We recently connected with Kelsey Wooley and have shared our conversation below.

Kelsey, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

I’ve worked on many of projects that have meant a lot to me in so many ways. One of the biggest has been being a storyboard artist and then later storyboard director on both season one and two of the Nickelodeon series, “Santiago of the Seas.” The series was my first leap into doing storyboards full-times for a television series and I couldn’t ask for a better production to start on. It was amazing to work on such a fun and beautiful series that had such a diverse cast, both in the show and within the crew. The leadership was incredible, especially the show creator Niki Lopez, and it was a production that really brought out the best in everyone.

Another project that has meant so much to me, especially in the last year, has been doing weekly volunteering at a local animal sanctuary in Tarzana, CA called Safarmi Santuary. I started volunteering after visiting for one event they held, “Baby Goat Movie Night” where visitors could watch animated films among the goats and other animals. As a big animal lover, I fell in love with place and started to come back every Sunday. Last year had been a rough and draining year, but the mornings I spend with the other volunteers, helping care for and bond with the pigs, dogs, one-eyed horse, and many, many goats has brought me so much joy during a dark period.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Well, my name is Kelsey Wooley and I’m a storyboard artist and director for animation and have been in the industry for about 6 years now. I’m currently in LA, but was born in raised with five other sisters in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, though I studied animation at the Savannah College of Art & Design in Georgia. I’ve worked primarily on series for television/streaming though I would love to get experience on some feature projects. Some past series I’ve done storyboards for have been Nickelodeon’s Santiago of the Seas, Oddbot Inc/Netflix’s season of Action Pack, some animated shorts for Noggin, and currently I’m back at Nickelodeon to help out on Baby Shark’s Big Show. Besides storyboarding, I also have experience in doing comics- done a lot of comics for the Loud House and Casagrande series- and I’ve recently gotten into writing and am aiming for finish a fantasy novel for middle-grade kids.

I got into animation because I grew up loving animated series and films. My twin sister and I would make up stories about all of favorite cartoon characters and practice drawing them all the time. All I ever wanted as kid was to create stories about fun, cute animal characters like the ones in the many book series I read like Warriors and Redwall.

I think, as an artist, what sets me apart is how enthusiastically I will get into a project. It’s very easy for me to grow attached to characters, especially ones I have to draw for 8 hours a day. When I’m boarding, I’ll throw myself into making the characters as fun and appealing as possible so the audience will love them as much as I do.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

My main goal that helps drive my creative journey so to just create stuff that will make people happy and help them grow and be curious about the world around them. I want to draw and write stuff that my child-self would have loved to see.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I think anyone can be creative. I think creativity is a skill that, like any other skills, just needs to be nurtured and practiced. To be creative, you gotta work to find what inspires you and gives you a spark of curiosity. That come from anywhere. I usually find in the many books I read or whenever I find a new, fun series or film to watch or just from a hike in nature or playing with goats or my pet cat.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://kelseywooley.com/Storyboards
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/strixmoonwing/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelsey-wooley-54357a42/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Kelsey_R_W
• Other: https://bsky.app/profile/strixmoonwing.bsky.social