Episode 13: How to Extend Reality with Kathryn Hicks

Kathryn Hicks' artistic journey began with a childhood obsession with dragons that her mother once warned would never lead to financial success. Starting as a traditional artist with a strong foundation in drawing and painting, Kathryn was initially "anti-digital art" before completely reversing course. At the University of Memphis, she studied studio art before transitioning to graphic design, which taught her to think differently about creative work. Her path then led to SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design), where she initially pursued animation before discovering 3D modeling was her true passion. The pivotal moment in her career came in 2015 when she experienced virtual reality at SCAD and immediately knew it was her calling. This led to working with extended reality (XR) technologies in medical device training, creating augmented reality experiences for Snapchat, and eventually founding Creature Studio (named for her love of dragons). Her expertise in spatial thinking, 3D design, and world-building culminated in her being chosen to create a location-based augmented reality experience for HBO's House of the Dragon through Snapchat, bringing her childhood dragon obsession full circle in her professional career.