BIOS: Kellie-Bea

Kellie-Bea Rainey

Kellie-Bea Rainey was born in San Diego, California. Kellie-Bea had a natural talent in fine arts and theatrical arts, but her true love was getting friends together and "Putting on a show". Kellie-Bea followed in her older brother’s aspirations of working within animation, comic books, and interactive games. As they both grew up, her brother played the games and collected the comic books, and Kellie-Bea created new games and drew comic book art.

In 1994 Kellie-Bea graduated college at San Diego State University in Liberal Arts in an independently designed three departmental degree. The three departments were: Interactive Multimedia (Education Technology), Children’s Theater, Family Studies and Consumer Sciences. She also holds certificates in Children’s Literature and teaching English as a Second Language (ESL). With this background, Kellie-Bea wanted to develop interactive edutainment for teenagers and young adults. She had dreams of doing interactive Shakespeare.

Kellie-Bea started off in the animation and special effects industry directly out of college in the summer of 1994, as an intern at the SPFX house Pacific Title Digital in Los Angeles. Here she learned how 2D and 3D animation and effects work in commercials, theme parks, and feature films like Stargate, Clear and Present Danger, and The Little Rascals.

Getting the CG bug, Kellie-Bea heard about and researched the SIGGRAPH organization. In doing so, she landed a job working for two aspects of the National SIGGRAPH convention in 1995, where she managed the Online Website and was the administrator for the Interactive Communities venue. Finding and managing talent and bringing a project together as a production has found a home within Kellie-Bea. Yet with all this new technology behind her, Kellie-Bea wanted to learn more about traditional animation, storytelling, and interactive multimedia.

After working for SIGGRAPH, she began work as a Production Coordinator at The Baer Animation traditional animation house from 1995-1996. Here she learned every aspect of traditional cel animation and some computer animation for TV, aspects of feature film, interactive Multimedia, as well as theme park attractions. Here she was also introduced to digital ink and paint. Kellie-Bea gradually worked her way up to Production Manager, then left the company to become an animation writer and independent freelance animation and special effects Producer.

Kellie-Bea is currently heading the Writer’s Group for Women In Animation, producing independent traditional and computer animation films, teaches ‘Aspects of Storytelling’ and ‘Character Development for Animation’ at the local university, nurtures an online interactive mentorship for women in the industry, and enjoys her life with her four cats and her charming boyfriend.