Katherine Majeske

BA in Art & Design

McCanney Middle School Anime Club

My motivation for art has always come from my desire to tell stories. Sometimes I find that when planning out big projects for school or other people, the fun part about making art gets lost. That’s where McCanney Middle School Anime Club comes in – I wanted to create something reminiscent of my anime obsessed childhood coupled with my current style of humor. Storyboarding captured my imagination, and I wanted to explore that medium within my project. Script writing, concept art, reference art, voice acting, and video editing all came together for the final animatic of this project. My ultimate goal was to take memories that I held dear and transform them in a way that they were easily understood by anyone who saw the animatic – regardless of whether or not they had summoned a demon in their garage during seventh grade. The characters in McCanney Middle School Anime Club were either based off of me or friends I had during childhood. The great thing about storytelling is that anyone can do it, and I believe the best work comes from authentic thoughts and experiences. In the future I want to develop more of my storytelling skills so that I may work as a storyboard artist.

McCanney Middle School Anime Club animatic


Visual reference for Sarah Henris, one of the main characters in the McCanney Middle School Anime Club project. She has a blonde bob and streaks of pink in her hair reminiscent of mid 2000s scene culture. Her backpack looks like a small pink rabbit.

Sarah Henris reference art

Visual reference for Jasper Cassius Addington, one of the main characters in the McCanney Middle School Anime Club project. One of the edgier members of the club, Jasper wears a short black cape with a skull on it. He also wears blue skinny jeans and red sneakers.

Jasper Cassius Addington reference art

Visual reference for Caroline Park, one of the main characters in the McCanney Middle School Anime Club project. Caroline wears a purple set of headphones with cat ears on them and a fake tail to complete the look. Her dark hair is tied up in a ponytail and over her shoulder Caroline wears a messenger bag.

Caroline Park reference art

Visual reference for Yaraziel, one of the main characters in the McCanney Middle School Anime Club project. Yaraziel is an otherworldly being, his body consists of a large sphere with four wings attached to it. On his face is one large eye with a deep red pupil and above it are three smaller eyes. Above Yaraziel's body is a floating halo.

Yaraziel reference art

These are sketches to plan out the characters in McCanney Middle School Anime Club. To the right of the image is Sarah Henris dressed in a hoodie dress and a pair of headphones. To the left of the image is Jasper Cassius Addington wearings a set of fingerless gloves.

McCanney Middle School Anime Club concept art 1

These are sketches to plan out the characters in McCanney Middle School Anime Club. This page featured explorations of the hairstyles for Sarah, Jasper, and Caroline. Caroline is shown with her bangs pinned back into a messy ponytail and Sarah is drawn with many decorative hair clips in her hair. Jasper's bangs are shorter to reveal his eyes.

McCanney Middle School Anime Club concept art 2

These are sketches to plan out the characters in McCanney Middle School Anime Club. This picture shows a sketch for an early design of Yaraziel, along with some initial naming ideas. Yaraziel is drawn with a large circle around him with many eyes.

McCanney Middle School Anime Club concept art 3

These are sketches to plan out the characters in McCanney Middle School Anime Club. This image shows initial plans for Caroline and Jasper. Caroline's bangs are pushed back by a headband with cat ears on them. Jasper is wearing a longer cape that reaches his waist.

McCanney Middle School Anime Club concept art 4

These are sketches to plan out the characters in McCanney Middle School Anime Club. This picture has notes for wardrobe ideas for Caroline and Jasper. Caroline is wearing a jacket and a pair of bootcut jeans. Jasper is wearing an open cape with a short scarf wrapped around his neck.

McCanney Middle School Anime Club concept art 5