Within 30-seconds of meeting him, I know that Vandalia senior Carter Jourdan is kind of amazing. His art isn’t just about drawing what’s in front of him—it’s about imagining entire worlds that don’t yet exist. His sketchbook, his phone, even scraps of paper become launchpads for characters and storylines that could one day leap into animation. “I’d love to be an animator. I just want to create things,” he says.

Carter admits he’s still learning, still working on depth and backgrounds, still feeling like his characters sometimes outshine the settings around them. But he isn’t discouraged. In fact, he sees each piece as part of a process. “I’ve improved a lot since freshman year. I draw every day. I just try to make progress.”

His inspiration started close to home. Growing up, Carter and his brother Riley spent countless hours watching cartoons together. That bond became the seed of Carter’s creative drive. “I always wished I had something of my own,” he explains. Soon he was inventing characters, writing stories, and even producing short comics.

The dream, though, is to go further—to bring those creations to life through animation. Even without professional tools, Carter finds a way. “I mostly just use Flipaclip on my phone. People might frown on it, but it works,” he says with a shrug. His commitment is less about the platform and more about the practice. “I just need to understand how to animate. I need to keep getting better.”

Inspiration for Carter’s ideas can strike anywhere. One of his favorites is a Saturday morning–style cartoon concept called “Zlarpy and Svenka.” Zlarpy, an alien dog rebelling against his space pirate father, crash-lands in a doghouse-shaped escape pod in the backyard of Svenka, a girl who has recently moved to America from Siberia. She mistakes him for a strange American breed of dog, adopting him despite his odd habits, like cooking breakfast or standing at the toilet. From there, Carter’s universe expands with magical space hippos, alley cats with shadow-puppet powers, and plenty of comedic twists.

While the characters might be outrageous, the heart of the story is serious. “I like when cartoons have sweet or sentimental moments,” Carter says. He points to favorite episodes of SpongeBob SquarePants that pause the silliness to reveal genuine friendship or regret. “Even in a goofy story, you can still tell something compelling.”

Carter’s talent hasn’t gone unnoticed. He has taken multiple classes with art teacher Brooke Renfro, from Art and Art Portfolio to today’s Graphic Design program at Okaw. “Her class is always the most fun,” he says. She has given him both the tools and encouragement to keep pushing forward.

As graduation approaches, Carter’s path isn’t set in stone. College is likely, perhaps at Greenville University, where his mother works—making tuition free. But wherever he goes, art will be central. “Oh yeah, I’d love to stick with art,” he says simply.

For now, he keeps sketching, writing, and dreaming—aware that perfection isn’t the point. Each drawing is another step toward the world he’s building, one character at a time. And though Carter Jourdan may be just 17, the universe he’s imagining is already wide open.