We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dana Corrigan a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Dana, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s jump right into how you came up with the idea?

Pencil Gator Animation Studio began from a desire to tell my own stories through animation, starting with the one most dear to me, Fate Saga.

Fate Saga is a fantastical action/animated series about fate and free will and follows a healer who is trying to save her town from natural disasters. She meets a knight who can see the future, and together they embark on a journey across the continent to the Magic School of Dero, where she can learn the magic she needs to save her town, and the knight can warn the continent about the impending apocalypse.

It’s a story of found family and camaraderie. Our heroes uplift each other with their own unique skills and experience, complementing individual weaknesses to survive this growing cataclysm. This end of the world exposes the marrow of us all, unleashing the darkness and selfishness of some, the helpless attitude of so many, and the sacrifice and servitude of true heroes. Even the smallest and the weakest in the world can find strength of spirit. This is a common theme in disaster or zombie film genres where there are monsters or perils all around, but the greatest threat is often the one from the inside.

I’m creating a story I would, as a viewer, want to see: fun and dynamic storytelling respectfully balanced against the backdrop of serious and darker topics. The best way to find purpose in a story is when the viewer decides and discovers and decides truths for themselves. I’ve been developing this story as far back as an animated trailer pitch in 2011 during my thesis for my Master’s in Fine Arts, and have more recently been developing it into a pilot episode in 2019.

Fate Saga’s pilot episode will prove the concept of the storytelling and demonstrate Pencil Gator Animation Studio as a self-sustaining entity.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I knew since I was young that I wanted to be a storyteller, animator, and create my own animated series. However, like most fledgling creators, I was advised to have a backup or even a primary source of income because it can take a long time to establish ourselves in our field. I took that advice but wanted my ‘primary source of income’ to relate in some way to animation, so ultimately pursued a Master of Fine Arts in Animation both to improve my skill set and to open the possibility to teach animation at the college level.

Since graduating with my MFA in 2011, I’ve worked as an animation instructor as my primary job and freelanced on the side. Yet I never lost my initial drive to create my own series. I’ve had a story in mind for a long time, Fate Saga, which I had my first opportunity to pitch in 2011 through Savannah College of Art and Design. It was a great learning experience and had since refined and retried the pitch in 2013, and while it received generally positive feedback it’s an understandable challenge to get a project picked up by a network especially if it doesn’t have an established fanbase. I eventually had to put down the project for a time and focus on building an income.

As a freelance animator, I’ve occasionally assembled small teams to tackle larger projects, sometimes hiring former and current students. Through these projects I developed prowess in gauging the strengths of my students and teammates and insight for where their skills would best fit a production.

In the more recent years, I grew more interested in the possibilities open to independent artists and companies through festivals, online channels and streaming services, and in 2019 decided to rework Fate Saga and create a pilot episode myself. However, creating an animated film solo is incredibly difficult, and to do so would be to confine the project to the skills and limitations of a single person.

I wanted my project to have the best of me, without my limitations. I brought on some of my former freelance teammates and star students to help fill the gaps in my skill sets, paying them out of pocket. We worked on production slowly but surely, and I’ve been excited to see how much further we could go as a team than we could ever dream to go ourselves.

Last year we officially became Pencil Gator Animation Studio and I had the fantastic opportunity to present the project as part of Siggraph’s 2021 Birds of a Feather: Women In Animation event. This year we’ve also found some success in fundraising and public interest in the project, which has helped expedite production. I’m excited to see the project gain momentum and eager to see where it goes from here!

We’d love to hear about you met your business partner.

I met James back in 2012, shortly after finishing Grad School while promoting an earlier version of Fate Saga. He had some hard questions about the project from a business standpoint, which were helpful because my expertise was on the production side. We started working together soon after, revamping Fate Saga into an updated presentation, as well as creating pitch materials for a few other creative entities. It was with his help that we had the opportunity to present both Fate Saga and our other projects to Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network and he’s a valuable ally with the business side of Pencil Gator Animation Studio.

I met Joseph this year at the Toon Boom ATE 2022. I was preparing to launch the Kickstarter campaign to help expedite Fate Saga’s production and used the event as an opportunity to network. We got to talking during a panel, connected on LinkedIn, soon after he met James and we’ve been working together since. Joseph is an incredible wealth of information, sales experience and helps to add another level of believability and insight into the project.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

This is a matter near and dear to my heart. Often creatives must choose between two paths – Focus on a different field while pursuing the arts as a hobby or put their all into their creative field of choice. Both have their pitfalls. Sometimes, the alternative job can siphon all of their time and energy, leaving the artist with little to create with and unable to commit fully to artistic opportunities even when they’re presented. It’s hard to find the right balance between creation and financial security with little bridge in between.

On the other hand, of the tribulations that come with a creative career, one of the most common is burnout. There can a culture of overworking, underpaying or paying in ‘exposure’ that can create a toxic environment for creatives. I stress to my students the importance of a healthy work/life balance and to put their shining stars on clients and companies that will treat them well and provide a net benefit to their lives. I aim to make Pencil Gator Animation Studio that kind of place.

Ultimately, I feel that maintaining high morale is being upfront and realistic on what both your team and your company have to offer each other in terms of time, resources, and value, as well as establishing a positive rapport of trust, reliability and communication.

In addition to payment, we offer free training seminars for our team in software and animation techniques. Being a remote studio, our teammates set their own hours and take as much work as they comfortably can without sacrificing their mental or physical health. In addition, we have an online group chat our team can optionally use to connect with each other casually, see what each other are working on and develop a feeling of camaraderie.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.fatesaga.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pencilgator/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fatesaga
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dana-corrigan-18867213/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/fatesaga
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpweR7y2VhthPX_NQVCSjPw

Image Credits
Amber Newman Cassandra Jacobsen Dana Corrigan Kennedi Perez Severin Piehl