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The story begins with a glimpse into the animator's childhood and early passions. Growing up in California, he was immersed in drawing from a young age, often creating comic strips with his twin brother for their high school newspaper. Their artistic journey was deeply rooted in a love for cartoons and storytelling. An influential moment came when a friend, Eric Stefani—a member of Gwen Stefani’s family—shared a clay animation project he had made shortly after high school. This moment was transformative; the stop-motion clay animation was a revelation to the aspiring artists, shattering the misconception that animation required massive budgets and large production teams, as was typical of Disney giants.