Mckenzie Gardner combines technical skill and undeniable creativity to make the cutest animations. Growing up, she was always doodling and drawing, but it wasn’t until last year that she decided to take her talent to the digital realm. Her first animation, made in May 2019, features a fashionably dressed girl and her poodle frolicking in a pink desert.
A few months later, Mckenzie’s distinctly girly Y2K style caught the eye of the popular clothing brand Unif. Mckenzie perfectly captured the trendy brand’s aesthetic in the following animation, which features a game of digital dress up with Unif clothes.
After Unif saw and reposted Mckenzie’s video, she gained exposure as an artist and soon received messages from others eager to request commissions. Ruby Lyn and 4UONLYUSA are just two examples of popular influencers and brands that she has worked with since.
The attention to detail in Mckenzie’s work makes it hard to believe that she is self-taught. Mckenzie told SHEESH!, “I’ve really just been figuring everything out as I go. I visualize a lot of it but sometimes I’ll reference cartoons and look at them frame by frame to see a breakdown of how it all works. I’m definitely not a master, I still have so much to learn! The main thing that has helped me to get better is just doing it everyday. I’m incredibly self critical so I think I’ll always see room for improvement.”
Lately, in addition to animations, Mckenzie Gardner has been working on designing clothing and creating an art book. “The brand I’m working on is going to be called Subspace. I’m hoping to put some of the designs I’ve been working on out in the next month or so. The art book is something I’ve been working on with my friends and it’s going to have a bunch of photographs, prints and some interviews with other artists.” Fashion and art have always been Mckenzie’s main form of self-expression, and she looks forward to continually working within these creative fields.
Check out more of Mckenzie’s animations and keep up with her other creative endeavors on Instagram.
