We recently connected with Brandi Kjarsgard and have shared our conversation below.

Brandi, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

As a strange little girl, who grew up in Northeastern Pennsylvania, I learned at a young age that monsters would enchant me. My grandfather took me on all sorts of magical and horrific adventures through our tv screen. He was the first inspiring force that steered me towards the path I am on today. I still flash back to the smell of popcorn and a comfy spot on the couch. He introduced me to films like “Legend,” “American Werewolf In London,” and “Jurassic Park.” This exposure just woke up the creativity in me. We could never get enough of a good creature feature, always analyzing things over our snacks. My Mother also stood as one of the strongest encouraging forces in my life. I was the little girl who dressed up as the Disney Beast in pre-school when I “should” have been a princess. My Mother never missed a beat and always supported my interests and talents. She was also a magician in her own right, always bringing holiday personas to life in ways that made my childhood golden and wondrous. She always created the most convincing letters, facades, and “proof” of Santa, The Easter Bunny, and even Leprechauns. She literally worked with my Dad to build a house out of a stump and crafted tiny clothes, down to the underwear! Like I said, I was a lucky little girl, and it was impossible not to believe in the fantastical. This environment allowed me to be whatever I wanted to be! At a very early age I knew I wanted to be paid as a professional velociraptor suit actor. Oddly specific for a child, yes. Once I discovered DVD extras showing interviews and credits with real people, I knew it could be a career path. It was a real job! I would watch the monster creation footage of hollywood shops over and over. I wanted to learn names, see techniques, and watch these things come to life. I learned names like Tom Savini, Howard Berger, Stan Winston, Mark “Crash” McCreery, among others. I wanted to be like these guys, drawing, making, and beast-crafting! What I didn’t realize was that everyone would think I was crazy when I would try to go to college in the early 2000’s asking to be a “Creature Concept Artist.” I’m so glad I kept striving, I’d tell anyone to push when you feel passionate about a dream. My incredible support and relentless stubbornness opened all sorts of doors.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

As I mentioned before, I was a PA girl – born and raised. As I grew older I found myself working for local haunted attractions, such as Reaper’s Revenge and Circle of Screams. I felt it was important to discover some sort of outlet for my monster-making interests. I’ll still never forget my sister calling me to try out for the Reaper’s makeup team after hearing a radio ad. She knew it had “me” written all over it, and up to that point, I just drew monsters for myself. Through haunting, I experienced what it felt like to bring creatures to life for the first time, it was positively intoxicating. I learned how to develop characters, listen to briefs, and expand my own creativity in a rapid deadline format. 15 minutes, get the monsters out to the crowds! Sometimes an hour for the “fancy” ones, but it was a great challenge full of artsy adrenaline. From there I pursued a crazy dream to go to makeup school in California. There was a scholarship through Ve Neill at Cinema Makeup School, it was a long shot, but it was worth the try. I teamed up with the amazing Lisa Petz Photography and put together my first portfolio and submitted. I still remember working as an Assistant Manager at Spirit Halloween and using up every weekend in October to schedule makeup photoshoots. To my amazement, I was selected as the winner of the scholarship back in 2016 and it afforded me the chance at a new life. My time at CMS was an incredible experience and I met talents like Andrew Velazquez, Nelly Recchia, and Michael Spatola. It was through these teachers that I strived to be as professional and approachable as I could, while always pushing my art to new limits. Ve Neill granting me that scholarship opened all sorts of doors and to this day I am still discovering new ones, I will always be grateful for that. I filled my years in California, taking every opportunity that came my way. I gathered my first experiences in a professional makeup effects shop under the expertise of Barney Burman at B2FX. I demonstrated makeup at conventions like “Son of Monsterpalooza” and “Stan Lee’s Comic Con.” I curated the IMATS Museum in 2020, and worked for KNB EFX INC. for 4 years. I still have to stop and give a huge thanks to Lee Joyner for the opportunity to represent the CMS school for a small job that ended up changing my life. It was an amazing ride working with my idols and learning so much. I boarded “The Orville” for 2 years, assisting the makeup department and the Isaac character. I created tons of background masks for “The Walking Dead,” and corpses for “Lovecraft Country.” I loved how every day was a new challenge. Meeting people like Howard Berger and Greg Nicotero also changed my life in huge ways. These men became more than idols on a tv screen, they treated their employees like an artistic family. I will always be fond of the days I spent in that space and with such top notch people. Now I am on a new venture, pursuing my own visions through my own company, “BrandiBeast.” I hope to share my creations with the world and always offer something unique. I believe each artwork I make has its own personality and I can’t wait to see who connects with each piece. My promise is to always challenge myself to bring the story out of a creature or character, it is so much more than just a mask or costume. So here’s to bringing my nightmares into the world as something different….creations for people who are different and proud of it.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I grew up in an area where women were not seen as formidable forces, not taken seriously. I still remember being in highschool band class. There was a particular morning I was being shown a video titled “Women Know Your Place.” This could have been silly if the person showing me wasn’t dead serious about the logic and bringing in a male student to watch and “learn” from the clip. I have been told to sit down, be quiet, and make myself small. I was overlooked often because I was the “wrong” gender. Luckily I have an incredible family and stubborn streak, so here I am starting a business in a male-dominated field, doing what I love. Those people who put me down and tried to keep me silent, just fueled a fire to teach myself things and be the best I can. I spent a good portion of my life trying to learn from people who were only good at the seller’s facade of business. They liked to hustle people, and it taught me a lot about what Not to do, it wasn’t what I believed in. These people took advantage of me, my money, and my family. It took a long time to rebuild my own reputation and credibility because of these vampires. Thankfully, I have finally found my own voice and I’m proud to share it with anyone who cares to listen! So, despite any adversity, any doubt, I still press on because I want to have my art as a career. I want to treat others how I like to be treated, a golden rule that never goes out of style.

What do you find most rewarding about being creative?

The most rewarding aspect, this one is tricky, there are so many. I’d have to say there are a “top two” for me personally though. First would be the creative freedom, just being able to share the crazy things that live in my head. Being able to make something from nothing. Being able to create a character and a personality through paint and latex. Second would be the reactions of people. I realize not every response will be positive, but I love to hear people get excited. I love it when people see a creature that speaks to them, or when they trust me to bring their vision to life. These are the aspects I adore and live for.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.brandibeast.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebrandibeast/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BrandiBeast

Image Credits
The MHC costume contest photo – Ken Honigman KNB Group Photo – Deverill Weekes