Carisse Ramos lives a small town life, but works a big city job in the entertainment industry. One day last summer, member Cyndi Fusek was curious enough to ask Carisse what she was drawing on her tablet. And that intriguing conversation led to Carisse accepting an invitation to present to the Guild.
Carisse studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. After graduation, she first worked in administrative jobs in the healthcare industry. It was a steady paycheck, which she wasn’t convinced she could have in the art world. After a move out to Los Angeles, Carisse discovered creative people had jobs and actually liked them! She branched out and joined community art groups and began enrolling in art classes. Carisse finally felt she had found her tribe and things began to happen for her. A friend mentored Carisse to build her portfolio and drawing skills. Carisse employed an art rep to shop her portfolio and get her work. Now, Carisse works remotely as a freelancer, established in her profession.
Carisse is a freelance digital sketch artist who works mainly in Procreate software on a tablet because it allows her to output files that are easy for the next user to manipulate.
A sketch artist’s job is to provide visual inspiration and direction. Carisse’s sketches help a photographer determine set lighting, a model’s pose and/or expression as well as other details that help convey the overall story. Carisse is also asked to develop storyboards (think of a comic book) that depict a time lapse of events. Illustrators may refer to her sketches to inform them of a particular color palette or artistic style to employ.
Sketch artists take direction from an Art Director’s concept and develop it into a comp. This process makes Carisse think of herself as a problem-solver. Sketch artists must be able to draw quickly and be confident and accurate in the representation of the setting, colors and human expression. Lots of life drawing classes helped Carisse to develop this talent. You must be able to take criticism, be willing to make many revisions and collaborate with other creatives until a final sketch is completed.
