The best of both worlds: SCAD student spreads joy through murals and animation

Animation has been a big part of Allie Witzmann’s life. With her first word being “Spongebob,” it’s clear that she’s always had an allegiance to the art form, loving everything cartoon since day one. Raised on “Regular Show,” “Flapjack” and “Total Drama Island,” it was in the eighth grade that Witzmann decided that a career in animation was her true path.

“My teacher, Jane Stauffer, assigned us a project where we developed our own story world and characters and me and my closest friends went overboard,” Witzmann says. “It was so fun coming up with stories and characters. I think that’s when I knew that that’s what I wanted to do.”

Witzmann’s next step was finding a college who would help her career. SCAD made that easy for her, sending a representative to her hometown 1,200 miles away from the Atlanta campus. “I had no idea they were coming and thought it was odd that a school from Georgia would come to my small town in Minnesota,” Witzmann says. “I took it as a sign, and SCAD was the only school I applied to.” In Fall 2019, she started school at the Atlanta campus. 

With her first semester, Witzmann was introduced to all sorts of classes, from design to drawing (her personal favorite), until she was finally able to get to her major curriculum. She had chosen 2D Animation: Story and Concept for her concentration, never straying from her childhood dream of being a visual development artist. From there, she learned softwares like Maya and the Adobe Suite, and studied the art of concept artistry. Through her professors, Witzmann became well versed in everything from character and creature design, to story and concept development. 

However, animation isn’t her only passion. In 2014, when Witzmann was only 13, she was introduced to a brand new art form: large form murals. “My church was looking for gifts within the community to show at an art fair,” says Witzmann. “I showed my small paintings and they asked me to go bigger.” The mural depicted a Minnesota lake scene and was hung in the narthex (the church’s entrance). “Although I look at it now and cringe because I feel as though my skills have increased, it’s still up to this day,’

From there, Witzmann was offered to paint her childhood summer camp, Luther Point in Grantsburg, Wisconsin. She painted everything she was allowed to, including the chapel basement, front office, dining hall and even mailboxes and cornhole games. Each project took her a day, making sure to take her time and aim for the best product possible. 

She continued with her mural business, taking over more camps, churches and a theatre company doing set design. Most recently, Witzmann collaborated with 3ponds Honey and Maple Syrup, decorating their hive boxes with intricate painted designs. 

Currently, Witzmann is tasked with balancing her painting business along with her animation passion. While she does painting for pleasure and for some money on the side, her real passion is animation, and hopes to do that as a career. After she leaves school, Witzmann plans on being hired by an animation studio to continue on her path of visual development for concept art. For anyone looking to do the same thing, she has a piece of advice: “If you don’t try, you’ll never know if you’ll make it or not. Might as well take the risk then spend your life wishing you had.”

If you’re interested in commissioning Witzmann, contact her on Instagram @allie.witzmann, or on https://www.allisonwitzmann.com/.