Kofi Sarfo is an animator teaching in the Animation & Game Arts department at Moore. He was recently selected for a full-time position as Assistant Professor of Animation & Game Arts, starting in fall 2023! He took some time to participate in our Faculty Five series—read on to learn more about Kofi!
What’s your earliest memory of being creative or knowing that you wanted to do something creative with your life?
One of my older brothers was into fashion when I was a kid, and I remember him coming home one day with a rolled-up sheet of paper from his art class. He was doing a master study drawing, and I saw what he had started. I was so intrigued, I decided to “help” him while he went to work. When he came home and saw what I had done to his homework, instead of scolding his younger brother, he encouraged me to continue with it; just on my own sheet of paper. That moment—in tandem with my love for the cartoon shows that I used to watch as a kid, and a highly inquisitive mind—set in motion my desire to make animations when I grew up.
Who is the artist or designer who has influenced you most and why?
I was (read: “am”) heavily inspired by Akira Toriyama and his Dragonball series. A friend of mine in second grade that I used to make comics with introduced me to the series. Once I purchased my first Dragonball comic and saw the genre and art style, I immediately knew this was something I would want to emulate, with people that looked like me.
Aside from Toriyama, I have so many close friends from art school(s) and in my personal life who are creative and who I derive inspiration from. It can range from people who make music to those who do floral arrangements, to those who do interior design. I am always interested in what part of their brain they tap into to create solutions to problems.
What’s the most interesting thing you’ve done recently, professionally or otherwise?
On a recent personal note, I built a computer! It’s another one of my hobbies I do on the side. Feel free to ask me about my specs if you want to talk nerdy for a minute. On a professional note, my short contribution to the Cops and Robbers animated short on Netflix is my most proud moment as a professional because of how much the ethos of the film means to me. I’ve also animated a marriage proposal for a client! She said yes, so I guess that means I did something right!
What is it like in your classroom at Moore?
On any given day, if I’m not in the middle of a lecture, you’ll probably walk into my class and hear/see LoFi Hip Hop music playing in the background. I like to keep our setting as relaxed as possible. Life is already stressful enough; learning shouldn’t be another addition to that. Being an animation instructor, it’s also possible to walk into my class and see me or my students acting out a particular action or movement that we are attempting to capture. It’s all a part of the process.
If Moore had a mascot, what would it be?
I don’t think you could create a mascot that embodies the breadth of incredible work that the students here at Moore create, as well as the critical decisions that staff and faculty make so that everything can run as smoothly as it does. It would have to be some sort of, like, five-headed dragon that represents each part of the school’s identity. Or, since we’re located in Philly, maybe something very Philly-centric. A Wawa sandwich? Yes. Moore’s mascot shall now be a Wawa sammie.
