Before an animated film or series dazzles audiences with motion, color, and sound, it begins with something deceptively simple a sketch. Storyboarding is the bridge between imagination and production, turning raw ideas into structured visual narratives. To better understand this essential process, we speak with Ifetoye Victory Kiss, Lead Comic Artist, Cleanup Supervisor and storyboard artist at Spoof Animations. With his experience shaping stories from scribbles to polished frames, Kiss shares insights into the art of storyboarding, the challenges of visual storytelling, and how creativity transforms into animation on screen.
Can we meet you. Tell us about yourself?
Hi my name is Ifetoye Victory Kiss. I am Lead comic Artist / cleanup supervisor and storyboard artist at spoof.
If your illustration style were a Nigerian dish, which would it be and why?
I’d say Jollof rice and chicken! because it’s appealing and no one literally says no to a plate of jollof rice especially when it comes with a lot of special ingredients. My art style embodies intricate details that make you marvel and long for more.
When you pick up your pencil or tablet pen, do you think more like a painter, a storyteller, or a problem solver?
I think like a storyteller and a problem solver, I don’t just want to draw stuff for fun, I want to touch lives and inspire others through my art.
Cleanup is often overlooked but so crucial. If cleanup work had a superpower, what would it be?
I’ll call clean-up a rescue team. Because I started as a clean-up artist before becoming an animator and I can tell you that clean up plays a huge role when it comes to animation. Though being overlooked, however it’s the clean-up lines we see after the production has been concluded thus making it a very vital aspect in the animation pipeline.
Can you recall a moment when a “tiny correction” in cleanup completely changed the feel of a scene?
As a clean-up supervisor I look out for the minute details in each shot because it’s these little things that builds up to make the animation a masterpiece at the end of the day.
Storyboards are like a comic before the motion. Do you see yourself more as a comic artist in disguise or a film director with a sketchpad?
Honestly, I see myself as a celestial being who has been blessed with creative powers to excel in all these areas. Most especially in drawing Comics.
If you could storyboard a scene from any Nigerian folktale or myth, which one would it be, and how would you frame the first shot?
Well, the popular Ijapa (tortoise) story will be my first catch and I’ll establish the first shot with ijapa having a long white beard and a fila (cap), like the ones our elders puts on to depict how wise they are.
Which do you secretly enjoy more: the chaos of rough sketches or the discipline of clean lines?
On this ground I’ll stand in between. When it comes to animation I enjoy the clean lines but when we’re talking about comics and storyboards, I’ll go for the rough sketches.
If Spoof Animation gave you one week to design any project you wanted, no rules, no limits what would Kiss create?
I would create a 10-page comic for Vantage, full of fight and pure action just like The Batman.
How do you think your work in illustration, animation, cleanup, and storyboarding contributes to raising the quality benchmark for Spoof and the Nigerian industry at large?
As we all know, “A tree cannot make a forest”. So, it’s not just about my work! it’s I and my team coming together to give our best in order to raise that quality benchmark that’ll stand the test of time for not only Spoof, but the Nigerian industry as a whole.
For young creatives dreaming of your role, what’s one myth about animation work they should forget and one truth they must hold on to?
For the young creatives out there, animation is not just a kiddies show, It’s for everyone. So, make sure you’re passionate and dedicated to it because your works eventually get to lots of places and people even before you do.