Meet Jon Sedlak | Animator//VJ//Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jon Sedlak and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jon, do you have some perspective or insight you can share with us on the question of when someone should give up versus when they should keep going?
Perhaps this is horrible advice for other people; follow it at your own risk.

I don’t really have a backup plan.

I’ve always been some kinda scavenger. In Highschool, I quit my job at Wendy’s to play Magic the Gathering more. I made more money in 2 months playing Magic than I ever did at Wendy’s. Right before I went to college, I started playing poker online. I was never amazing, but I managed to make enough to pay rent on a couple occasions. One time, I spent half my tuition money gambling on bitcoin. I made 4 months rent.

When I graduated college, I had no clue what I wanted to do with my life. I loved studying and learning about maths and economics, but I knew that the jobs they’d lead me to weren’t for me. I applied for one job after school. I didn’t go to the interview.

I had a part time IT job at OSU that I kept after I graduated. I always felt appreciated there, but severely underpaid. I got fed up being twice as effective as some of the other people being paid the same amount as me. I sat down with my managers and asked for more money.

“I’m expected to train new people, close tough tickets, and know more than the other people in the exact same role. I’ve been doing this for 3 years.”
“We don’t really have the power to give you that.” I got a 50 cent raise.

Eventually a full time position opened up in IT security. I definitely wasn’t qualified, but they said they liked to hire internally, so I applied anyways. I didn’t learn I wasn’t considered for the role until the new hire showed up. I was about done at that point.

When the pandemic hit, I kept the IT job and worked from home for a couple years. I started puting in the amount of work I felt I was being paid to do, but I felt awful doing it. I feel awful not applying myself. I knew something had to change.
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I’ve loved EDM since I was about 13. My best friend Jack (now DJ/Producer Silcrow, best in the game) used to play this game called “Stepmania,” it’s like Dance Dance Revolution on a keyboard. We downloaded some pack of songs and it included “Organ Donor” by Zomboy. I heard that song and I was hooked. Limewire, YouTube, and “Trap Radio” on Pandora kept my addiction going. I went to my first rave when I was 18 (Pegboard Nerds at some weird club in Akron) and I knew it was where I belonged. I danced like I’d never danced before.
Raves and clubs kept my heart pounding all through college. Dance music was my life.

My Sophomore year I was planning on living with three of my friends, but I screwed up my housing application and ended up living on the opposite side of campus. My friends got random roommates.
One of their roommates was a DJ and producer called Fanaticism. I heard him making beats in his room one day and had to check it out. We were fast friends.

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Sorry for the aside. We’re back in 2020.

I had graduated school, I wanted to quit my IT job, and I took an interest in Photoshop. Jack and I, both in need of money, cooked up and idea to start selling dance music themed shirts. Jack would design, and I would consult and assist however he needed me. We got a web domain, we designed some test prints, and we started getting excited. I started telling my friends and family that this is what I was gonna do for now. They were skeptical.

After a couple months of getting started, Jack told me he didn’t have time to design anymore. He had more promising prospects in the industry. This very well might have been one of the best things to ever happen to me. I was so invested.
I had to keep going.
I had to learn how to design.

Around then I got inspired by this artist Beeplecrap. He made art every day for like, 14 years or something. He might still do it, I’m not quite sure. I looked at his first year of dailies, and I felt so inspired. They were so amateurish, so weak compared to the inspiring work he was putting out in 2020. I realized I could get good too.

So I started doing Photoshop dailies. They sucked. I knew nothing about value or composition, I barely knew how to use PS. I slapped assets together like a kid building legos without any instructions. I half assed my IT job at home, closing a couple tickets a week and spending all my time pumping out Photoshop projects.

One day, Fanaticism asked if I’d make an album cover for him. He even said he’d pay me. I asked for $50. I still think that cover is pretty cool.

So the dream to sell shirts faded as the dream to make covers and fliers was born. I got some clients here and there, friends of friends, local DJs, randoms I met at raves. I started making more in commission than I was at my IT job. I resigned.

I went to Lost Lands and I saw Liquid Stranger. His visuals were incredible. Giant logos oozing plasma, faces melting into psychedelic patterns, strobing lights and shifting colors. It was some of the most beautiful art I’d ever seen. A couple months later I saw Astartes by Syama Pedersen. I started learning 3D that day.

Hopefully you see how all of this makes the question “How do you know whether to keep going or give up?” an easy one for me to answer. It’s clear to me that this is my path. It’s clear to me that I can’t ever quit.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I come from a very mathematical background. I’ve always played games competitively and seen the world through a very logical lens. I did little creative projects here and there, but I never really considered myself a creative person until I started making art. I think this gives my work a certain technical quality that a lot of life long creatives aren’t as focused on. It’s in no way “better,” but it informs my direction as I create and explore software.

I got here one little step at a time, gradually meeting more DJs, putting out better work, and learning new techniques. For the first few years it honestly WAS easy, kind of a medium sized fish in a small pond situation. Everyone seemed impressed with my work a long time before I was. It’s been stressful at times, I’ve had some tough projects and some difficult to deal with clients, but never anything that made me question whether or not this was the path for me.

The most difficult part is staying self-motivated when life gets you down. Failed relationships and depression have been some of the biggest roadblocks for me because it makes it hard to believe in myself on any level; and I think great art always comes from the heart. It’s hard to tap into when you’re not feeling yourself.

One of my biggest lessons has been to avoid working with people that you don’t like. Bad clients will do all sorts of things to try to get you to work for free, to disrespect you and get you to doubt your abilities. Cut them off. Find people who see you as a valuable part of their team.

Mostly, I want the world to know that if you put your heart and mind into something, you can do whatever you’d like. You have the power to help people imagine how much they’re truly capable of. Kurt Vonnegut has this book on writing, and in the intro he says that all the great writing he’s ever read has been on subjects the author is passionate about. He shows you a letter his daughter wrote to her boss after one of her coworkers was wrongly fired. He says it’s one of his favorite pieces of writing; it’s packed with so much emotion that you can’t help but care too.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
The first place we’d spend time is our studio at 400 W Rich. The whole place is packed with art and creative people. It’s where I do most of my work, and where I’m writing this now. We make art, we DJ, we yap, it’s a wonderful place. It’s also surrounded by nice restaraunts, venues, and bars. Great place to be. There’s an open house the second friday of every month. I love the energy.

I’d probably take them to a show at Skully’s or Bluestone. I’m there almost every week playing visuals or hanging out with my friends and colleagues. They both have a lively, organic feel to them. Places where people get to express themselves, ever so slightly isolated from the crushing reality of capitalism squeezing the art and creativity out of everything in the interest of profit.

I might take them to Akai Hana, one of the best Sushi spots in columbus. It’s pricey but worth it if you wanna splurge.

I’d take them to my house to see all the cats that live in and around it. I have 4 of my own and about 10 strays outside that I take care of. When I get home, they all come crawling out of the woodwork meowing for food. It’s one of best parts of my day every day.

Honestly my life is pretty simple at this point. I’m mostly focused on my work and shows, so I don’t have much to reccomend outside of these places where I spend most of my time.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Jack aka Silcrow for showing me you can be a self sufficient Artist. Spacecamp big boss Raiden Labs for helping me meet so many clients and friends. I would keep listing people for a week if I had the time.

Website: https://jonsedlak.carbonmade.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonsedlak222/