Chris Ayers

Born and raised in the Midwest United States, Chris Ayers moved to California shortly after college to fulfill his childhood dream of working in the movies. As a character designer and concept artist, he has participated on projects such as Penguins of Madagascar, Men in Black II, The Santa Clause 2, the Alien vs. Predator movies and is currently Art Director for Disney Television Animation’s Monsters Inc. spinoff series, Monsters at Work. 

Pursuing this dream was harshly interrupted, however, when he was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, an aggressive type of blood cancer, on April Fool’s Day in 2005. After treatment that included chemotherapy, total body irradiation, and a stem cell transplant, he started a sketchbook called The Daily Zoo. Combining two of his passions, animals and drawing, he created a sketch each day to aid his recovery. Now in his 18th year of the project, he has since had the opportunity to publish five books in The Daily Zoo series, with more on the way. Chris lives in Los Angeles with his wife, son, and one large drawer of pencils. And he still draws an animal-a-day.

Photo Credits: Thasja Hoffmann

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