“The Sabrina project was the first time that I was able to direct a live-action video,” said Dessie Jackson about working with Sabrina Carpenter on her Coachella teaser video. “The end result was only 17 seconds long, but I was very ambitious. I made 11 sets for about 14 seconds of animation. I wanted to really illustrate the journey she goes on from the desert to Sabrinawood.” 

Dessie Jackson (BFA Painting ’14) is an artist, stop-motion animator and self-declared “analogue girl” living in a digital world.

While at Tyler, Jackson was a rising star, securing a brand partnership with LA-based streetwear brand The Hundreds and designing the cover art for rapper and songwriter Gilbere Forté’s album Nolita. The key to her success? The strong foundation, creative community and technical expertise she found at Tyler.  

“Tyler is where my practice clicked. I learned the importance of output,” she said. “When you have courses across multiple disciplines and they all have projects that you’re working on simultaneously, you learn that you can make art under pressure.” 

Growing up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Jackson's interest in art began at a very early age, likely influenced by the adults in her life.   

“I have a lot of memories of always drawing,” she said. “I had a Japanese babysitter, June Wright, who ran a daycare out of her house. She wouldn’t necessarily describe herself as an artist, but she was very creative. She was really hands-on with crafts. She would put on a Japanese T.V. show or have a magazine, and I would copy the drawings and illustrations that I saw. I think being in that environment before and after school really left an impression on me.”  

Another creative influence was Jackson’s grandmother, who had her own stained-glass studio and would offer Jackson a variety of crafting tools to experiment with at a young age.  

“It was like a craft mecca,” she said, describing the studio. “There was glass, beadwork and other materials. She was very curious about making things.” 

When her grandmother passed away, Jackson's father brought the studio’s stained-glass supplies into the basement of their family home. The space quickly became a workshop of its own, and Jackson’s early interest in craft continued to flourish. 

“Suddenly we had this little tinkering studio in the basement, and my dad would make stained-glass pieces that he learned from her. So, I grew up seeing a lot of crafts and adults making crafts. Tyler was where I learned more about fine art practices.” 

The creative environment her family fostered left a lasting impression. Crafting formed the foundation of her art practice, underpinned her painting projects, and eventually led to her career in stop-motion animation.  

She’s admitted that stop-motion reminds her of those early days of childhood—where art represented play and creative exploration—just as much as it serves as a grounding force in the fast-paced reality of living in a digital world.  

“For me, stop-motion and animating are healing. I feel connected to my inner child,” she said. “It’s balanced with having my BFA in painting and being able to apply those technical skills to animating.”  

“Stop motion specifically is so painstakingly slow,” she continued. “It forces me to go all-senses in. I'm using my hands; I'm using my eyes; I'm really using my brain. I feel more connected. You have to be hyper-focused and hyper-present when you're animating. Whereas I think my relationship with the internet can be so disconnected.” 

While living in the digital age may come with a sense of distance, Jackson learned the hard-and-fast rules of social media during her time at Tyler. As a student, she began sharing her work online, mainly on Tumblr and Instagram. They weren’t fully polished works—instead, they were often assignments for her painting class. But it was through this effort that she reached her first breakthrough—a message from the co-founder of The Hundreds, Bobby Kim (aka Bobby Hundreds), inviting her to create a t-shirt design for the brand. 

“Bobby Hundreds saw my work on Tumblr, and it was work that I was making for school. That’s when I realized, ‘Oh my god, I could make money doing this,’” she said. “I do think it’s important to share your work, online or in person, even if it’s not ready. Because doing that opened a lot of doors for me.” 

Jackson’s work with The Hundreds marked the start of her creative career. Shortly after, she had a commission with musician and producer Gilbere Forté and then a restaurant in SoHo. The opportunities rolled into an ever-expanding list of music, apparel and celebrity brand partnerships.  

Since that initial spark, she’s partnered with professional musicians and consumer brands including Steve Aoki, Eric Clapton, Zayn Malik, Adidas, Converse, Mejuri, Disney, Warner Music Group and most recently Sabrina Carpenter.

“It was so cool to be able to direct Sabrina for the beginning portion of that video,” she said, reflecting on the project. “It was fun to work on. I’m very grateful for the opportunity, and I love Sabrina!”  

When evaluating new partnerships, Jackson says it comes down to creative alignment and creative freedom.  

“It's such a privilege to be able to narrow down what work I take and what work I don't take,” she said. “When deciding on a project, I really appreciate having creative freedom. The project with the most creative freedom is always the most exciting for me.” 

Jackson suggested balancing commission work with personal projects to keep creative forces flowing. For students who are considering creative careers in freelance, brand partnerships or entrepreneurship, she emphasized the importance of curiosity and encouraged students to embrace the process of finding their own unique voice.  

“Finding your voice requires you to make a lot of work,” she said. “Not all of it will be good, and that’s OK. I think everybody innately has a style and voice—you just have to follow what inspires you. There are no wrong answers—be open to what might happen and see what feels right. And there’s no shame in getting paid for your work.” 

Jackson herself doesn’t shy away from sharing the messy side of her work. She often shares “behind the scenes” content online that illustrates how human ingenuity and craftsmanship bring her creations to life. Her process videos generate hundreds of thousands of likes on Instagram and a groundswell of supportive comments from followers and aspiring artists. In her view, the fan support serves as a sign that AI is no threat to the future of art.  

“I very much enjoy making work that is the antithesis of AI,” she said. “I think all art forms are craving a human touch. In a world where people are saying that AI will take over, it’s been very encouraging for me to see such support. I don’t think AI will ever take over art.” 

Looking ahead, Jackson says she’s excited to work on longer stop-motion animation projects and to expand the imaginative world of “Dessie’s Place.” “Dessie’s Place” focuses on the misadventures of “Little Dessie,” which is a puppet character of herself. The series has a dedicated playlist on YouTube and several shorter adventure reels featured on Jackson’s Instagram page that garner millions of views. 

She expressed gratitude for her mentors, Professor Emeritus of Painting Margo Margolis and her Foundations and Senior studio professors. To rising Tyler students, she had this final word of advice: 

“Keep making and being curious. But mostly, keep making.”