A character designer, an animator, and a storyteller, Stephanie Hull is a Visual Development Artist who is starting to dip her feet deep into the multi-billion dollar animation industry. Born 1992 in Southern California, Stephanie has had her share of exposure to the world of animation thanks to her aunt working in advertising, and growing up with a family that took many trips to Disneyland throughout the years. It was during those same years that Stephanie learned just how powerful the bond between family is, and would be a central theme throughout the stories she’d bring to life through writing and her art. Although she wouldn’t pursue a career in art and animation until much later in life, Stephanie owes much of her success to her family and the friends who have stuck by her every step of the way.

Stephanie graduated from the University of Central Florida in May 2021. After four years, she was awarded a B.F.A for Emerging Media with a specialization in Experimental Animation. Although this wouldn’t be her first college journey. Stephanie had studied a number of subjects including Theatre, Game Design, and even Psychology. Although it took her many years and a few incomplete majors, Stephanie finally found her calling in art and animation. Throughout her college career, she always had the goal of being an animator in mind, but also found a new passion in Character Design, which led to an even bigger goal of working in Visual Development.

Although she is new to the animation industry, Stephanie continues to devote her daily life to working toward her dream job, as well as continuing to improve both artistically and personally. Her recent career credits include volunteer work on animated ecards, as well as commissions and acting as a mentor for a friend and fellow artist who is still working on her own college career. Stephanie has also completed a couple of animated projects including the short films “The Great Escape” and “One Critter’s Trash”. “One Critter’s Trash” is also set to be submitted for numerous film festivals including Florida Animation Festival and Animotion Film Fest. She has a number of projects in development including two short films and two animated series, all of which are still in pre-production. Although they are still in the early stages of development, Stephanie looks forward to sharing her work with the world whether it’s through her own personal projects, or collaborating with others.

Artist Statement

Because my work has a narrative approach to it, I will always find a way to include an original character with each new piece, whether they're brand new, or a character I've had for a long time, or even just an animal. However, I've also learned that the environment is a character too. I like to develop these worlds and environments that have their own stories. I like adding little details that bring the world to life and make the observer feel like they're stepping out of the real world and into a fantasy-inspired world that's vibrant, colorful, and lively.

My reasons for working primarily digitally in Clip Studio Paint are that I have all of my resources, materials, and there’s that sense of saving time because there are shortcuts you can take working digitally. There’s also more room for error. If I want to try something new, I can save an extra copy of the piece, try it out, and if it doesn’t work, I still have the original copy and haven’t completely lost it. Although I work digitally, my process is pretty traditional. I sketch out my illustrations, paint with the flat colors, and then I go in and start working on lighting, shadows, and effects to give it depth and make it pop.

I’ve always considered myself to be not just an artist but a visual storyteller. When I create a piece of work, I always ask myself, how am I going to convey and interpret this story that I have created in my head through a piece of art? There’s an old saying that a picture is worth a thousand words, and it’s true. If a piece of art is successful, you can interpret an entire story just from looking at that single frame. That’s always my goal. I have the big picture in mind, and then I start drawing, but once it’s on the paper, I start to ask myself questions about the character’s personality and backstory. This process helps me develop three-dimensional characters.

I, like many artists, grew up on animated films. When someone looks at my art, I want them to think that it’s something they could see developing into an animated film or series. I would love for my audience to walk away from my art feeling like they’ve learned something because each of us has a story to tell, including those that only exist in our imagination.