Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kyle Gaynier. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Kyle thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

I have done a lot of creative things over my career — the many nuances and specialities of game design, being a creative leader, director, and consultant, writing and storytelling — but I have learned mostly through doing.

Learning by doing is the most effective way to gain progress. More importantly, you need the feedback loops; that is the complete form of learning by doing.

It is easy to believe that the most essential skill to being a creative is creativity, I found that it is not. The most essential skills are soft skills — how to communicate effectively, how to navigate conflict, how to bring objectivity to subjective conversations, and how to inspire others — those are often much more important than being a creative.

For me, what always stood in my way was finding a good mentor. No matter how far I progress into my career, there is always a sense of doubt. Do I really know what I am doing? Am I doing a good job? Having someone more senior who had been through the ropes to guide me and who I trust is important to me — this is not something that is faciltated for you and I have struggled to find a good mentor, even to this day.

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 back background and context?

Hello!

My name is Kyle Gaynier and I am a creative designer, director, and storyteller. During the day, I work at Netflix as a creative designer for the games publishing arm where I evaluate, guide, and consult with creative directors from all around the world — from indies to the legendary. At night, I run my own storytelling production studio creating stories and directing comics and animations. Most recently, with Paganini Stories, I published a comics anthology called GODS: Untold that gives a voice to creators worldwide to reimagine forgotten gods, myths, and lore of their cultures.

In 2005, I stumbled upon the Games Development program at Michigan State University. I always loved video games growing up and an opportunity to learn how to make them was very intriguing to me. MSU provided me with a great foundation and I moved out to California to make the rest of my dream come true.

In 2019, with my great friend Benjamin Paulus, I decided to start making comics. The decision was driven by a need for autonomy. Working as a creative on a team with multiple layers of stakeholders, true autonomy is never given to any one individual. To make comics with Ben was an opportunity to do that and tell the stories we wanted to.

What stands us apart, is that we know how to create high-quality products end to end. We have a vision, we know what we want, and we know how to execute it. We have been through the ringer a thousand times over, sharpening our perspective tools with surgeon-like precision. My line of work has forced me to understand my audience and how to objectively identify when something works for us or not and parse through the subjective emptiness that is so easy to get lost in.

To date, the GODS: Untold is what I’m currently most proud of with Paganini Stories. Any time I show it to someone, it is an instant sale. We have had people thank us for writing about their culture and gods, and we have had Universities request to use our stories in their teachings! It’s been a fascinating ride and there is no stopping us now — we’ve just kicked off a request for pitches for Volume 2!

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

Self-expression. Knowing what was put out by you is 100% uniquely your creation.

You are the only one that can speak with your voice and know what you will do next. The only thing others can do is copy your style or ideas after you have done them.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

The mission statement of Paganini Stories is to give a voice to the voiceless. With GODS: Untold, we published as many first-timers as we did career professionals. We created a discord channel for other creatives to come in a thrive with each other. Finding a safe space to grow with others, support one another, and learn from professionals is incredibly important and often forgotten about in our fast-paced, winner take all world we live in. We aim to fix that.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.paganinistories.com
• Instagram: @paganinistories
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaganiniStories/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-gaynier/
• Twitter: @paganinistories
• Youtube: @paganinistories
• Other: https://linktr.ee/paganinistories
  https://discord.com/invite/m9eqsAq7py

Image Credits

Benjamin Paulus