 3D artists that worked in this studio were happy to help me out and guide me in the right direction. It was cool to be surrounded by so many successful creatives – they helped me figure out what kind of Motion Designer I wanted to be. After finally getting my foot in the door in this industry, I had a couple of full-time jobs and then decided to be a freelancer for a few years. Being a freelancer can be so chaotic and fast. You need to learn things quickly and you need to be organized. Every client, studio, and project is different. You need to adapt to different workflows and pipelines. It’s wild but, a lot of fun! Other things have happened along the way, of course. But, this little tidbit of my story is how I got started. It hasn’t been easy but, I learned a lot along the way.

Some key lessons I’ve picked up throughout my career:
– It’s a small world. Everyone knows everyone. Treat everyone with respect
– Be humble.
– Know your worth when it comes to your salary or day rate. Don’t let people lowball you.
– Never stop learning. Teach yourself new things! Keep yourself updated.
– Stay relevant. Post fun experiments to social media.
– Learn how to give and receive constructive feedback. It will help your team’s workflow and things will run smoothly.
– Stay active in your community. Follow other artists on Instagram. Support their work. They’re rooting for you too!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
This is a funny question considering we’ve been quarantined indoors for the majority of 2020. Here’s what I’d do with a friend if they visited me in LA for a week:
– Brunch! Home Restaurant, Met Her at a Bar, and Republique
– hang out at Echo Park Lake with some good beer and snacks
– Hike the Los Liones trail or the classic Griffith Park trail
– skate on the westside
– a motorcycle ride down PCH to Neptune’s Net
– a weekend trip to Joshua tree to go rock climbing and appreciate the stars

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Hyper Island

Website: http://www.daniellesabolch.com/
Instagram: http://instagram.com/daniellesabolch
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniellesabolch/
Other: https://vimeo.com/user38058218 http://www.dribbble.com/daniellesabolch

Image Credits
I have the rights