Andrea Sutjipta talks about her animation career, working on Futurama, and more. (Exclusive)
Photo credit: Anderson Group PR
Written by: Gracie Lowes
Imagine just recently graduating college and then going straight into working some of the biggest jobs in your field, it may sound scary but for visual development artist and illustrator, Andrea Sutjipta, this is her reality.
Since a young age, Sutjipta has been surrounded by different types of art, and since then she has been able to work at Rough Draft Studios, Season 8 of “Futurama”, illustrating children’s books and more.
I had the chance to sit down (virtually) with Sutjipta, to talk to her about her history with art, her favorite moments since starting, future projects, and more.
You can read the full interview below.
Photo credit: Andrea Sutjipta
Gracie Lowes: First off, congratulations on recently graduating ArtCenter College of Design. Can I ask what inspired you to want to pursue art and design as a career?
Andrea Sutjipta: “It sounds cliche but I grew up always drawing and creating stuff, and not just on paper. I was also crafty with sewing, I can make my own clothes, and I like to do arts and crafts and things like that, since I was a kid I was just exposed to a lot of different art forms. And I guess I became curious about the process of animation at a young age because I watched shows like Tom & Jerry, Looney Tunes, and just a lot of Japanese cartoons as well so that opened me up to wanting to learn more about it. I didn’t even know jobs in animation existed until I was in community college, up until that point I thought I was going to be a graphic or motion designer but I’m glad I found out because here I am now.”
Gracie: Within months of graduating you’ve had the chance to work on big shows such as Futurama, what was that experience like, and were you a fan of the show before working on it?
Andrea: “It’s interesting because I started watching Futurama not long after they finished their last episode in 2013. It used to be on Netflix but the new version is going to be on Hulu, but I remember watching it because I love adult animation shows like that and The Simpsons. So I would say I watched a good number of episodes and became a big fan of the show, and then after I graduated I got a job with this company in Texas where we do a YouTube animation show, so it’s really fast-paced and different then what I do at Futurama. At Futurama, my main role is a color designer, whereas at my other job since it was so fast-paced we all had to do multiple different roles.”
Gracie: You’ve also had the chance to illustrate a book, I’m wondering have you found you prefer working on tv shows, movies, or books the most?
Andrea: “I enjoy illustrating children’s books, but I think my main goal is to be able to work as a children’s book illustrator and have an agent so that I can also work in the animation industry at the same time. There are so many pros and cons to both jobs that it’s hard to pick one, in animation you always work in a big team, you get to talk and collaborate with people, and you can also get other people’s notes and opinions on your work as it’s being made. When you work with books you’re the sole artist and although that can be isolating it’s also rewarding to know that it’s your work that people get to look at. So for me, I think a good combination of both jobs is ideal for me.”
Gracie: You’ve accomplished so much in your career so far, do you have a dream collab or goal for your future?
Andrea: “I think in the future I just want to have a more stable job in the animation industry. A lot of people in the industry get hired per job, for example, I got hired for Futurama and once this season is over I’ll have to move on to another project. This obviously isn’t the most stable so a lot of artists have to get side jobs as well, so my long-term goal is to establish my own brand and have a better following so I can have my own business on the side of working animation.”
Gracie: If you could describe your art in three words what would they be?
Andrea: “I mean I draw things that interest me or align with my passions so I would say stylized, colorful, and cute.”
Gracie: Do you have any future projects you could hint at or talk about?
Andrea: “Yeah I do have a future project lined up, I have two children’s books freelancing gig. One of the books is very personal to the client and it’s solely a picture book with no words dedicated to her dad so that will be nice, the other one is a sequel to the book I previously illustrated, there’s no release date on either project as of right now though.”
