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“I fell in love with art quickly, and through a book. Actually - a player’s guide - for Final Fantasy VI. I had no idea what concept art was, watercolors, or inking. I just saw that the art in the book looked different than in the game itself. I'd pour through my tattered copy back and forth, attempting to draw the characters and their dynamic clothing.
I'm happy to report that as I've continued to practice art, and gained a few more gray hairs, Yoshitaka Amano's work on that player’s guide and beyond still stands as a guiding beacon of power, tenderness, and tranquility for me in my practice.”
Corwin JohnsonIllustrator
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"The Far Side comics come to mind. The moment the art and message come together, pure magic! It checks all the boxes for me, design, art, humor!
Storybooks were another important window into art for me. They're so accessible and delightful, I still carry some of my favorites with me today!"
Christine HulburtProduction Manager
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"In grade school, I would stare and stare at M.C. Escher drawings, imagining myself walking up the endless stairs. Putting myself in those pictures left me intrigued and inspired.
He had imagined this reality and put it down on paper, and because of that, I could imagine that reality too."
Gemma IrishScripwriter
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“I could blame this trio of entertainment options for cementing my lifelong obsession with comics, animation, and design: The original “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” comics by Eastman & Laird, the “Robotech” cartoon, and the 8-bit Nintendo console.
My older brother had a copy of TMNT #7 and my mind was blown by the anarchic style, opening up a world that was infinitely more exciting than the mainstream Marvel/ DC comics of the time.
I’d also made copies of Robotech’s original broadcast and re-watched them constantly. It was an anime soap-opera in space where major characters died and (gasp!) *stayed* dead, which seemed “sophisticated” to my 9-10 year-old brain.
I consider myself fortunate to be around that age during the height of the original 8-bit NES since our minds were forced to fill in so much space in between those 8-bit blobs of character and environment. While the basic gameplay remains fun to me, it’ll never surpass the vivid worlds they inspired in my imagination back then."
Jeremy ArambuloIllustrator
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“As a child, my mom bought me a subscription to Highlights Magazine - and that kicked off an obsession with art.
Because of those magazines, I used to make my own comics. I remember one of them was about a Very Mean, Very Bad Cat who kept knocking over vases!”
Krystal AlexisProducer
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"It feels impossible to answer this question. I can think of so many places where my love of art and design was inspired.
As a child of the 80s, my parents showed me a lot of the strange, hallucenogenic animations of that time: Dot and the Kangaroo, the Raggedy Ann and Andy Movie...
I also loved Saturday Morning Cartoons. An underrated art form! When you're young, this idea of some living universe that continues to exist and change - which you get to visit every weekend - was wildly cool to me."
Jake RudegeairLead Producer
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“Watching animation and cartoons as a kid unlocked so much possibility. I learned that using your imagination makes other realities possible.
My mom tells a funny story about me watching old school Bugs Bunny cartoons. One day, I saw an episode where Elmer Fudd attempted to catch Bugs to make Hasenpfeffer Stew! In response, I gathered all of my own toys into a big bucket, and wanted to make my own stew!”
Sage DahlenProduction Director
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"I used to watch and read a lot of anime and manga growing up. I would take individual manga panels and animate parts of them, making the still image move.
It all kind of developed from there. I started moving to more complex projects and eventually realized I want to pursue animation as a career."
Andrea KovacevicIllustrator
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“Reading the Sunday Comics every week was really captivating to me.
Providing insight, surprise, and humor all in one frame… it really translates into what I love doing today in terms scriptwriting. It's all about adaptability and surprise!"
Caitlin RogersCo-founder and Cheif Storytelling Officer
