Today we’d like to introduce you to Anna Simpson.
Hi Anna, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I’m a story artist from sunny Los Angeles, California. I enjoy daydreaming about characters and writing little movies in my head, and occasionally they end up on paper. This year I’ve been working as a freelance illustrator for children’s books, having recently graduated in December 2022.
Art and storytelling have always been inseparable in my mind. Glued to an old VHS player in my mother’s bedroom, I spent my childhood immersed in the world of Hayao Miyazaki, my biggest influence today. Watching his young protagonists grapple with purpose, learning to be useful, kind, and respectful while battling doubt, burnout and frustration, built my appreciation for emotional storytelling and themes centered around growing up. I love films that illustrate what it means to struggle and fail and then overcome that adversity in unexpected, sometimes quiet ways.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I was very fortunate in that my parents saw and supported my interests. I attended an arts High School and from there applied to my dream school, Cal Arts. I tried twice but didn’t get in. Feeling a bit lost and reeling from my first major rejection, I shifted my focus to English Literature at the California State University of Long Beach. I was young and inexperienced and felt one “no” meant I wasn’t good enough to be an artist professionally. If I couldn’t draw, I would write and study storytelling in other ways.
It took a couple of semesters of denial, but it finally clicked: I didn’t want to stop drawing, and why not? I drew because it made me happy, and it was my way of loving something; I drew animals, my friends, and characters inspired by my favorite media. Knowing this, I transferred to CSULB’s Pre-Production/Animation program in 2020.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’ve always drawn characters, completely neglecting backgrounds or environment work. I want a character to metaphorically follow around, daydreaming about trouble they’d get into or relationships they’d build. I think about their mental state; what makes them confident or nervous? Do they knock something over or play it cool? How much is surface-level and how much do they hide? Eventually, I have to figure out to the world they live in, and my characters become like actors for the story I want them to tell. This is how I discovered I loved storyboarding, which has become my recent focus.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
I’m a big fan of nostalgia, and I’m curious for my generation of artists’ perspective on childhood through film. I’ve seen it in Pixar’s Turning Red, and I’m excited to see more.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://annasimpsonart.weebly.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annafollies/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/annafollies
