Born and raised in Minnesota, 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, and is currently working for Disney Animation art directing their upcoming Monsters Inc. spin-off series. Pursuing this dream was harshly interrupted, however, when he was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia on April Fool’s Day in 2005. After treatment 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. He has since had the opportunity to publish five books in The Daily Zoo series, with more on the way. Chris now lives in Los Angeles with his wife, son, and one large drawer of pencils. And he still draws an animal-a-day. (less)