We sat down with Nina Okafor, storyboard artist on cult-favorite show Paperback Patrol, for a breezy hour about breaking into the industry, drawing the same cat five thousand times, and the single worst note she’s ever received.
On getting into storyboarding
“I didn’t know this job existed until I was 22. I studied illustration, hated being alone with a canvas for eight hours, and stumbled into a tiny studio that needed someone to draw floor plans for a chicken. That chicken paid my rent for a year.”
On drawing the same character repeatedly
“You invent little games. On Paperback Patrol, I drew the cat in the style of every famous painting we could think of. The director never approved any of them, but they live rent-free in our slack channel. Someday I’ll publish them.”
The worst note she’s ever received
“Make the character more funny. But like, don’t change anything.”
A producer, to Nina, in 2022
We asked what she did. She shrugged and said: “I added a hat. They loved it. The show won an Annie.” Animation is a stupid, beautiful industry.
Advice for newcomers
- Storyboard real TV episodes as practice — draw over muted scenes
- Keep a single, tiny sketchbook. Don’t go big.
- Every studio wants someone who can pace a scene. Study comedy timing.
- Say yes to the weird gigs. They teach you more than the good gigs.
Nina’s next project is still under NDA, but she confirmed it “involves a very angry moth.” We’ll be watching.
