Kate Crabtree

Background

About Kate Crabtree

I am a passionate artist, who finds the study of movement fascinating. I remember first being captivated by animation at the age of 5 when I watched a 'making of.' that came on the end of the Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs VHS tape. I really believed it was magic watching the artists flip through the pages of drawings and making the characters move. I have been studying Maya for a little over a year as well as taken an online class with iAnimate hoping to change careers and achieving my dream of becoming an animator. I always try to challenge myself and strive to reach my fullest potential with all tasks, big or small. I am very open to feedback and suggestions as I feel this is the quickest way to improving, learning and developing further. I enjoy working in a team and brainstorming solutions collaboratively as well as nding out different approaches and perspectives - as everyones methods and techniques can vary. I studied 2D and traditional animation at the University for the Creative Arts (UCA) and graduated with honors in 2012. I landed my first job as a freelance animator for Thomson Reuters. I worked in a small team creating a series of 2D animated videos for government websites using Adobe Illustrator and After Effects. Following this experience I was employed by Videotel Marine International to join the Multimedia Department. During my 7 years of service there I progressed from Junior to Lead Illustrator for the department. I worked from provided scripts, reference documents or storyboards and create illustrations and animations capturing the director's vision. This means I understand the necessity of solid planning, good communication with fellow team members, time management and task prioritising in order to meet deadlines and maintain good relationships with clients. In 2019 I took an 8 week evening training course learning Toon Boom Harmony, grasping how the software works and learning all the animation fundamentals and putting the 12 principles into practise. During this training course, I was given the opportunity to learn how to animate with the software ether using a rig or more traditional methods. I have a firm understanding of how to design a character, rig it myself and bring them to life through animation. The technical aspect of the course has helped me tremendously to focus on what matters most to me, which is telling stories in the most entertaining way possible.