There is a certain irony in the fact that Logan Mann now makes his living as an artist. Back in Kindergarten, Logan famously failed an assignment called “Map Man,” which was a simple exercise intended to teach children how to draw a basic person. When assessment time rolled around, his parents were solemnly informed that their son “could not follow directions and clearly did not show an aptitude for the arts.”

“We have dramatized this story so much in my family,” Logan jokes, “but the long and short of it remains that even as a little kid I loved to draw, and I loved to do it my own way. In elementary school I found that I listened best while I drew in the margins of my assignments. I was told by many teachers that while it was okay for now, when I got to high school, drawing on my papers would not be allowed. Out of a little spite, and generally because I couldn’t help it, I continued to draw on just about everything I could get my hands on.”

Even still, and perhaps second only to his Kindergarten teacher, Logan never imagined a career in illustration, but that instinct to create has taken Logan from doodling in the margins of school papers to Los Angeles, California, where he works as a professional animator and illustrator.

When Logan began classes at Biola University, his goal was to become a director of photography for live-action film, but after his second year, he decided to pivot and join the brand-new animation program. Even while studying and loving cinematography, he noticed that what inspired him most about the stories was always the animation. “Live-action films taught me how to tell stories visually,” he reflects. “Then it was just a matter of bringing my drawing skills up to snuff.”

That combination of cinematography and illustration eventually led him to Lamplighter Kids Stories. Founded by storyteller Rebecca Sanderson, Lamplighter Kids creates value-based, imaginative stories intended to help children encounter virtues such as courage, grace, beauty, creativity, forgiveness and joy. After building an audience through its storytelling podcast, Lamplighter announced in May 2026 that Logan would join their team to transform their beloved episodes into an animated, storybook-style YouTube series. The first episode is scheduled to go live in the next few weeks.

Logan traces a lot of his favorite things about drawing back to the first five weeks of middle school art with Laura Goeke. When she assigned students sketchbooks with specific themes and color requirements, Logan embarrassingly admits he approached her after class to ask if he could ignore her only two “rules” and simply draw. She agreed, and Logan recalls, “I loved every single sketch I did for her. She provided me with excellent feedback, and I look back on that particular semester as the first time someone really took me seriously in my ability to create.”

The assignment established a habit of drawing intentionally and consistently, which Logan credits as a foundational and formative experience. His interests soon expanded beyond drawing.

In middle school, Logan and his friends began making goofy videos in the woods. That grew into leadership roles in WCA’s Spirit Week film competition and eventually a desire to pursue cinematography professionally. At Westminster, classes with Han Kim and professional experience working with Mike Rohlfing gave Logan an early foundation in visual storytelling, teamwork, leadership, and the realities of creative work.

“Mr. Kim’s classes, both Video Storytelling and Broadcast, threw me into the deep end of that world and taught me how to swim,” says Logan. “Everything was always about improving, adapting, or learning to lead a team. At the same time, Mr. Rohlfing gave me something equally valuable: Confidence. He gave me a jump on professional experience by treating me like a genuine creative partner from the beginning. Without the confidence he instilled in me, I don’t think I could hang with the weirdly unstable world of film and animation right now.”

 

Through Lamplighters, Logan hopes that children won’t simply watch something creative but will be inspired to create themselves.

“I can still vividly remember the picture books I read as a kid, and I can see how those images sparked so much creativity in me,” he says. “I really want to do that for the younger generation.”

Some of his favorite creations are Captain Fluffycheeks, a “Hampsternaught” headed for the moon, and Gary the Garden Gnome, whose relatively limited range of motion made him particularly animation-friendly. Every few episodes, Logan experiments with an ink-and-watercolor aesthetic inspired by Bill Watterson’s Calvin and Hobbes, but beneath the playful characters and shifting art styles lies something Logan takes seriously: the emotional power of visual storytelling.

For Logan, creativity is also deeply connected to faith. He believes he was “created to create,” and says, “as a Christian artist, I truly feel a special connection with God when I create, and I truly hope my creations point people back to the Creator.” And in doing so, the Kindergartner who once “failed” at drawing is now using that very gift to inspire the next generation and impact the world for Jesus Christ, one animated story at a time.

 

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To learn more about Lamplighter Kids Stories and its mission, visit Lamplighter Kids online or subscribe to their YouTube channel.