Meet Katherine Kae” McSpadden | Artist & Voice Actress”

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

Hi Katherine “Kae”, can you tell us more about your background and the role it’s played in shaping who you are today?
I was born in Luxembourg after my parents moved there because my dad had a job transfer. We lived there until I was nine years old and we moved to Geneva, which is an hour outside Chicago. While living in Luxembourg, I traveled all over Europe and attended the International School of Luxembourg, where I befriended kids from all over the world. I often to incorporate various cultures and folklore into my art and designs. I graduated from Northern Illinois University in 2013, and worked freelance for several years showcasing my art at small art shows near home and at some fan conventions. During 2020, I enrolled at Exceptional Minds, which is a vocational school that helps autistic adults find work in animation and VFX. I moved out to LA after it was safe enough for the school to reopen in person classes, but also to further my work as an artist and voice actress.

Growing up, I loved watching Disney movies and playing video games. Anime by Studio Ghibli and Satoshi Kon, plus shows from Death Note to Attack on Titan, video games such as Pokemon, Final Fantasy, Jak and Daxter, Kena: Bridge of Spirits, Beyond Good and Evil, and Resident Evil, and films by Disney, Guillermo Del Toro, Tim Burton are just a few of my many influences. When I was 10, I was obsessed with The Simpsons and I always thought it was fascinating how the voice actors such as Dan Castellaneta and Hank Azaria are able to alter their voices in order to play dozens of characters. This inspired my long desire to be a voice actress. I put it on hold for a long time since acting is extremely competitive and I have only taken a few acting classes in high school and college. But in February 2018, I finally decided to take a chance on it by enrolling in one of Bang Zoom’s Adventures in Voice Acting classes taught by Tony Oliver. I have taken other voice over classes taught by Chuck Huber and Dorah Fine, and participated in multiple voice acting contests. One of the contests was Now Voice This which draws in over 2,000 participants, I made the semi-finals twice and made the finals (top 25) last summer.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I an illustrator and a character designer. I am able to use my love for cultures, folklore, fantasy, video games and zoology to help me think outside of the box. I am proud of all of the contests that I have been able to participate in. The journey has been very difficult due to how competitive the art field is, and in order for me to stand out of a crowd, I had to really develop my problem solving skills. Not just to think outside of the box and make something original, but also planning more complex projects and adapting to any situation changes, which became useful when I got into acting.

What I have learned about art is just being able to draw well is not enough to excel. I need various other skills to aid in creating more elaborate art pieces and to plan out concepts. For example, when my brother and I made the art installation for the music festival Electric Forest, I need engineering experience to plan out the shapes, layout, wiring, and how the piece is going to withstand the weather and crazy festival goers. Or when I entered the Design a Dance contest for the show Dancing With The Stars when I made the final five twice, not only did I have to make show stopping outfits but I also had to make the outfits comfortable and easy for the dancers to move in, so I had to use my dancing experience to draw out the costumes.

I want people to know me for my art skills, enchanting elaborate illustration, imaginative creature and character designs, and that I am not scared to go out of my comfort zone to try something different. In addition, I am able to express myself in the voice over world to play a variety of characters.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I love the beaches in Malibu, not only for fun swimming and surfing areas, but also to see amazing tide pool animals. I also love the mission in San Juan Capistrano for its ruins and history, it also has great beaches and bike paths. Six Flags Magic Mountain is a lot of fun if you like wild crazy rides and roller coasters.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Hayz Cruz, who was one of my teachers at Exceptional Minds. He helped me expand my art portfolio to include more props and environment art.

Website: https://www.artstation.com/kmcspadden

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

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherine-mcspadden-177a348b

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KaeMcSpadden

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

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK1CMxEnOuVrjV5W3l3rclA

Other: katemcspaddenart.com https://soundcloud.com/kaemcspadden

Image Credits
All Images done by me. The one of Gatomon transforming into Angewomon is part of Digimon