Terryl Whitlatch was born in Oakland, California, and most of her formal education was in the sciences, rather than art—Vertebrate Zoology to be specific, but after studying illustration at the California College of Arts and the Academy of Art University, Terryl began a career that has spanned over 25 years.  

She has worked with many major studios and effects houses as a highly sought after creature and concept designer.  Clients include Industrial Light and Magic, Lucasfilm Ltd., Pixar, Walt Disney Feature Animation, PDI, Entertainment Arts, LucasArts, Chronicle Books, and various zoos and natural history museums.  She is currently Artist In Residence at Imagination International, Inc., in Eugene, Oregon.

Terryl acted as principal creature designer for Star Wars — the Phantom Menace and designed some of the main characters in Disney’s Brother Bear. Feature films to which she has contributed concept work include John Carter of Mars, DragonHeart, Men in Black, Jumanji, and Pixar’s Brave.

She also is the creator and illustrator of five books: The Wildlife of Star Wars: A Field Guide, The Katurran Odyssey, Animals Real and Imagined, Science of Creature Design, and Principles of Creature Design.  She has also contributed illustrations to Lucasfilm’s The Jedi Path, and Book of Sith.