Grace Mikovitch
As a designer, my field of focus has always been Illustrativedesign and animation. I tend not to limit myself to one ‘thing’ as I’ve foundmy own interest in ‘boring’ aspects of design like typography or editing. Mykey skills are customer service/working as a team as well as workingindividually. My passions for video games & animation at a young age waswhat set me on the path to becoming a career artist. Coming from a small townand being the first artist in my family meant it was hard for me to findcommunity. As I dealt with my fair share of middle school bullying, not beingable to discuss my interests and passions openly with friends made me realize earlyon that I wanted to create a space where I could express myself to otherswithout fear of judgement or ridicule as well as connecting with others whofelt the same way.
Sweet Strawberry Sheep is a brand born out of love for allthings cute and the dedication of staying true to my ‘self’ (Whoever she even is).The visuals of the brand are heavily inspired by vintage, kitschy designs whileexploring the boundaries between the past and future of design and aesthetics.Similarly, I often find myself drawing inspiration from opposing concepts (ie. minimalism& maximalism, nature & technology, horror & cute) and the idea wasto create a “sweet” impression while not being so uptight and formal that itfelt like it wasn’t really me.
Early on, I always thought I wanted to be ananimator and while that kind of ended up working out, it just wasn’t thejourney that I was expecting. I wish I could say that lockdown inspired me tostart making tons of art and developing as a brand, but I think we all knowwhat happens once you make plans for any project; it doesn’t end up gettingdone. If anything, it gave me the time to reflect on if I wanted to keep tryingto pursue full-time animation, as well as the ability to adapt when that fieldbecame less and less likely to find work. Despite feeling discouraged with theindustry, I still had a strong love for the concepts and techniques thatanimation showcased above all else and I still felt like bringing my designs tomotion was the best feeling in the world. So even if I’m not working in somecartoon HQ, as long as I’m feeling the same spark I did when I created my veryfirst flipbook.
