Get Familiar: Sammy Does
Get familiar with Sammy Does. An incredibly talented individual who is making waves in multiple creative industries. Joining us is Sammy Does, a remarkable young woman who excels in the fields of 3D printed art and makeup artistry. Not only has Sammy established herself as a skilled artist, but she is also a member of the prestigious House of Orange agency, renowned for representing top-tier talent in the fashion and entertainment industry. Sammy's innovative use of 3D printing technology in her art brings a fresh perspective to the world of visual expression, while her expertise as a makeup artist allows her to transform faces into stunning works of art. Throughout this interview, we will delve into Sammy's experiences, learn about her creative process, and explore the ways in which her identity and unique perspective have shaped her work. Sammy's accomplishments serve as a testament to the power of self-expression and the ability to break barriers, and we are thrilled to have her here today to share her story.
Can you tell us about your journey to becoming a make-up and 3D artist? What inspired you to pursue this career?
I was actually on a path to study industrial design or artificial intelligence after my final exam year in high school but when I totally crashed and failed, it gave me an extra year to reflect on my interests. I started to obsess over fashion and chose to follow that path instead. Although after one year of uni at AMFI this path already seemed to be doomed when they kicked me out and I was forced to quit this dream.
I didn't seem to perform well in school systems so I kind of felt like a complete flop. The thing that saved me at the time, was make-up. It was the only thing I was having fun with every day and that’s when I started experimenting with looks more, going out, dressing up. This made me feel so confident and beautiful I wanted to chase this feeling for the rest of my life and to share it with other people, make them feel the same way. That’s when I decided to make a career out of it. I had like one or two friends that I looked up to that already had studied make-up before so I asked around and that’s how so I started at House of Orange make-up school where I blossomed into the artist I am today.
Getting into 3D printing and designing was a whole different story. I saw a TikTok one day of some random person 3D printing the most not fantastic-looking nails and I said to myself: I can do that so much better. This was during quarantine so I just bought a 3D printer and I started designing nails. I didn’t think I was able to turn that into a career until people started messaging me to order my prints. What I also really loved about it was that I was creating and making something that was tangible and wearable. Something that I was missing when doing make-up all the time. When I’m designing and printing I feel like a goddess capable of instant, spontaneous creation - it’s so awesome.
Your work often incorporates 3D elements with makeup. How do you balance these two mediums in your creative process, and what challenges do you face when integrating them?
Well, I still struggle with switching my mindset between doing makeup and making 3D designs sometimes. Maybe I should stop seeing them as separate things and treat them both as the same. Or maybe I am subconsciously already doing that. I mean the creative process is always the same: I’m trying to make an idea come to life and I will grab all the tools necessary to make it perfect. I would love to incorporate more of my 3D prints in my makeup and completely blur the line, let’s see.
House of Orange is a well-known agency that represents some of the top artists in the fashion industry. How has working with them influenced your work and career?
I feel a lot more confident in my career and work because there’s nothing they do better than finding the perfect person for the right job. I’m so happy to have finally joined the agency this year, definitely a dream come true. They have always been my make-up family and they've always been so supportive of my career since I finished the House of Orange make-up school. Because I joined as a new talent, we’re still navigating where they can best position me and which jobs to put me forward for. Trust me to say that we’ve only scratched the surface so far and expect incredible projects and collaborations coming up in the future.
Your Instagram account features a variety of experimental and avant-garde makeup looks. How do you approach creating these looks, and where do you draw inspiration from?
I think most of my inspiration I draw from playing video games. Since that’s basically all I do when I’m not working. You know, like the possibility to change your avatar in a video game - but then in real life. I mean who wouldn’t be inspired when fighting the most glamorous and at the same time monstrous-looking mythological creatures from heaven and hell? I’ve always been so fascinated by character design in these games. It’s my dream to design an out-of-this-world creature and to wear it as an avatar in VR and just hang out and go for virtual beers with my friends. If you’re interested my top 3 game picks that have always inspired me are Shin Megami Tensei V, Bayonetta 3 and Persona 5 Royal. I highly suggest playing these but be careful because I often get a bit carried away and play it for days on straight, completely shielding me from the outer world. Video games are 100% my escapism. I can’t think of anything more awesome than bringing elements from my fave games to life and incorporating them into my work.
Your work has been featured in major fashion publications such as Vogue and Harper's Bazaar. Can you tell us about a project you are particularly proud of and why?
A project I am particularly proud of actually hasn’t come out yet, but I can definitely shine some light on it of course. It's a film project by Florian Joahn which I did the 3D design for together with Tilda Mace. She’s the most amazing SFX artist who did the character design for it and completely knocked it out of the park. The idea was to transform the protagonist into a sci-fi creature by covering the entire body in spikes and it turned out better than I ever could have imagined. Why I’m particularly proud of this one because I somehow managed to design, print and airbrush over almost 400 body spikes and a set of massive nails in the short span of 4 days. The piece is currently exhibited at Design Museum Den Bosch if you wanna go and check it out.
It amazed me because it made me realize I’m capable of doing so much more than I ever imagined. 3D printing is fun but my lord it's a very time-consuming process. The trick here was that we wanted these pieces to have a chrome effect which I used to achieve using chrome powder and nail gel but for this quantity, that wasn’t realistic. After some research, I realised this effect can be easily created using an airbrush and this is also where my current airbrush obsession came from. One thing leads to another!
How do you stay current with new technologies and techniques in the makeup and 3D art industries?
Oh, that’s easy, I get everything from TikTok. I feel like I get all my life advice, career advice, and technology updates from TikTok. Nobody knows me like my ForYou page does.
What advice would you give to aspiring makeup and 3D artists who are just starting out in the industry?
I’m a really simple girl and I have always told myself from the beginning: sucking at something, is the first step at being sort of good at something. Think about it. If you wanna start something that you don’t know anything about, half the job is just doing it and the rest will follow. Especially when pursuing a creative career.
When not working on the visual mediums, we can find you in many corners of nightlife, what does nightlife add to your life?
Nightlife to me is a breath of fresh air where I can be the most beautiful and vulnerable version of myself and be a little silly. Especially vulnerable in the summer since all I ever really wear to the club when it’s hot out, is a lace bra and a pair of panties haha. I honestly can’t think of anything more magical than getting dolled up for a night out with my sister Danii. It’s just as important for young trans women to space take up in the club, as it is for our careers. I’m a firm believer that all the confidence you build up showing yourself in nightlife translates to daily life. Trans visibility y’all!
A lot of your friends are getting involved in DJing and curating nights, is this something for you too?
Oh god no. That’s a cake I won’t be taking a slice from. The thought of me DJing actually makes me giggle a little. I would probably end up playing an awkward Harry Styles and Mariah Carey mash-up that nobody asked for. As for event planning, I will leave that to my very talented friends who know how to put a night together. Honestly, the amount that goes into curating a night is so insane I truly couldn’t begin to tell you how proud I am of them. I’m happy just to take on the cheerleader role and support them from the sidelines.
You often 3D print nails and one of these pieces was featured in the recent Patta Soundsystem x Mila V project, what was the creative process behind this set?
It was so much fun creating these pieces with Mila! One of my favourite pieces to this day. It’s actually the first nail commission I ever got, so naturally I was really excited to work on this with her. She gave me total creative freedom so the first designs were the most unwearable, alien-looking things ever. They were fun, but it wasn’t Mila. So we went back to the drawing board and we decided on rose thorns as a new visual starting point to better fit the visuals of the ‘CRACKS' EP. The design had to be killer yet tragically romantic. So I created these sharp vines wrapped around the fingers covered in sharp thorns from a grey to black gradient. So it took like two or three designs but they turned out perfect!
Is collaboration a big part of what you do in your expressions?
Oh my God, it’s a huge part! My best work takes shape through collaborations for sure. All I need is one crazy idea from someone to get me started and I will obsess over a project until it’s perfectly executed. I feel like I’m often stuck in my own little world so it’s really refreshing to have a little back and forth going on when creating designs or doing make-up. It also exposes me to a vast amount of different inspiration sources other than my own, it’s yet another way of pushing the boundaries of what we know.
What are you working on and what can we expect from you in the coming months?
What am I working on, let’s see. I recently made my debut as an actress so I will be starring in a very special movie that’s hopefully coming out soon. It’s directed by the very talented Mila and I don’t think I ever had so much fun working on a long-term project as this one. I had no prior acting experience whatsoever but I had so much fun bringing my character to life, I think I definitely caught the acting bug. So for sure, that’s a venture I want to continue.
I’m also trying to launch an online store where I call to sell my designs. Definitely have been putting a lot of pressure myself there because for this I really want to create unique wearable pieces, like earrings, lip cuffs, ear cuffs etc. But at the end of the day I’m only one person who's really slow and really perfectionist, so that might take some time but I’m trying my hardest to make it happen.
