By Chris Dietrich
Becoming an author in high school is a huge endeavor. For Lillian Morris, this has become a passionate adventure. Morris has her plate full of activities, from co-illustrating pictures with a Disney employee to playing in a jazz band. On top of these, she also runs a small YouTube channel, where she posts animations in her free time.
“When we begin illustrating a book, I work with my mentor and do it week by week. We meet to discuss character designs and brainstorm ideas we want to create. It’s a process of many drafts before we finalize a design, and we send the author a page at a time to make sure it meets their expectations,” Morris said.
Morris also balances classes at Oklahoma City Community College (OCCC) and Oklahoma City University. (OKCU) Throughout these classes and classes at high school, she has learned how to structure her time correctly. “I was in OCCC’s jazz band first semester and had to drop it to make space for my other classes. I take online classes at OCCC, but I take my concept development class at OCU, which is where I learn to illustrate art. Learning how to balance my time helped me to find time for myself,” Morris said.
Morris also runs her YouTube channel, furthering her animation skills as she composes her art. Art has been a part of her life since she was young; she drew away as soon as possible. “Cartoons got me interested in animation. When I created my channel, I wanted to make videos that caught people’s attention. I like to put a spin on events that happen at school in my videos as well. At some point, I want to create a YouTube animation series and see where it leads,” Morris said.
