Biography


Sam Benhardt was born and raised in Troy, Missouri, and graduated from the University of Missouri - Columbia in December of 2022 with a BA in Digital Storytelling and a Minor in Art. He is fascinated by the capabilities of mixed 2D and 3D animation and believes that many current productions are still just scratching the surface of what can be done with hybrid animation. As such, he has been closely following the work of studios that excel in this, such as Fortiche Production and Supergiant Games. He enjoys creating grounded environmental and character-driven storytelling through worldbuilding and compelling 3D design. Sam has had his work 'The Wanderer’ shown at the University of Missouri - Columbia Chancellor’s Arts Showcase in 2022 and is constantly looking for ways to hone his skill set.


Artist Statement


My work spans a vast array of mediums and my focus on mixed 2D and 3D animation (hybrid animation) shows it. My emphasis comes from my interest in combining traditional mediums such as printmaking and weaving, a fascination that started forming in my first years of college. Inspired by studios such as Fortiche Production and Supergiant Games, as well as individual creators like David James Armsby and Ian Worthington, I aim to create fully realized worlds that do not begin and end at the first or last frame.

My goal is to tell character driven stories through my work, and that emphasis on story is the genesis of my animation. When creating my animation, I aim to always create vast believable worlds for the viewer to experience through the limited window of the characters. Through these characters I explore themes such as moral ambiguity. Every character has goals and motivations, and none of them are objectively good or bad. I also enjoy toying with the concepts of identity, labels, and of ‘personhood’, exploring characters when their identity is challenged or through the loss or gain of different labels. I often create either non-human characters with grounded human drives and emotions or characters that are technically human but have lost some aspect of themselves that truly made them a person.