OWARI KIDS
This two-week workshop brought together six participants, split into two teams, to create original children’s media inspired by experiences from the African Diaspora. Our group included creatives from North America, the Caribbean, and Africa, bringing diverse perspectives to the project.
My contribution was a short 2D animated dream sequence featuring the main character, Abena. Below, you can see my initial storyboard sketches, the completed animation, and our team’s initial draft (pending a final edit).
Role
Illustration, Animation
Tools
Procreate
Our team brainstormed ideas together, then worked with our scriptwriter to refine them into a final script. From there, I created storyboards for key scenes, including a dream sequence featuring the main character, Abena.
Midway through production, I was informed by the script writer that Abena’s hairstyle would change to cornrows, so I revised my storyboard and animation to reflect the update.
Once the animation was complete, I passed it to our video editor, who combined it with live-action footage, images, and clips for the initial final cut.
While the actor’s hair and skin tone in the footage ended up matching my earlier sketches rather than the updated animation, this experience taught me the importance of confirming visual direction with all collaborators before final delivery.
The final animated sequence for the project.
The full project short film.