Rising Stars: Meet Sasha (Oleksandra) Honcharova

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sasha (Oleksandra) Honcharova.

Sasha (Oleksandra), we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I feel like my journey, similarly to those of other internationals working in the entertainment industry in LA, had a very predictable start – a little kid glued to the stories on the screen, searching the internet for lists of all of the greatest movies, dreaming to be able to make it to the beating heart of storytelling – Los Angeles. That set off a series of events, choices, and countless sleepless nights of hard work that brought me to where I am today – on my way to becoming a 3D artist for the video game industry.

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?
Yes and no. While my path to where I am today has taken a few unexpected turns and bumps, I feel like I’ve always been lucky to have unwavering support from my family in my pursuit of an artistic career. This allowed me to never doubt myself and to always keep pushing toward my goals. And honestly, I am grateful for every struggle that I faced along the way because it taught me about the importance of perseverance. I feel like when your work is so directly related to artistic self-expression, it is difficult to not internalize it to the point where you begin seeing every single thing you do as a direct reflection of yourself.

While it feels great when you are proud of your achievements, the rest of the time, as you continue learning, it can get pretty challenging. I never thought of myself as a technical person, but due to the fast-changing nature of my profession, I will have to continue learning new software every few months. While this throws me for an endless cycle of feeling out of my element, I have to remind myself that patience will pay off. The most difficult struggle, however hit on February 24th of 2022, when Russia began a full-scale invasion on my home. I was already in Los Angeles at the time, but my parents and all of the family friends were back in Ukraine. I remember waking up to the news and feeling like my world completely crumbled apart.

From that point onwards, every day has been… difficult. I don’t think I could have ever imagined facing something like this. My parents didn’t want to leave their home in the suburbs of Kyiv until the very last moment. The days when I would call them, not knowing whether they would pick up, felt endless. I was exhausted emotionally, and yet I was afraid to sleep because I was afraid of the news I would wake up to. Luckily, they left the day before the invading soldiers entered our town and set up camp in our own house. Being away from Ukraine this whole time has been incredibly challenging. I struggle with feelings of selfishness for being so far away from home pursuing my own dreams while my home is quite literally on fire. My parents, however, have been the biggest inspirations.

Throughout the last 17 months of the full-scale invasion, my work has been my escape. I’ve been burying myself in projects and pushing myself harder than ever before.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I honestly feel so lucky to be able to do what I am working on right now! I am currently on my way to becoming a 3D artist for the game industry. It is both rewarding and fun. And while it has been requiring a lot of hard work, I am excited at the opportunity to constantly learn new things. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been building such strong emotional attachments to characters and virtual spaces in video games and other media because I found limitless freedom in imaginary worlds. Now, I get to make these worlds. I believe that we are an accumulation of stories that impact us. And I would be happy if I could bring more stories to life for other people to draw inspiration from.

How do you think about happiness?
Many things. Happiness became a very broad term for me ever since the beginning of the war since I had to learn to find it in the smallest of things and the most fleeting of moments. So there are many things that make me happy! Working every day alongside my friends, who are some of the most wonderful artists that I have ever met, taking a quiet moment for myself in the morning, being able to reconnect with nature, good food, family, and the endless support of my loving partner would be at the top of the list!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.artstation.com/sasha_honcharova
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sasha.honcharova.art/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aleks.honcharova/
• Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/sasha-oleksandra-honcharova-ab6527166