Story Machine Studio LLC  

Part 1: I Created an Animated Web Series in 12 Weeks — And You Can Too

Ever dream of having your own show? I have – for years.

I’ve written pilot scripts, treatments, and short plays. I’ve imagined characters and scenes so vividly that I storyboarded them just to get them out of my head. But for years, those ideas stayed stuck on the page — not because I lacked the vision, but because I didn’t have the tools, the team, or the budget to bring them fully to life.

Until now.

In just twelve weeks, I created an animated web series called Celebrity Dad Joke Roast — designing the characters, building the sets, writing the script, directing the voiceover, and producing the pilot, all on my own. I used AI tools to help with some of the heavy lifting, but make no mistake: this was a deeply human creative process from start to finish.

In this 10-part creator diary series, Creating an Animated Web Series, I’ll walk you through how I made the show — and why I believe you can do something like this too. I’ll share the tools I used (including Showrunner, ElevenLabs, Adobe Creative Suite, Perplexity, and a custom GPT), the creative decisions I wrestled with, and how I’m experimenting with new AI storytelling platforms to build a world that invites fan co-creation. Whether you’re a seasoned artist or just curious about what’s possible with today’s tools, you’ll find something here.

Meet Your Guide: An Artist, Writer, and Creative Technologist

I’m a writer, visual artist, and creative technologist. I’ve spent decades making stories in many forms including: literary fiction (short stories and novels); original plays; interactive animated poetry; sketch comedy; original sculpture inscribed with text and imagery; and my current experiments with AI. My creative identity is hybrid by nature: words and images, emotion and structure, randomness and intention.

I’ve also worked for years as a product manager in tech — helping teams build software products, collaborate across disciplines, and ship on time. That experience definitely came in handy when I gave myself a 12-week deadline to launch an animated web series using an AI platform that was still in its alpha phase.

This project, like most of my work, lives at the intersection of art, play, and systems thinking. If I’m being honest, I’m a little obsessed with creative constraints and hybrid forms. You can check out my work at kimwhite.info.

Why I Made a Web Series

For most of my creative life, I focused on writing short stories and novels. But over the last few years, I’ve been pivoting into screenwriting — studying television writing, developing several pilot scripts, and even writing a short play. As I pivoted into screenwriting, I also continued my visual art practice — sketching characters, drawing storyboards, and experimenting with short-form animation. That’s when I realized: animation was the perfect medium for me.

Still, producing an animated show felt impossible — until recently. My company, Story Machine Studio, is in its solopreneur bootstrapping phase. I don’t have a team of animators, actors, writers, and producers, but over the past year, AI-assisted creative software has finally reached the point where I could realistically make a show myself — writing, designing, voicing, and producing it in just a few months.

Celebrity Dad Joke Roast is the result of that convergence — not just of my skills, but of timing, technology, and an opportunity to experiment with a new kind of storytelling. One that’s fast, collaborative, funny, and flexible enough to grow with an audience.

What This Creator Diary Series Covers

Here’s how this 10-part breakdown will unfold:

Throughout, I’ll show you how I used AI tools not to replace creativity — but to augment it. Think of them as co-pilots, assistants, or improvisation partners that keep things moving.

This Is for You — Even If You Don’t Consider Yourself a Creator

If you haven’t clocked 10,000 hours mastering writing or drawing — or if you think this kind of project is only for “real artists” — let me stop you right there. This diary is still for you.

Because one of the most exciting things about this new era of storytelling is collaboration. Not just between artists and AI, but between creators and their audiences. In Part Nine, I’ll show you how fans can directly shape the future of the series on the Showrunner platform — and why that kind of interaction is the future of entertainment.

Coming up next: Part 2 — Inventing the Show Concept
Spoiler: I built a dad joke GPT for fun — and accidentally kicked off an entire animated series.

Kim White

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