CSULB art grads illustrate the storyboards that bring Hollywood blockbusters to life
As they discovered their love of storytelling through hand-drawn illustrations, or found their unique style through animated images, Cal State Long Beach students and alumni have excelled as storyboard artists, working for some of the biggest film and TV studios in the industry.
Storyboards — visual blueprints for film or TV productions — ensure that everyone is on the same page, and knows what’s going to happen next, often frame by frame.
“With strong roots in illustration and representational drawing, we help prepare our students for work in several fields,” said Aubry Mintz, professor of animation in the College of the Arts. “In both the illustration and animation program, we offer students a course to learn and develop a portfolio in storyboarding.”
Many supporters have helped COTA and its School of Art over the years, including Sally De Witt, mother of Elizabeth Alice De Witt ‘11 (BFA in drawing and painting). She recently completed commitments to the De Witt Kick Start Cache Fund, which supports graphic design, drawing and painting and a visiting artist series.
Three School of Art alumni shared how The Beach helped them accomplish amazing things in the illustrative world of storyboards.
Jeremy Spears ‘07
Spears graduated from CSULB with a BFA in art illustration. After graduation, he got an internship with Pixar; he’s worked for Disney-Pixar ever since.
Spears has worked as a story artist on blockbuster animated films such as “Zootopia 2,” “Zootopia,” “Frozen,” “Moana” and “Big Hero 6.” He also recently produced, wrote and co-directed a short, animated film, “Forevergreen,” which has won some noteworthy awards, including best animated short at AFI Fest. It’s made the shortlist for Best Animated Short Film for the 2026 Academy Awards.
“I loved my experience at Long Beach State,” Spears said. “I’ve appreciated it more and more over the years. It’s where I developed as an artist. I’m just really thankful the professors invested in us the way that they did. We had everything we needed to get better at our craft.”
Spears recalls learning a lot from Professor Robin Richesson ‘82, ‘95, who’s had a long career as a storyboard artist and costume illustrator.
“She was great to be able to talk to, because she had done it,” he said. “I really thought (CSULB) helped me prepare for composition, telling a story with one drawing, and never being satisfied with the first idea."
Danelle Davenport ‘12
Davenport was already a storyboard artist before The Beach, but she learned to refine and expand her vision while obtaining an MFA here, with a specialization in illustration.
“What drew me to Cal State Long Beach was the opportunity to expand my skills, add to my portfolio of skills and strengthen my painting, drawing and design,” Davenport said. “The graduate degree actually strengthened my storytelling skills and gave me more confidence in my own voice.”
Davenport has worked on art and storyboards for some major projects, including “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” “Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Ant-Man,” “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” and “A Wrinkle in Time.”
She credits art professors Yu Ji and Marian Stewart ‘03, ‘06 for helping her structure and compose the ideas brimming inside her head.
Jennifer Yuh Nelson ‘94, ‘23
Nelson obtained her BFA in illustration from The Beach in 1994 and an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters in 2023. She is the first woman to solely direct a major American animated film and the first Asian American to do so.
Nelson got her initial big break at Hanna-Barbera. She did storyboards for HBO’s “Spawn,” where she won an Emmy, and at DreamWorks Animation for several films.
She was the head of story for DreamWorks’ “Kung Fu Panda,” and the director for “Kung Fu Panda 2” and “Kung Fu Panda 3,” all box office hits. For a few years, she was the highest-grossing female director of all time.
She now serves as supervising director for the Netflix animated series, “Love, Death & Robots,” which has won 17 Emmys — two with her name on them.
“The thing that’s really great about Cal State Long Beach … it wasn’t cranking out people all at the same time — you came in with your individuality and your weirdness and your personal style, and it helped enhance it,” she said. CSULB “gives you philosophical backing that you can use all over the place that went beyond art.”
She has fond memories of the late John Lincoln ’58, ‘59, who taught life drawing.
“He was one of the finest, most amazing draftsmen I’ve ever seen,” Nelson said. She recalls that Lincoln stressed thinking carefully about one’s work before even setting pen to paper.
“Put the line there because you meant it to be there,” she remembers him saying. “It reminds me to be present and think about your artistic choices at all times.”
