Patrick Banks

BFA ’20 Animation and Interactive Design

I am an animator currently residing in Raleigh, NC. A 2020 graduate of East Carolina University where I received my BFA with a concentration in Animation/Interactive Design. Initially, I didn’t see myself as an animator or an artist until my passion for video games and Movies hit me as I was graduating from Community College. Through these last few years, I have developed skills in the creation of 3D objects and characters to then animate into games or fun videos. I do it to bring joy to others and to help build the imagination of a person who enjoys the creative world around them.

I was driven to this path when I realized that all I could think about was making a video game like the first-person shooters I have grown to love and play regularly. They always seemed to have a fantastic mix of design in the levels and gameplay. It has ever since sparked something in me that just wanted to create one. The ability the games gave me as the player to travel to different planets and cities that were so foreign in design. Whether it was the creatures I was fighting or interacting with or the landscapes, I was traversing to get to the next point. I wanted more. I wanted to create my own. But to not only make it my own but to spark the imagination of the child or person who would play the game and want to know why. To know more about the creative decisions such as why a character does this animation or has this personality trait. I invite them to venture into a world built on ideas sparked by artists that inspired me. I strive to design in ways that give thanks to the ones who guided my imagination of space travel and wanting to be an adventurer. I hope to provide the next generation the love I have for these games but also inspire them to want to do more, be more. In gaming, feeling wonder at what is next and the fact that you as a player or creator can be anyone or do anything in the game is exhilarating. The feeling of being in the unknown inspires me to want to create the next big thing. But it also is for the fun of it.