What is your name and your current occupation?
My name is Patrick Stannard, though most people refer to me as “the Kilted Animator” or “that guy in the Kilt”. I currently work at Powerhouse Animation as an Animator.
What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Ho boy, I’ve worked some pretty nasty jobs before getting into my art career. My favorite one to tell people about is when I worked as a raisin dumper. To your quirked eyebrow and inquisitive expression I say, a raisin dumper is exactly that, someone who dumps raisins, frozen blocks of raisins, eight hours a day. I performed this simple task at a grain factory in Michigan that supplied grain and fruits for cereal companies to box and ship. Extra Extra Raisin Bran was the worst, the conveyor belt never stopped moving, and you’d come home smelling like boxes, and boxes, of raisins. The smell never really washes out.
What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
There’s so many. I’ve been lucky enough to have a career of varied experiences. Epic Mickey 2 and Stoic Studios: The Banner Saga are my two biggest go to projects currently. Both have taught me a lot about how to animate well and efficiently, as well as allowed me to really explore and have fun. There is of course my internship at Disney when I was a Junior in college, I can say that I learned more in that year than I have any other in my life, and I’ll always cherish that summer as one of my best. The job I’ve been proudest to work on however has got to be a little video game project titled, Downfall Aftermath. Â If you’ll permit me to reminisce, Downfall Aftermath was a glorious experiment. At a community college in Kalamazoo, we put together a 6 man team to pitch an idea for a new video game production class. To prove it’s worth we were tasked with producing a working video game in 13 weeks, from scratch. The final product wasn’t what you would call a AAA title, nor even a B or C game, but it had functioning levels, a multiplayer server, working character models, animations, items, and above all we finished it on time. It made the local papers and was played at the school for a couple years beyond that. It helped spur the animation and game courses in my home town. It was a risk when I hopped onto the project, and it required more sleepless nights than I prefer to remember, but it was a rewarding adventure and opportunity to explore my passion.
Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
I’m from Kalamazoo Michigan, and ever since I was reprimanded at a parent teacher conference for drawing on my homework, I’ve known that art was the career for me. Animation specifically Continue reading
