Meet Kasey Tran | Determined Animator and Storyboard Artist

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

Hi Kasey, what role has risk played in your life or career?
I feel that taking risks is a part of life because nothing is guaranteed. If you feel that the reward of success is worth the pain of trying and failing, then I say to take it. When I first started college, I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. I had no career plans or ambition to pursue anything enough to do for the rest of my life, until I took my first animation class. I didn’t like the teacher, but I loved the assignments and the subject we were learning. I have never felt that way or put in so much effort for any other subjects before, and that was when I knew I wanted to pursue animation. I took a risk when I graduated with an animation degree to get into the art/entertainment industry.

After graduation, I didn’t take a break or stop trying to pursue my goal of going into the industry. I went to any job fair or networking event I could find. I was lucky enough to get into a nonprofit apprenticeship called Better Youth that had an animation cohort where you get paid to learn a program and have a whole year to finish a project for them. I stayed up nights working on my project, and put in a lot of time and effort into this apprenticeship. They saw my efforts, and after two years in the program, one year of no pay, they hired me on as staff.

It was tough, with months of not having work or working in industries not related to my field for money. I had to take on multiple apprenticeship programs to make connections, earn money, and get my foot in the door. In a way, I am still struggling to get to where I want to be, but it took a lot of work to get to where I am now.

I have three pieces of advice for anyone who is planning to take a risk that I have learned through all of this:
1. Put your all into what you want to do. You have to be able to make your own luck instead of hoping it will come to you
2. You have to be open to learning something that doesn’t quite relate to what you want to do, because the more skills you know, the more people would want you on their team (or just doing other jobs that earn you money)
3. Have a backup plan. If I fail in this risk, I plan on going back to school for something more stable. It might not be what I wanted to do, but at least I know that I took this risk, did everything I could, and knew for sure that I tried

Anything worth doing is hard, but if I didn’t do it, I wouldn’t have had any of these experiences.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I enjoy movies or stories with a plot twist and I am inspired to create works that do the same for genres like horror or comedy. I also value relatable themes in my work with topics such as mental health, self-doubt, and acceptance. I am proud of my animation “Countdown Til Death” because it won an award for Best Animation at my school’s film festival. This short was also nominated for the Storyteller Awards.

It was not easy to get to where I am today. I had (and still have) a lot of self-doubt about myself and where I am headed. There were times when I felt like I should learn something else so that I could get a stable job and not have to worry about where I would work next. I had to attempt many jobs, stay up all night working on projects, and I have to constantly reach out of my comfort zone to talk to people and make connections. Although it is difficult, the people I have met, the experiences of screening my work at different venues, and the process of creating work have made it worthwhile. I have overcome these challenges with the support of my friends and partner, as well as by reminding myself of my goal, taking breaks, and having fun doing what I enjoy.

Something that I have learned along the way is that anything worth doing is difficult. There have been times when I dread having to work every day and give up my free time for projects or go to networking events, but then I realize that doing all these activities contributes to my goal and where I want to be. Even when I was in school, I knew my dream of being in the industry was going to be difficult, but it is what I enjoy doing the most.

I want people to know that even if you’re not working at the place you want to be, your dreams die when you stop actively working on them. Even if it’s a little a day, whether it’s signing up to volunteer for something relating to what you want to do, or applying to companies you’re interested in working for in your free time, you are still moving towards your goal. I went months without pay or very little pay, doing what I like on the side while working for a job not related to my interests, just to earn money. I spend every free moment I have improving my skills, gaining experience in different related fields, and going to events in the hopes of meeting someone who could help me with my goal.

I am still not where I want to be, and if there comes a day when I resign and go back to school to learn something more “practical,” I know that I tried my best and live my life with no regrets.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’ll admit, I don’t usually travel around my city that often, so I don’t know many spots where we could go. There are a few boba shops that have really good drinks that I would recommend, like The Tea, where they have really good fruit teas, or Wushiland, where I order my favorite drink from them, their lemon plum tea. We could go to the beach at Santa Monica pier, go on a hike at Griffith Park, or walk around the shops at The Citadel.

I’m not much of an outdoorsy person, but if you asked me what’s something fun I like doing with my friends, I would say getting some boba and finding a good place to hang out, talk, and play board games from my board game collection (I have almost a hundred different board games).

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I have many people and organizations to thank!

I want to thank Better Youth, for being the first program right out of school to hire me and give me a chance! They are a nonprofit that helps young people get into gaming, film, animation, or project management. I appreciate this program so much and admire how many people they have helped get into the industry, find housing, or gain experience. Shout out to Taylore for always encouraging me during the entire animation process and for being so positive all the time!

I want to thank Yes2Jobs for introducing me to different speakers and for allowing me to interview with entertainment companies. I like the work you do and the people you’ve helped look for employment.

I want to thank Venice Arts for making an exception for my age and letting me join your program even though I was too old for it. This was the first program that accepted me after an interview. They helped me experience making film and acting on camera. I met many amazing people through this program, including Evi, Mia, and Kemberly.

I want to thank New Earth for letting me experience audio engineering. I learned that it is not something I am interested in, but it was something I wanted to try that I would not have been able to. Thank you to Griff, Stephanie, Alex, and the rest of the New Earth team for all your work and support!

I want to thank Ctrl+Create Studios for hiring me to teach animation to high school students! It has given me a lot of experience in teaching a subject I am interested in to others, and I hope the best for you all! Thanks Kenny!

I want to thank my friends Melanie, Adeline, Bree, and Sergio for supporting me through my career and for attending my screenings and events when you can!

And finally, I want to thank my supportive boyfriend, Danny. He has been there for me through everything, all my highs and lows, talked to me every day about anything and everything, and has been here to experience life with me.

Thank you again to everyone I’ve mentioned. I appreciate all your support and will carry it with me wherever life takes me.

Website: https://kaseyt.weebly.com/demo-reel.html

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

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kasey-tran/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArtisticKT

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@artistickt

Image Credits
Danny Munoz