Meet Stanley McNeiece | 3D Generalist & Storyteller

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

Hi Stanley, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
I think anyone who pursues an artistic career as a profession is aware of the risk they are taking by pursuing one. I have always been familiar with the stigma surrounding being a professional artist. Nobody ever came up to me saying, “I don’t think you should follow the career path of an artist,” but rather, the sentiment was communicated to me by those around me in more subtle ways. Whether it was being told that my partner would have to be the “breadwinner”, assumptions that I would make less money than the average person, or not having a stable income at times. Things like that.

Risks are worth taking because finding something that you are passionate about doing is difficult. Even more so, finding something that you are SO passionate about that you want to make a career out of it is even more rare, so while the decision was difficult I always knew that I couldn’t resist my passion. I am grateful that despite my reservations in the beginning about being a professional artist, I chose to continue on with my creative journey. There was never another option for me simply because I have passion for art.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I have always been inspired by the films and cartoons I watched growing up, and I have a special place in my heart for 2D animation and the style of old-school cartoons. I really enjoy creating art that imitates the styles of works that stray from the norm and are sometimes unconventional.

My thesis film that I created in my senior year at Ringling College of Art & Design is the project that I am most proud of. My animated short film “Dammit!” is an amalgamation of everything I love about the art of animation, and I really wanted to make a film that shows my love of both 2D and 3D animation. It was an immense labor of love, and it was incredibly difficult at times as I was the sole creator of the film, but seeing the finished product come together in the end was even more satisfying because of the hardships I faced when working on the project.

College was very challenging for me. I was a computer animation major at Ringling, and the notorious workload for the major was more often than not overwhelming. I found myself working on schoolwork every day of the week with the exception of Friday nights. I believe I was able to finish school with a portfolio I was proud of because I knew that there were greater things for me in the animation industry after I put my time in at college.

As far as the artwork I am creating now, I am really interested in exploring new styles in 3D. I am very inspired by works that push the boundary of what 3D animation is expected to look like, and I aim to create work that is able to accomplish a unique and impressive visual style of storytelling.

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’m not sure if this applies to me because I don’t live in LA 🙂 ) But I do live in Minneapolis now, and although I’ve been here a short amount of time some cool places to go that I’d recommend include checking out the restaurants on the Minneapolis skyway, going to some cool small local concert venues (there are many), and of course visiting the Mall of America which is the biggest mall in the United States!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Someone who has had an immense impact in my creative journey and personal life is my partner, Oliver Stephenson. Not only is he an amazing artist, he is one of the most supportive people I have in my life. I am so happy that he has been around to watch me grow as an artist and a person, and I know it has been an amazing experience for me to watch him grow as well. I think we compliment each other in many ways, even from a career standpoint. Oliver comes from a more illustrative background, while I come from an animation background, so I think that makes us a pretty cool creative package.

Website: https://www.stanleymcneiece.com/

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

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

Other: https://vimeo.com/stanleymcneiece