Travis Knight

After working his way up the creative ladder from intern to director, Travis Knight became one of the most successful and prolific animators of his era. Born in Hillsboro, Oregon, Knight attended Portland State University before signing on with Vinton Studios as an intern and later, a member of the animation staff. The studio specialized in stop-motion animation, and was well known for producing the famous California Raisin commercials. But after working there for 10 years, Knight and the rest of the studio's staff became concerned about the company's future, as some of its regular series, like Eddie Murphy's "The PJs" (Fox, 1999-2001) failed to be renewed. The studio was saved, however, when Knight's father, Nike founder Phil Knight, purchased it, renaming the studio LAIKA. Having long since proven his abilities-even being named by Animation Magazine as one of 12 "Rising Stars of Animation" in 2007-Knight continued to become an increasingly integral member of the studio's staff, serving as lead animator on the movie "Coraline" (2009). He would add the role of producer to his duties on the 2012 film "ParaNorman" (2014), before winning a chance to fully express his own vision as the producer, animator, and director on the animated adventure "Kubo and the Two Strings" (2016).