Today we’d like to introduce you to Amanda Garrison.
So, before we jump into specific questions about what you do, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I was pretty lost while I was taking my basics at community college. I knew I was creative and had a lot to show the world. I fell into a degree plan at Richland College called ATEC (Arts & Technology) and I started learning 3D Modeling, Storyboarding, Animating, and then Game Design. I never imagined where it would take me. I was hopeful that I would do some type of animating,
After I got my Associates degrees, I transferred to the University of Texas at Dallas and continued furthering my education in the 3D modeling and animating world. With all the knowledge I gained from these classes and the Fine Arts design classes, I was able to become a Generalist. I tried to learn a wide variety of skills so that I could do more and have more creative options.
When I was signing up for classes, I found Projection Mapping and fell in Love. I always loved live performances and Concerts, so the description of the course sounded like it would open the door for me to use my variety of talents towards something that could put me at work in the Entertainment business. I put my everything into my projection mapping class and It landed me a job.
I started working for Events Moderne as their Projection Mapping VJ, and then started doing corporate galas and live events that required my skills in projection mapping and VJing. I operate with a program called Resolume and am able to take visuals and animate them further, blend them into something new, and transition them seamlessly and beautifully.
I’ve performed for a number of extremely talented and well-known variety of artists and public figures such as Vera Wang, Ruben Studdard, Deshaun Watson, Bonnie X Clyde, Le Freak, Regina Belle, and the Dazz Band. Each event I showed my boss that I loved what I was doing and tried to learn everything I could so I could keep growing. I have worked for Events Moderne for over a year and a half now, and it seems to me that they love what I do because I keep getting bigger and better gigs with them.
I also have been freelancing and VJing local music events and festivals, while also making custom visual loops for artists. I have been running visuals and building stages for H.A.M. Productions while gaining the opportunity to start debuting my fabricated stage designs and using Projection Mapping to make the stage look wild.
I am able to tell the projector where and how to project onto a surface and can bring a 3D environment to life. I want to bring to the music and artist scene a new way to experience a show. Nothing is more rewarding than to see the awe and here the verbal “Whoa” and “WOW”‘s that I hear when people see the stages and the visuals I designed.
I found myself a team of talented people who specialize in jobs that are needed for me to be able to bring these big ideas to life because I can not simply do it alone. It requires teamwork and I feel lucky to have found my people. They help me with building the structure I designed, installing it, and also with designing interactive visuals.
Together, I see us making some beautiful works of art that are an experience on their own. I want to bring something fresh and new to Dallas with our Digital Fabrication and Projection Mapping. There are so many possibilities with projection mapping for events and corporations and I have too many ideas on how to make a party an unforgettable experience.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I didn’t come from a rich family, in fact, both sides of my divorced parents’ families have had their fair share of financial struggles. College has been a struggle to get through. I have spent years in and out of community college, trying to work at the same time and make money to feed myself, house myself, afford my classes and the gas to get to all those places. I have moved around a lot because of unfortunate reasons like jobs or long term relationship breakups.
There were times I felt alone, with no hope of a future, because the animating world is more saturated than you would think, and I felt like I was doing all that school work for nothing. My Anxiety and Panic attacks had become hard to
handle. Even to this day I still struggle with it, but thanks to my dream job, I feel like I have somewhere to focus my energy and power through the struggles by reminding myself of the amazing work I can do if I keep going and never give up.
I was picked on all through high school and told I would never be anything. I even had kids tell me to go kill myself almost every day. I am thankful I did not listen to them and that I picked myself up and kept making steps toward my unpredictable future. I have proved to myself that I am talented and worthy of living and becoming the Artist I am today. I am excited about the future now that I have found my career.
What do you do, what do you specialize in, what are you known for, etc. What are you most proud of? What sets you apart from others?
I do Projection-Mapping which is where I tell projectors where to display and warp the projection to fit the shape and make it look as though the shape itself is animated or is a screen. I can turn a ballroom walls into a completely animated 360 surfaces using 3D projection Mapping programs and VJ ing Programs. I also work with Adobe. I am good at graphic design and also animating graphics. I will come out to set up and make your stage/venue/event look special. When working with me, we would figure out how many projectors are needed, what surface is being projected on, and we would curate a theme from my collection of visuals to fit the type of event being thrown.
My creative backstory is I also am a Sculptor. I make handmade jewelry and accessories. I started my shop the Little Mushroom Hut before I even started the ATEC degree plan. I would make necklaces, earrings, jars, figurines, and even wearable horns. I would set up shop at music events and craft shows to make extra cash. Unfortunately, I have moved to a place where I do not have space for my studio and my shop is currently closed, but I hope that will not be the case for too long. I work with ceramics, resins, foams, and polymer clays. Sculpting is what actually got me interested in the 3D modeling world.
I recently have picked up DJing. I have my own decks and have played at a festival and a couple of times at the club. I had been dreaming of owning my own decks since High school, so when I got my decks earlier this year I dove right into
it and have really gotten the hang of it. I hope to start playing more shows and offering my services for corporate events eventually. My dream is to produce, but I will have to wait till I am out of school to start teaching myself that. You can listen to my current mixes at http://www.soundcloud.com/mandikandi
So much of the media coverage is focused on the challenges facing women today, but what about the opportunities? Do you feel there are any opportunities that women are particularly well-positioned for?
The Animating and coding world needs more women! I had to take a lot of coding classes for ATEC and I can not stress enough the importance of knowing to code in this day and age. I want to tell girls to get involved with STEAM programs at school. You CAN be an artist and make MONEY. The “starving artist” is the artist who doesn’t try to go outside their box and learn new things to adapt to the world’s changes.
We have to work with technology because it is what controls most of our everyday life now. You can create beautiful visual art by learning code. If anyone tells you that art will not make you money, tell them they don’t know what they are talking about, then go out there, get on https://www.codecademy.com and learn all that you can. Go to community college, apply for FAFSA, try out ATEC and see where that coding will take you. There is a huge need for ladies in the coding department. Disney, Pixar, Dreamworks, they are all coming to UTD often and searching for talent and skill. All you have to do is keep trying and never give up, you will go somewhere. It may not be where you thought it would be but no one ever really knows what the future holds for them.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://mandiwarhol.blogspot.com/
- Email: its.mandi.warhol@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mandi.warhol
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/mandi.warhol.visuals
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/MandiMcKandi
- Other: www.youtube.com/duckiestolemyshoe
Image Credit:
Chilly Law – @chillymedia – www.chillymedia.net
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