Meet Katherine Kae” McSpadden | Artist and Voice Actress”

We had the good fortune of connecting with Katherine “Kae” McSpadden and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Katherine “Kae”, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
For my art, I learned many different art skills growing up (from coloring pyansky eggs at the International School of Luxembourg when I was a child, to glass bead making using molten glass, to creating the art installation piece called Find Your Wings for the music festival Electric Forest) and using the skills and memories I have growing up to help me think outside of the box and become adaptable and versatile in the way I draw. Using my memories growing up, all of the amazing trips around Europe and the United States, things I have learned at school and college, all of the films, animation, and video games I have experienced, incorporating that into my art adds so much nostalgia to me. This motivates me to create art in so many different ways. In addition, I have gained strong problem solving skills and allowing me to think how to make something work. When I share my art on social media showcasing all of the different art I can do, this attracts so many people to follow me, but it also keeps my audience excited wondering what I am going to make next.

Same with acting, exploring different characters to practice with or during an audition allows me to explore new characters and archetypes. Giving me a good idea of what I can do and giving me the confidence to take on any role no matter what. It also gets people excited to see what I am working on and what I will play next

It feels exciting and exhilarating, like I can take on any challenge.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
As an artist mainly focused on concept art and illustration, my job is to design characters, props and environments for animation, films, video games, and other productions and to draw images that visually tell a story. I work with the client to create assets and characters that fit the client’s story/project. As a voice actress, I record my voice as I act for animation, commercials, games, narration and other projects. As one of the studio artists at Exceptional Minds, I am the prop design revisionist in the game club’s upcoming indie game that is still in development, the pitch artist, writer, animator and background artist of the upcoming animated short film “The Secret of The Hunter,” and the head designer for an upcoming animation project that is still under wraps.

I provided the English dub voice over for Rita and additional voices in “On The Spectrum” on HBO Max, I was in a few video games such as one of the Prinnies in “Prinny 1 & 2: Exploded and Reloaded” and Vaxena in the indie game “Clunky Hero,” audio dramas from voicing Dabu, Babasa and Yuie Bixio in “Wrath of the Forgotten” and Uttamaca from the award winning “Voyage of the Great Navigators,” I will make my ride voice acting debut in the upcoming indie dark ride called “Kooky Trails” as the voices of Flora, Carala, and Buddy.

It can be difficult working with clients in the art field because they don’t alway know what they want and their ideas can be all over the place, and many of them lack knowledge on how visual storytelling actually works. I try to work together with them to create something unique to that project and fits the vision. Portfolio building is difficult because you have to show that it fits the job you are applying and it is tailor made for what you want the job recruiter to focus on. The one downside I hate about the art field is how lonely it can be sitting alone in a room, what allowed me to meet more extroverted people and still allowed me to express myself was going into the acting field. Both fields are very difficult due to the competitive natures and knowing the right people in both industries to find work and make connections, and job hunting is not a strong suit for me. It took me years for me to evolve and improve my skills, and build a portfolio, site and resumes for me to be ready for job hunting. Joining organizations like the Creators Society, Women In Animation, and Bang Zoom’s Academy of Voice Acting allows me to get together with other artists and actors to make connections and keeping my skills up. I actually had to change up my diet for voice acting, I have to avoid certain drinks like coffee and milk when recording and I reduce my food intake to manage my acid reflex so it does not interfere with work. Due to the fact I voice multiple characters in one project, sometimes it can be difficult to make sure the voices sound distinct from one another, and to make sure I do not strain my throat when performing in certain voices.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
There are so many great places to check out in LA, The beaches in Malibu, Santa Monica, and Laguna Beach are so much fun to explore and to relax at. As a fan of animals and zoology, the LA Zoo and the La Brea Tar Pits are so fascinating to visit. For movie fans, the Hollywood sign and the Walk of Fame is a must see place to check out. Six Flags Magic Mountain is an amazing amusement park and is packed full of amazing roller coasters. The Japanese Village Plaza in Little Tokyo is full of fun shops and great restaurants. Some of my favorite Sherman Oaks restaurants are All About Poke, Kura Revolving Sushi Bar and Monster Thai. M Street Coffee is a nice little coffee shop if you need a nice quiet place to hang out.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Exceptional Minds, the non-profit organization that helps autistic adults find work in the animation and VFX fields. Thanks to that school and the teachers, I was able to improve my portfolio and meet so many incredible people in the entertainment industry, and gain opportunities for both my concept art and my voice over work. From designing the 2020 Christmas card for Mitsubishi and Exceptional Minds, to providing the English dub voice over for “On The Spectrum” on HBO Max, scratch voice over for Julia’s Mother for Sesame Street, and voice over for their 10 year anniversary video.

I was even able to gain valuable experience through the extra curricular activities from writing various articles in Write & Forge discussing video games, animation, and even true crime stories. In the Animation Club, my original story pitch got selected for us to create EM’s first story focused short film, allowing me to gain writing, storyboarding, animation, and background design experience. Through their game development club called the Embark Club, I was a prop design revisionist where I taught the prop designers how to adapt to the game’s art style and help with the game’s casting and voice over directing. This was exciting to be able to direct voice actors and gave me the challenge to work with autistic students to help them with their acting and line delivery.

Website: artstation.com/kmcspadden

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artbykaemcspadden/?hl=en

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherine-mcspadden/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KaeMcSpadden

Other: Voice Over Site – KaeMcSpaddenVO.com Personal Art Site – KateMcSpaddenArt.com

Image Credits
Top left are Buddy, Flora and Carala from “Kooky Trails,” Top right is Vaxena from “Clunky Hero”, Bottom Left is my character from my student award winning animation Cavity Queen Crunch, and Bottom Right is Prinny from Atlas’s “Prinny 1&2 Exploded and Reloaded”