From Art to Animation

Photos and Writing by Sanna Wright

Kira Norman has a passion for drawing. She loves the limitless ways she can explore her imagination, and all the ways she can break traditional rules in her art. Kira has turned her talent into a career, studying animation and starting her own web comic. She spends hours at her kitchen table cultivating new characters for her stories, and studying the masters of animation. One day she hopes to become a storyboard artist, putting her own twist on animated stories. In my images, I wanted to capture each stage of her process, her sketches and animation work, and her inspiration.

Close-up of Drawing Hand

Kira's hand as she sketches a person.

Kira Draws

Kira likes to sit in her kitchen in natural light as she draws.

Drawing of a Woman

One of Kira's Sketches.

Drawing of a Girl

One of Kira's Characters.

Drawing

One of Kira's colored drawings.

A comic

One of Kira's sketches.

Painting of a Man

Kira has also dabbled in painting. This large painting uses crumpled paper, paints, and old grocery bags.

Kira holds a book

Kira uses books about animated shows for inspiration. Here Kira looks at a book with story boards from the TV show Steven Universe.

A Drawing Tablet

Kira use a tablet to work on her web comic. The glove on her hand helps prevent her from accidentally click on the screen. This makes it feel like drawing on paper.

Storyboards

Kira hopes to be a storyboard artist herself one day.