Who is Pat Imrie?
Pat is a freelance 3D artist with 12 years of experience in the animation and VFX industry. Over the course of his career, he has worked in many areas – TV programs, commercials, animation feature films, games and education. His hobbies include photography, 3D printing, Hill & Glen walks and history. It’s amazing to see how many extremely well-known films he has worked, with just a quick Google search!
What did he cover in his talk?
Pat went through the story of his career and it was really interesting and helpful to see the progress of a VFX artist, from the beginning. He went into depth about his starting point, saying that he studied in Art college and discovered that he had a passion for animation, later on finding out that he was even more enthralled with behind the scenes stuff, a.k.a, VFX! The recession in 2008 got him teaching, which was a very good thing, as Pat discovered that it was an incredibly rewarding job and even cured his fear of public speaking thanks to it, which was great to hear for me personally, who also struggles with that same fear. He struggled a lot in 2013, and almost gave up, but moved to London the next year and gained many amazing experiences. Highlights included working on The Avengers and Fantastic Beasts. After hitting that low point, he understood the importance of self-care and taking breaks, which he did; taking a break from VFX in 2017, back in the countryside, focusing on teaching and taking up a new hobby – photography. He taught at The Animation Workshop & Glasgow Caledonian University. Pat says that helping to guide passionate people is the best part of the teaching profession.
He also dedicated a specific part of his presentation to talk about mental health. The VFX and animation industry can be incredibly challenging, and sometimes, there is not enough regard for the wellbeing and mental state of artists. That is why it is important to take regular holidays and care for your mental and physical health. Working 24/7 is not worth it and burnout is very real. He spoke from personal experience when telling us this and really enforced the importance of being aware of this.
Pat moved back to London in September of 2019, in the same building as he was before, above DNEG. This was so that he could prove to himself that he could still do it. He saw old friends, met new ones, and got to work on a new Bond movie, which sounds really exciting. 2020 came with its own challenges, and Pat says that we all have to power through together.
What did I take from it?
Pat had a lot of important messages throughout his talk, but even just listening to his journey alone was heavily inspiring. Seeing the first animation he ever made taught me to try new and different things. Even if you are not good at the start, do it if you like it, and enjoy! I learned how important this is, when he explained how he wanted to be a fine artist initially, and then discovered his love for VFX and animation, simply by trying it. His setback in 2013 showed me the power of resilience – he encounters a problem, works at it, and overcomes it. The industry isn’t always kind, and with any job, but certainly these types, it is necessary to have the willpower and determination to not give up when facing something hard. But, on the other hand, I also learned that failing is okay. One of Pat’s slides had words of wisdom and one particular quote really stood out to me.
Do not fear failure. For in great attempts, it is glorious even to fail.
Overall, I feel more encouraged to take up animation as a profession. I am grateful for all the things I learned from his talk, and I feel more prepared with the knowledge of taking care of my mental health, expecting problems and building the strength to overcome them and always doing things that make me happy.
It was wonderful to hear about the paths taken to get Pat where he is today, so thank you very much, Pat Imrie, for the inspiration and teachings!