How self-taught CGI found Narromine YouTuber Stan Hanrahan fans around the world

"I've always believed anything's possible if you put your mind to it - but until you get there it doesn't feel real," he told the Daily Liberal.

"I've been making videos for as long as I can remember - I was probably about 5 or 6 when I started mucking around with my family's camera, I would just film myself doing skits and editing them and trying out effects on my family computer."

Mr Hanrahan, a local disability support worker, started his YouTube channel in 2013 while he was still in high school. Now, he has more than 645,000 subscribers and his videos have clocked up over 231 million views.

"When I first started my channel in high school I actually deleted it because I was embarrassed. But then as I got older, and matured a bit more, I realised I didn't really care what people thought and this was something I enjoyed," he said.

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"I met a friend who was really supportive of it and helped out with my videos a lot and he encouraged me to start YouTube again. Then I started uploading and some of my videos started to blow up so I just kept going, and it's gotten me to where I am today."

"It just blows my mind I've had messages from fans in India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Brazil and the USA - it's crazy that I'm here in Dubbo and my videos are reaching people across the world."

Utilising his self-taught skills in visual effects and 3D-printed prop making, Mr Hanrahan's channel features face-offs of characters from famous franchises including Ben 10 and Marvel.

"I learned how to do visual effects through YouTube tutorials and web forums. I haven't gone to uni for it or anything like that, it's all self taught through experimentation and trial and error," he said.

"It's complex - there's a big VFX workflow I have to go through. I have to get the character model, rig it, animate it, texture it and light it. It sounds simple but it can actually take up to a week to just do one scene."

Amidst the colourful chaos of sci-fi and superhero mashups, local viewers may be able to recognise a central west spots Mr Hanrahan has used as locations for his videos and familiar faces like actor Ngali Shaw he's roped in to perform.

"I've been out to Burrendong Dam and did a lake video there - it's really cool filming in different environments," he said.

But it's not only local places he takes inspiration from - for a recent video Mr Hanrahan travelled to South Africa to film with a friend.

"That was amazing - it was a really good experience. I met a lot of awesome people over there who are passionate about film but just don't have the opportunity to get themselves out there, so it was really fun working with those people and giving them a platform," he said.

"My friend who I went over with was born in Africa and he has been in a lot of my videos in the past. So we decided on a script together and wrote it all out and he's got friends over there who are really into film."

Although he earns enough money from his YouTube channel that he could make a full-time job out of it, Mr Hanrahan said he loves his day job as a support worker and doing that means he can focus on making the videos he enjoys.

"I love doing it. I probably could sustain myself just off YouTube but I do enjoy my job and it's good to have another source of income as well because with YouTube it can be up and down - one month I might get nine million views and the next only a few million," he said.

His advice for young people who are thinking about becoming online content creators?

"Find something you love and make videos about it and don't be embarrassed about it and just make a start," he said.

"And study the YouTube algorithm if you want to get big, because there is a way to get your videos viral. Consistency is important - you might make 10 videos and none of them blow up but if you keep going and keep improving you can definitely do it. It is possible!"

"Get yourself out there, do what you love and follow your passion and don't worry too much about what people think."

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