The artist was born in Üsküdar in 1977. After graduating from Üsküdar İmam Hatip High School, she completed her education at Marmara University's Faculty of Theology and Istanbul University's Department of Library Science. She earned her master’s degree in the Department of Islamic History and Arts at Marmara University with her thesis titled "Calligrapher Kazasker Mustafa İzzet Efendi and His Works."

Her short stories were published in 2016 under the title Depresyon Hırkası by Dergâh Publications. She began her journey in tezhip (illumination) in 1998 by attending the Tezhip-Miniature course organized by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, studying for two years under Arzu Uzunosman and Yelda Tezölçer. Between 2008 and 2012, she continued her work in the Salbek Art Group led by Fatma Özçay at the Classical Turkish Arts Foundation, where she was a student.

Since 2000, Nurcan Toprak Ayal has been working at IRCICA (Research Centre for Islamic History, Art, and Culture). She is currently pursuing a Proficiency in Art program in the Department of Traditional Turkish Arts at Fatih Sultan Mehmet Vakıf University.