Meet Katie Heady | 3D Animator

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

Hi Katie, what do you want your legacy to be?
It’s so weird to be thinking about the legacy. I am 26 now and I feel like my legacy is just getting started. But I know I am making a difference to people and the community around me. I think the legacy I hope to leave behind is one of kindness, silliness, and showing people that it’s possible to do what you want. Whether it be changing your career, a lifestyle, or even just a new hobby. I think as a society, we tend to compromise to get through the day. But it doesn’t necessarily mean that we are happy and fulfilled. I think it’s important to take steps each day to listen to that inner voice and honor what you need because at the end of the day you know yourself best.

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.
When I was four, my father passed away from pancreatic cancer. Creating art was something I needed; it was a way for me to channel my emotions, process grief, and create stories from my experiences. In high school, I had the opportunity to study both digital and physical mediums; like oil painting, sculpture, and Maya. It really showed me that I didn’t need to be tied to just one path or medium in my life. Having the chance to express myself in both mediums was freeing to me since I still use these concepts daily in my work as a 3D Animator. A prime example of that is represented in my 2019 Ringling College of Art and Design thesis film, Roxanne. As well as collaboration project I am working on with my friend, Gina Cicone. We are currently trying to blend 3D with felt in our film; the inspiration behind the project is based on a cute sculpture I did in college. I’d been wanting to create a story behind this sculpture for years and it’s exciting to be closer to finishing it. Ultimately, I think my journey has pushed me to where I am now as a 3D Animator by being comfortable with taking chances, trusting my gut, and having fun experimenting.

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.
If my friend was visiting town I’d definitely take them to Chicago. In the morning for our first day, we’d hit up a cute coffee shop and do some cafe drawing off of the Irving Park brown line or Southport brown line. Afterwards, we’d walk around do some window shopping at the local stores, get some snacks from Jewel, and then to head to the train station to go downtown. As we sit on the train, we could look out the window and see the train getting closer to the city. It’s one of my favorite views of Chicago, especially when you stay on the Brown line the whole way down. But unfortunately, we need to switch trains to get to our stop. So we get off at the Fullerton stop and switch to the Red line. One thing to notice as soon as you get onto the Red line is the speed. Their trains were a lot faster than the Brown line’s, but both are great in their own ways. Before we knew it, it was time to get off at the Chicago stop. From there, we’d head straight to the Architecture tour near the Wrigley clock tower. The tour is absolutely amazing it gives you great views of the city and allows you to see a good chunk of Chicago in such a short amount of time. The tour finishes with the boat out in Lake Michigan looking at the city, it’s an absolutely mesmerizing view you don’t see everyday. After we get off the boat ride, we’d run over to the Big Bean and The Art Institute of Chicago so we can see some beautiful artwork inside. By the time we get out of the art museum, it’s the evening, so now it’s time to head to the Pasta Bowl for dinner; it’s one of my favorite pasta places in the whole city. The portions there are the best, you basically have enough pasta to take home for another meal the next day. Then we’d finish the night by going to the German Christmas market in downtown, get some yummy hot chocolate while we make our way to the Christmas light show at the Lincoln park zoo. If there is time left over, I’d try to get tickets at the Music Box Theater to catch a movie playing that night, but if we were too tired we would definitely do it the next day. For the rest of the time we are in Chicago, we’d try to go to bouldering at the local gyms, catch a show at the opera house, get some chicago pizza, and explore different parts of the city for each of the days. The best thing about Chicago is the amount of things you can do at any given moment. It really is such a cool city with a lot of amazing communities and activities to do. 10/10 would highly recommend!

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?
Huge shoutout to my mentors and teachers Tabia McCarty, Katrina Zimmerman, Laverne Miers-Bond, Fernando Puig, Alex Rumsa, Lauryn Grimando, Gretchen Praeger, Ozan Basaldi, Paul Downs, Heather Thomson, George Cwirko Godycki, and Andy Welihozkiy. To my family and friends in Posse, Storage Crew, Jersey House, Chicago, NY, MN, and LA. I wouldn’t be where I am today without all the love and support. Lastly, a big thank you to Stanely McNeiece for recommending me to Shoutout LA. Stanely is an amazing artist and I am so honored to have met him before he came to Ringling officially, it’s so crazy to see where Stanely’s art journey has gone since meeting him and it’s so cool to see where his career will take him next. So incredibly proud of him.

Website: https://ktheady.wixsite.com/animation

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

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katieheady/

Image Credits
Mr. Bubble, Neighbor Animation Yak at it Again, Gina Cicone and Neighbor Animation Roxanne, Ringling College of Art and Design