{"id":26458,"date":"2018-10-25T18:00:08","date_gmt":"2018-10-25T23:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/?p=26458"},"modified":"2018-10-25T16:19:41","modified_gmt":"2018-10-25T21:19:41","slug":"fortnite-animator-kaye-vassey-visits-with-apsu-art-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/2018\/10\/25\/fortnite-animator-kaye-vassey-visits-with-apsu-art-students\/","title":{"rendered":"“Fortnite” animator Kaye Vassey visits with APSU Art Students"},"content":{"rendered":"

Austin Peay State University (APSU)<\/h2>\n

\"AustinClarksville, TN<\/strong> – \u201cFortnite\u201d lead technical animator Kaye Vassey\u2019s art origin story involves her grandfather\u2019s tractor doodles and, of course, Bob Ross. \u201cMy grandfather was a World War II Marine Corps vet \u2013 full on Marine Corps tattoo on the arm, the South Pacific war horror stories, the whole thing,\u201d Vassey recalled to an animation class at Austin Peay State University.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut what he really wanted \u2013 his family were plumbers, so he became a plumber \u2013 was to be an artist.<\/p>\n

\"Kaye<\/a>

Kaye Vassey, lead technical animator of Epic Games\u2019 \u201cFortnite,\u201d speaks to an Austin Peay animation class on Tuesday, October 23rd, 2018.<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was probably between 4 and 6, I\u2019d always get him to doodle, and I would love it, and I would copy it,\u201d she continued. \u201cI\u2019d always get him to doodle this little tractor, with this little guy in there, and it was every day. \u2018Draw it. Draw the thing. Draw the thing.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Later, the two watched Bob Ross\u2019s \u201cThe Joy of Painting\u201d together.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy grandfather and I tried to copy his paintings, to my great frustration,\u201d Vassey said. \u201cFighting through that frustration, I just kept going and going and kept coming back for more and more punishment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Vassey<\/a>

Vassey spoke about how she became interested in art and animation and how she broke into the animation business, including cold-calling Walt Disney Studios and teaching herself animation software at the beginning of her career.<\/p><\/div>\n

Vassey \u2013 who worked on such movies as \u201cShrek,\u201d \u201cMadagascar\u201d and \u201cHow to Train Your Dragon\u201d before joining Epic Games and the \u201cFortnite\u201d team \u2013 visited APSU on October 23rd to give a public lecture about her work and artistic practice. She also gave two workshops in animation classes before the lecture.<\/p>\n

She was the second artist to visit during the Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts and the Department of Art + Design\u2019s Visiting Artist Speaker Series.<\/p>\n

Big-Time Animation’s Connection to APSU<\/h3>\n

Vassey visited Austin Peay associate professor of animation Scott Raymond\u2019s class the morning of the public lecture. The classroom and equipment in the new Art + Design Building impressed her.<\/p>\n

[320left]\u201cYou guys have an insane classroom,\u201d Vassey said. \u201cThis is amazing. I\u2019m super jealous. I\u2019m blown away by this insanity. I was an art student in a basement.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vassey and Raymond met while working on secondary animation, such as crowds, at DreamWorks Animation. They worked on \u201cMadagascar 3: Europe\u2019s Most Wanted,\u201d for example.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you want to work in the industry, I would say the best thing that I could tell you is to be nimble, you have to be able to pivot,\u201d Vassey said. \u201cGet in, get your foot in the door, and work from there to get to where you want to be. Stay humble, it\u2019s truly a team effort.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut enjoy every minute you have in this classroom,\u201d she added before pointing at Raymond. \u201cAnd you have an amazing resource who is awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n

What About That Little Game “Fortnite”?<\/h3>\n
\"Before<\/a>

Before joining the \u201cFortnite\u201d team, Vassey worked on such DreamWorks Animation movies as \u201cHow to Train Your Dragon\u201d and \u201cShrek 2.\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cFortnite: Battle Royale\u201d passed $1 billion in sales in less than a year from its September 2017 release. Most people know somebody who plays the game.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you step into the creative endeavor, you never know what\u2019s going to be a huge success,\u201d Vassey said. \u201cYou hope you have successes. We\u2019re super lucky to have \u2018Fortnite\u2019 to be such a huge success.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt feels good to work on something that other people enjoy so much.\u201d<\/p>\n

[320right]Even though working on movies and on video games is similar \u2013 \u201cUnderneath it all, it\u2019s 3D computer graphics\u201d \u2013 working on video games offers a more constant pressure, Vassey said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe video game model now is very much a living, breathing thing,\u201d she said. \u201cYou have to keep it fresh, keep it relevant.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn movies you have a relationship with the audience for an hour and a half or two hours,\u201d Vassey said. \u201cWhereas video games, you have a long-term commitment to the player base, and you want to be sure they\u2019re happy and having a good time.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the record, Vassey isn\u2019t a good \u201cFortnite\u201d player.<\/p>\n

\u201cActually, when I started working in the video game industry, I didn\u2019t play them anymore,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen I get home, I do not want to think about or see a video game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Back To Those Tractor Doodles<\/h3>\n
\"One<\/a>

One of the pieces of advice she gave students: \u201cIf you want to work in the industry, I would say the best thing that I could tell you is to be nimble, you have to be able to pivot.\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n

After her grandfather died and Vassey and her family went through his belongings, she found a doodle of the tractor he used to draw for her when she was a child.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe drawing was folded up on a sheet of paper inside a city-delivered manual of how to survive a nuclear attack,\u201d Vassey told the students.<\/p>\n

She held up her arm and pulled back her sleeve.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the tractor,\u201d Vassey said, displaying a tattoo on her inner wrist. \u201cIt\u2019s colored in, those are actually crayon marks that were on the drawing I found.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s how I got started.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[320center]<\/p>\n

Did You Know?<\/h3>\n