An Artist’s Time at Fabrisonic

By Guest Blogger Sarah Hoag September 20, 2021

 
   

Hello blog readers! I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself and the work I’ve done this past summer while working at Fabrisonic.

My name is Sarah Hoag. I’m going into my junior year at the Columbus College of Art & Design (CCAD). I am pursing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Animation, with a concentration in Game Art and a minor in Business.

As you can probably tell from that line-up, I greatly enjoy drawing and video games, and especially the process behind projects of that nature. Becoming an art director is a huge goal of mine, and I feel this experience has put me one step closer to that.

At the end of last school year, I got a notification that Fabrisonic was interested in hiring me as an intern through the Ohio Third Frontier program. After interviewing and emailing back and forth, I began working in mid-May under the title of “Animation & Marketing Intern.”

I was incredibly nervous since I hadn’t had an employed job like this since 2018 and was a self-employed freelancer until this year. I recognized that I would be putting the skills I’ve learned so far in art school to the test.

Thankfully, Mark Norfolk and the rest of the Fabrisonic team were warm and welcoming. They allowed me to take my time with a flexible work schedule. Moreover, everyone has been really respectful of my craft as I am with their expertise in 3D printing.

Throughout these past couple months, I’ve completed a variety of projects at the request and with the help of my coworkers. The first one was fun—Mark wanted me to design a company t-shirt for a celebratory “Fabrisonic Fun Day,” which turned out to be a success.

The next couple projects revolved around introducing UAM to people who hadn’t heard about it. These included two animated GIFs which also became YouTube videos. The first was of the process of laying down and joining foils. The second was an animation

zoomed in to depict what is happening microscopically. I also developed an introductory blog article that broke down the basics of UAM.

 

I also had a hand in assisting with Fabrisonic’s brand! I went through our website and social media pages, analyzing and critiquing as I scrolled along. This kickstarted some brainstorming for improving our online presence. I edited and fixed various images that needed higher resolution and/or transparency. In addition to this, I sent Mark a vector file of a large vinyl sticker for our front door windows.

The biggest projects were the videos that required filming, voiceovers, and editing. Sarah Jordan and I collaborated on a video entry for American-Made Challenge’s CABLE Conductor Manufacturing competition. Our entry had to be 90 seconds, which was a challenging task as I was newer to filmmaking than animation. I gathered voiceover lines from Mark, assembled various pictures and short clips, and edited it all together with a neat little bow on top. I was incredibly pleased with the result.

Another film that I am quite proud of is our “Four Secrets of Design” video on our YouTube channel. This project relied on the “Draw My Life” style of animation. I recorded those voice lines myself and did a timelapse of my drawings in the app Procreate on my iPad. This big project was also a success!

I also spent time helping with preparing for the SonicLayer X̄ Seam Welder launch. This was a huge part of my internship, and probably took up half the time I was here! I designed the X̄ logo for the new brand, and we went through many, many variations and tweaks before choosing our final logo. During that process, I learned a lot about what goes into graphic design; the procedure of designing something simple yet recognizable is harder than it may seem. Not only did I design the logo, I also created marketing videos for the SonicLayer, those also sporting my voice and edits.

 
 

Finally, we come down to the last week on the job, right before I had to enter the new school year. Maureen Coffey tipped me off to a sidewalk chalk contest being held between all companies in our building. I set off to draw up some concept sketches. We landed on a piece I drew as a tribute to Keith Haring and his modern artwork. Coworker Maureen Coffey and I spent a few hours outside working on it, and came out as the champion entry!

 
   

All in all, it’s been a fulfilling ride all the way to this point. As I enter my junior year, I wish the folks at Fabrisonic the best and hope to see them again soon!