Olivia Sica ‘24 is an aspiring artist who is constantly improving her artistic abilities by participating in multiple impressive clubs and businesses. She currently runs Inktober and Art Club at RCDS. She also owns multiple artistic businesses. 

Sica emphasized that she has always been artistic. “It was a habit that I picked up when I was younger, but unlike the majority of younger artists, I just never stopped. Art is my creative outlet and how I express my emotions.” Sica experiments in a lot of different artistic genres but is starting to find her own distinct style. “My favorite type of art is traditional with funky colors. I’d also say the way I draw my animation is in a traditional western animation style. My favorite thing to draw with is a pen. I do a lot of character work digitally and a lot of observation work traditionally.” Sica evokes strong emotions through her art. This is one of the major reasons she likes to draw scenes from observation that convey comedy. “I try to make my pieces in such a way that it makes someone laugh or have some type of reaction. Since art is the way I display my emotions, I want the people looking at my pieces to also feel things.”

Since starting drawing at a young age, Sica has had lots of inspiration for her artwork. “I’d say some of my biggest source of inspiration is from animated shows from childhood. My favorite animated show from when I was little was the Amazing World of Gumball (I loved the animation style) or Phineas and Ferb.” After touring Bluesky Studio, an animation studio based in Greenwich, Connecticut that has worked on projects, namely Ice Age, Sica knew she wanted to become an animator. “My current dream is to go to college for art and be trained in broad animation. One day I would love to be a creative director of an animated show. I’m interested in both character design and storyboarding (how the animation is laid out). Normally those are separate jobs but I want to have a broader training.”

In the meantime, Sica has been keeping herself busy by drawing everyday and working to get her art out in the world. “Right now I’m working with a local animal shelter drawing animals. I’m trying to spread my email through the grapevine, and posters at a local Pet daycare, so that families can contact me in order to draw their pets.”

Sica takes her art very seriously and works hard to improve her skills. She carries her sketchbook around in case she gets spontaneous inspiration and she has a website where she frequently uploads any new artwork. Sica is also currently taking a portfolio development college program through CalArts.

At the end of the interview, Sica shared some advice: “Even if you don’t like art, it’s entertaining and fun to take the time to look at your favorite animated show from when you were little and think about all the hard-work and time that went into it. If someone were to create an animated TV show by themselves, it would take twenty-five years! Appreciate it!” Hearing Sica talk about her art, it is evident how passionate she is about it. Thankfully her efforts have paid off and she has compiled an impressive collection of pieces that students should take the time to enjoy.