Building your illustration portfolio? Meet Sarah Beth Morgan, a self-taught illustrator who started out in the field of motion graphics. Today, Sarah Beth is a successful animation director and illustrator with an impressive portfolio of clients. But how did she get here? Read on to get inspired by Sarah Beth’s career story and incredible work.
How did you get started in illustration?
Like many artists out there, it all began with drawing as a child. I’ve always been creative and have loved telling stories through both visuals and words. I took art classes as a kid and loved every second of it! However, when it was time to make a career out of it, I was nervous. I thought pursuing something like graphic design or marketing would fair better in the professional world. I tried the graphic design program at my college, SCAD, but immediately knew it wasn’t for me.
From there, I actually decided to study motion graphics. It wasn’t until I worked professionally in the animation field that I really began investing in my illustration skills. Most of what I’ve learned and practiced has actually been on the job!
Where do you find inspiration?
Well, of course there’s always Dribbble! But I tend to use basic social media apps to find artists to follow. Instagram and TikTok are home to my main inspirations lately. TikTok has actually been an unexpected surprise for me, as I didn’t realize how effective short-form video content was until recently! It’s really awesome being able to see how my favorite artists work behind the scenes, or even just watch them make goofy memes of their own.
How would you describe your signature, Sarah Beth aesthetic?
Hopefully, ‘ever-changing.’ A lot of my friends tell me that I have a very particular style, but I also pride myself on being able to switch it up and try new things! I truly hope that my style is never consistent enough to be overdone or repetitive.
Chipotle Mural by Sarah Beth Morgan.
You evolved from motion graphics into illustration and still practice both. How are these roles different?
I started out animating, and then really loved designing and illustrating for pitches while I was working at my first job at Scholar in Los Angeles. From there, I moved on to a studio in Portland, Oregon called Oddfellows, which I loved.
Both studios gave me immense experience in the structure of the motion design world, and so I felt confident enough to start freelancing in 2018. I’m still working at animation studios every now and then (and am an animation director represented by Hornet), but I also loved that freelancing allowed me to dip my feet into different types of illustration, like editorial and contract work. Having the skills to design for animation actually helped me learn more about the illustration world!
How do you incorporate your own experiences into your illustrations?
As a child, I moved around a lot. I grew up overseas, in Saudi Arabia, on an Aramco Oil Company compound called Dhahran. My family would travel a lot to visit family, as well as to explore new places. So I was privileged to be surrounded by so many cultures and learn from so many different types of people and places.
Perhaps this is why I like change so much! I like switching my style up and trying new things. I get bored if I’m too consistent or stagnant in my design style (or even the types of projects that I work on!). That’s probably why I have all of my eggs in different baskets—animation directing, editorial illustration, social media posts, teaching online courses, painting murals, creating newsletters, etc!
When you’ve failed in the past, what has motivated you to restart?
I love failing. And I almost feel like the word “fail” should be replaced by something else in the art world. Without our failures, we wouldn’t learn at all. Babies wouldn’t learn to walk if they didn’t fall over a few times!
Sometimes our failures become “Happy Little Accidents,” as Bob Ross would say. We learn new techniques this way! After failing a few times and learning new things from my failures, it has encouraged me to pick myself back up and go again. Because I never know what I’ll learn next.
What advice do you have for aspiring illustrators?
Take some online courses! Share your work on social media! These are the most basic answers but they’ve helped me a lot. There are such multifarious resources out there in the online art world and you just have to find them. Dig through the dirt yourself to find the treasure.
Schoolism, Skillshare, and School of Motion are great educational resources. And if you can’t afford to pay for a course, there are soooo many great free Youtube tutorials out there!
As for sharing your work on social media, I feel that this has always been a very helpful process for me, as it helps me practice confidence. I’m often not 100% happy with my work, but the more you share your work, the less stressed you become about sharing it with the world (even for a professional gig). This may not be true for everyone, but it definitely worked for me. ■
Want to keep up with Sarah Beth? Follow her on Dribbble, Instagram, and at sarahbethmorgan.com.
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