Fierce Exploration
Kayleen Sokol exercises visual narrative
Wolf Criers Club
Vol 9
Wolf Criers Club is a collective assembly of illustrators, writers, designers, and wolves. Follow this pack of jolly creatives on Substack and see what we make of it. In the upcoming months we will host artist hang-outs via Zoom and work-shares. If you have any reflections or questions please comment or message us.
We came together a year ago through an online course from SVS Learn called Children’s Book Pro, a deep dive into the professional world of picture book making. We’ve been meeting ever since. The Wolf Criers are a multi-national group of art-types helping each other navigate the world of publishing and connect our work with audiences.
In these opening weeks of our newsletter we are introducing members of the art-pack. This time around it’s Wolf Crier Kayleen Sokol. Over this past year, she has proven herself to be a focused learner of new skills, inviting critique of her illustrations. Her determination up-her-game is apparent every time she submits work to the How to Fix Your Art monthly challenge from SVS Learn pros.
What separates an illustration from a picture is storytelling. A good illustration must tell a story or it will fall flat. Kayleen explores the possibilities of character-driven visual narrative. She is a youthful artist with a fierceness and dedication that is evident in her work.
A little bit about Kayleen
Kayleen is an illustrator who lives in Orem, Utah. Like some neurodivergent people, she’s been interested in many forms of art for her whole life; including animation, music, dancing, and of course drawing.
She loves learning new things about the world, and exploring imaginary worlds, especially fairytale reimaginings. Most importantly, she believes that the world is a better place when you show love and kindness and expect the best in people. She hopes to illustrate stories that share those things with children through picture books.
Kayleen is currently working on her portfolio but will be sharing it all on her website very soon. You can find her previous works and follow her updates on places like Cara and Pinterest. On Tiktok and Instagram look for @KayleenArtLover
5 Questions for Kayleen
Where are you from originally and where are you located now?
I grew up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, until I was 16. Then my family moved to Utah. Both are beautiful places. Utah has so many more restaurant options than if you’re traveling through Pennsylvania, and is a great place to visit in the summer for swim weather. I had to trade being around beautiful big trees and farmland for views of mountains that get covered in snow for half of the year. I do miss the smell of fresh air after a rainy night, back on the east coast. It’s too dry here to feel that.
How did you get your name?
It’s pronounced “KAY-LeeeeeN”. My name comes from family names, including my grandmother Kathleen. My family just calls me Kaylee. Clever nickname, I know.
Who was an important influence, teacher, or mentor?
My family has always been supportive of my love of drawing. My art teacher Miss Martin gifted me my first sketchbook before starting middle school. I filled several more sketchbooks through high school. I had teachers and tutors and learned a lot through studying animation from books, behind the scenes of movies, and youtube tutorials. I even made my own animations and shared them on YouTube: ArtLover Animation.
When did you start taking your art seriously?
I thought seriously about art being my career, studying it in college, since I was in middle school. My inspiration was animation “behind the scenes” in the storyboarding. It wasn’t until I was in college when I discovered an illustration podcast and online art program called School of Visual Storytelling, when I remembered my old picture books and stories I’d written over the years. Thanks to them, I rediscovered the world of picture book illustration.
What is grabbing your attention this year?
As far as hobbies go, I recently found an interest in a game called Dungeons and Dragons. There are some fun podcasts and shows I like to listen to, especially a youtube channel called Dingo Doodles. I’ve even played D&D with members of my family once in a while. It’s a very imaginative game, great for creative thinking and team-building.
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What’s your current fave creative inspiration? Tell us in the comments.
The wolf-wearing-glasses logo is by Wolf Crier Michael Luk.
The editor this week is Kato McNickle.