Stories are my jam.
I'm a director, storyboard artist, screenwriter, and 2d animator.
Currently,
I'm directing a series of shorts (called Sunny Side Down) at MAKE, an animation studio in downtown Minneapolis. Outside of directing, I help the team with screenwriting, styleframes, storyboards, whatever MAKE needs.
I also serve as President of Nice Moves, a local nonprofit working to build community amongst animators, motion designers, and visual effects artists in Minnesota. I put together monthly meetups, mentorship mixers, speaker events, anijams, and more as part of my not-so-secret mission to help indie animation flourish here.
I grew up on Soviet animation as the child of Russian immigrants and they haven't gotten me to stop drawing since. Don't worry— their trademark Russian fatalism has bled into my approach only a tad bit. I like to make work that laughs at the end times and then offers some comfort, like handing you a steaming cup of tea in Siberian sub-zero winter.
Have (metaphorical) tea with me by reaching out at nataliapoteryakhin@gmail.com.