WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — West Sacramento artist Emonee LaRussa recently summed up her journey with a Instagram post:
- She's loved graphic arts since a young age
- She graduated with a film degree
- She started freelancing full time
- And she's made graphics for Saturday Night Live
Although the SNL gig was a big moment, there have been many more standout moments for the award-winning digital artist and animator.
She created digital art used in videos by Kanye West, Megan The Stallion, has an NFT dropping soon on NFTY Gateway, and has won two Emmys.
LaRussa has been able to do all of these things from her secret hideaway office, tucked away in the heart of West Sacramento.
"Sacramento’s my forever home. I could never commit to LA, because I love being able to work remotely from right here in West Sac," LaRussa said.
When asked what her favorite thing about where she's at right now, both geographically and professionally, she said she enjoys being an advocate.
"Digital Art is very expensive to be able to get into and so I think that we commonly see the lack of color and equality in that space," LaRussa said. "I think a big part of that is the lack of accessibility."
To address the lack of diversity, LaRussa started a nonprofit called Jumpstart Designers to provide computers and access to Adobe software to underserved communities.
"Being a woman of color in animation and digital design, I can say there’s very few of us here and so I’m so grateful that I've been able to use my platform to speak out and say 'we’re here, we can do this and if you look like me, like, we’re out here, you know'," LaRussa said.
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