2023 JURORS
SAPPHIRA CHEN
is an animator, story artist, and Animation Chico alumni. She is a graduate of California Institute of the Arts in Character Animation, has interned at Pixar Animation Studios, and now works as a full-time animator at MAKE in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where she creates 2D and 3D animations. Follow her work on Instagram: @chensapphira
VAL MORENO
is an illustrator and graphic designer based in South California. She graduated from Cal State Chico where she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts and studied digital media with a focus on illustration. She interned at Project Fusion LLC in 2019, formerly known as Fifth Sun, where she now works as a full-time Graphic Designer and handles a variety of properties including Disney, Warner Bros, Hasbro, and Netflix. When she’s not working her design job, she’s freelancing or organizing community events with the Silly Geese Collective; a collective dedicated to connecting communities together through art and creating a safe space for people of all backgrounds. Her work takes inspiration from pop-surrealism, Japanese media, horror, and her personal musings. Follow her work on Instagram: @morveed
Gregory Pinsoneault
is a Los Angeles based model maker and miniaturist. After earning a BFA in Scenic Design from The Theatre School at DePaul University in 2015, he worked in Chicago as a freelance model maker and scenic designer where he garnered 2 Jeff Award nominations before pursuing work in stop motion animation. He has fabricated at Bix Pix Entertainment, Screen Novelties, Open the Portal, Stoopid Buddy Stoodios, Ancient Order of the Wooden Skull, and the Chiodo Brothers on projects for Nickelodeon, Adult Swim, Netflix, Apple TV+, and Disney.
John Baca
is an artist and educator living in Northern California. He has attended CSU Chico (BFA in sculpture, 2005), CSU Fresno, Rhode Island School of Design (MFA in digital and media, 2007), and Brown University (teaching certificate, 2008). He has had solo shows in Chico, Nevada City, Sacramento, and New York City and has been in numerous group shows in far-flung locations, including Chico; Fresno, Sacramento, Grass Valley, California; Providence, Rhode Island; Copenhagen, Denmark; Marquette, Nebraska; Pancevo, Serbia; Queens, New York; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Brooklyn and Manhattan. Baca has held positions in art in Chico, Providence, Albuquerque, Grass Valley, and Florence, Italy. As an educator, he has taught art students at all educational levels. He currently works as a Lecturer at CSU Chico in Digital Media and Foundations.