Kantrell Betancourt is a creative director, visual storyteller, and author working at the intersection of cinematic storytelling and emerging technology. A graduate of New York University, she earned a Master of Science in Digital Imaging and Design and has built a career spanning editorial design, photography, and 2D and 3D visual production. Her professional path has included work across print magazines such as Cosmopolitan and The Knot, photography within the music industry at Universal Music Group Distribution, and immersive digital worlds—gradually evolving into a practice rooted in visual judgment, storytelling, and cinematic and visual innovation.​

 

With nearly two decades of hands-on experience, Kantrell’s work reflects a long view of how creative tools evolve—and how artists adapt alongside them. As AI began reshaping the visual arts, she created the Dreaming in Digital guidebook series to help creators move beyond novelty and toward clarity, intention, and authorship. Her perspective on AI and creative practice has been featured in Forbes, highlighting her insights on AI as assistive technology and how tools like Midjourney are expanding cinematic and visual creation for both professional artists and beginners alike. Most recently, she worked in research and development as a Creative Director at TCL AI Studio. She has since moved into her next phase—completing her fourth book in the Dreaming in Digital series, now available on Barnes & Noble and Amazon, and continuing to build Eight17 Studio, an AI-driven innovation studio focused on cinematic storytelling and creative systems. Through her writing, studio work, and ongoing projects, she continues to explore how new tools can expand—not replace—human vision and creative voice.