Twelve-year-old Ravyn Whitebird stared across the empty classroom in shock. She could hear the snickers of girls filing in behind her as they came in from recess. The room was littered with loose-leaf paper torn from her sketchbook. She began to pick up the pages, each one revealing a new insult scribbled in red ink over her artwork. Face red with embarrassment, Whitebird stuffed them in the trash and ran to the restroom crying.
Despite being humiliated by the event, she knew nothing could deter her from drawing. It was then that Whitebird realized how deep her dedication to art ran.
Now 16, Whitebird is going into her junior year at Indianhoma High School in Indianhoma, Okla., where she continues to refine her drawing skills. She still doodles in class, not allowing the memory of ridicule to keep her from a craft that has always been a part of her life.
She said she remembers drawing from the time her fingers could properly cradle a pencil, but it wasn’t the only thing she loved. As a child, Whitebird was enamored with Disney and Pixar characters, and spent her time watching and connecting with them.
“It’s the curiosity that I share with the characters. That’s what gets me,” Whitebird said. “That’s why I love Disney.”
As she grew older, she started drawing characters she created. Whitebird said that when she draws, she focuses on being able to tell the stories of her characters within a single picture.
Her love for animation has expanded beyond cartoons. When she was 9 years old, Whitebird’s sister, Melinda Geimausaddle, introduced her to the world of Japanese animation. Whitebird was immediately hooked. Along with her original work, she started drawing her favorite anime characters, and found that she had a knack for it.
Another source of inspiration for Whitebird is her American Indian culture. She is heavily involved with her Comanche and Quapaw tribes. She performs in tribal dances, sings in the Comanche language and attends Quapaw tribal meetings as a youth representative. Her culture plays an influential part in her artwork, with many of her drawings featuring aspects of her life as an American Indian.
Whitebird has received multiple requests for her work from family and friends, and even had a request from an aunt to use one of her pieces for a tattoo. T
The sister who introduced her to anime often urges her to set up a stand at anime conventions to sell her work, and her father, Robert Whitebird — a man with a strong competitive streak — urges her to compete in art contests.
Ravyn Whitebird chooses not to do either.
“I appreciate all art styles. I don’t feel it’s something that should be a competition. It means something different to everyone,” she said.
Whitebird recently began sharpening her skills by attending a 3D animation class at Great Plains Vocational Technical School in Lawton, Okla.
She said that on her first day of class her instructor asked the students to raise their hands if they were interested in animating for Disney and Pixar. She raised her hand, assured she had come to the right place.
“The class at vo-teach got me inspired,” Whitebird said. “The class was ultimately leading up to my dream.”
As she nears high school graduation, Whitebird said she constantly keeps an eye out for colleges that might offer opportunities with animation studios. She also is open to opportunities with Japanese animation companies and studying abroad.
