Today we’d like to introduce you to Sienne Josselin Mascarenas Diaz.
Hi Sienne, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
The long and short of the story is: I was a hair stylist in the Midwest who left it all behind, packed up my car, used the $ I had saved up to get started at art school on the West Coast… and then I didn’t get into art school! I tried getting by in entertainment but met and worked with a bunch of Hollywood a-holes and subsequently swore off the business. After finally getting into and finishing art school, I went what I was told was the “safe” route and taught Art Education, only doing my own art on the side.
After having some life-altering health conditions, I reevaluated what was important to me and how I truly wanted to live my life. I founded Ladies Adventure Club to bring women together and as a way for me to start my life over. I shifted careers and began my own illustration business and organized LAC gatherings, at one of which I met a gal who loved my artwork. She brought me onto a commercial to draw a tattoo for Danny Trejo. Her husband saw my work and asked if I storyboarded. Of course, I said “yes” and hit the ground running, learning on the fly, and churned out storyboards that got me the job. It happened to be ancillary promo work for the movie It, which led to doing work for The Conjuring Universe and more!
The aligning of the stars with a chance encounter at my curated lady hangs led to a forever friendship and had me fall in love with a part of an illustration I hadn’t really considered in an industry I had shunned. Because of my earlier negative experiences in Hollywood, I never would’ve voluntarily storyboarded, even at the encouragement of my husband who knew I’d love it if I tried. I started in the horror genre, and despite still being too scared to watch horror, I love to draw it! My storyboards have since expanded to insane action sequences, lots of lopping of heads, and blood & guts (my search engine histories could totally be mistaken for a psycho killer – haha!).
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It’s been an interesting, winding road for sure! From learning what’s an acceptable/unacceptable/ideal rate, planning for the dry seasons, to being double booked on gigs, staying on top of my skills and my mental/physical health in the busy seasons, and not taking anything personally. It’s all just part of the business and of being a career freelance gig worker!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m a live-action Storyboard Artist working mostly on action movies and TV. (In case you’re curious, I’m one of about 12 women live-action storyboard artists in the Art Director’s Guild, and I may be the only Asian Pacific Islander). I’ve most recently worked on Marvel’s Dr. Strange 2 where I got to pitch my own sequences and gags, and Netflix’s “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story,” with a script filled with sinister visuals that were so frighteningly clear on the page. Aside from all the of drawing, my most favorite parts of the gig are problem-solving and collaboration. Whether I’m able to riff on my own, finding visual solutions, or working shoulder-to-shoulder with a director, all the aspects of storyboarding get me so pumped up. Bonus if I get to draw crazy action, creepy characters/creatures, hand-to-hand combat, and worlds that need a wild imagination like mine!
Next up, I’ve got some storyboards for projects: Magazine Dreams, The Gorge, and “Chief Of War”!
Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
Singing solos in the grade school’s holiday performances and drawing in my sketchbook.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.siennejosselin.com
- Instagram: Sienne Josselin
