From Sketch to Soul: Breathing Life Into Animated Characters - Panel #4

Thursday Sept. 25, 2025 - 1:30pm - 3:00pm

Location: Hollywood Production Center, 300 N. Third Street, Rooftop, Burbank, CA 91502 Please note: NO high heels on the rooftop.

What makes an animated character feel real, memorable, and resonate emotionally? This panel takes you on a journey through the art of character creation—from the spark of an idea to the visual design process that shapes their look, and finally to the animation that makes them live on screen. Join animation artists as they break down how audiences connect with characters.

-PANELISTS-

CHRIS BATTLE

Chris Battle is an American animation character design artist, best known for his work on Cartoon Network shows like TEEN TITANS GO, POWERPUFF GIRLS, DEXTER'S LABORATORY, and SAMURAI JACK, as well as projects for Disney, Marvel, Nickelodeon, Warner Bros, and more.

Born and raised in the sunny beachside town of Santa Monica, CA, a steady childhood diet of cartoons, comics, movies and video games led him towards the logical career choice: Drawing silly stuff for TV. Chris, his wife and their daughter make their home in Los Angeles and they like pancakes.

CAREEN INGLE

Careen Ingle is an Emmy-SubmittedTM director, writer, and storyboard artist originally from Los Gatos, CA, and everyone who has ever met her has fallen in love with her. Her credits include Teen Titans Go, Unikitty!, Jellystone, and DreamWorks' upcoming SHREK 5. As the Director, Producer, and Writer of KING TWEETY for Warner Bros. Animation, she is the first woman to direct a Looney Tunes feature film.

Ingle also boarded and animated portions of the critically-acclaimed '#MeToon' segment for TBS's Full Frontal With Samantha Bee and Conan O'Brien's 'Occupy Conan' special, and has served an adjunct professor at CalArts. She also does voices sometimes, but nobody's ever paid her for it.

JORGE GUTIERREZ

Born in Mexico City and raised in Tijuana, Jorge R. Gutierrez is an animator, painter, actor, writer and director. A CalArts Experimental Animation BFA & MFA graduate, Gutierrez has completed various films, cartoons, and paintings exploring his love affair with Mexican pop and

folk culture. Gutierrez was Director & Co-Writer of the Guillermo del Toro produced animated feature The Book of Life (2014), which earned him a 2014 Golden Globe Award nomination. Along with his

wife and muse, Sandra Equihua, they created the multiple Emmy Award-winning animated series El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera (2007) for Nickelodeon. Gutierrez most recently created, wrote, and directed the event series Maya and the Three (2021) for Netflix which won four Emmys. Gutierrez is currently writing/directing an animated feature named I, Chihuahua with Gabriel "Fluffy" Iglesias. He also directed the intro for the latest The Simpsons Treehouse of Terror 35 episode.

-MODERATOR-

ALEXANDRA DROSU

Alexandra is an accomplished communications strategist, editor and writer with extensive experience in overseeing branding strategy,, directing internal and external communications, and developing engaging content across multiple platforms. As the Director of Communications and Content of The Animation Guild, she leads efforts to

support animation workers, elevate the craft in the entertainment industry, and

communicate the importance and values of labor unions. In her free time, Alexandra

loves travel, hanging out with her family, drinking coffee, and contemplating her next

adventure.