Teaching and Lectures
Cheyenne has a passion for teaching and mentoring students who wish to break into the Animation Industry or who have a desire to create and develop stories. She has taught her own six week course at ProjectCity.tv where she had over 100 students enrolled in 2023.
Cheyenne as well has mentored at The School of Visual Arts in New York and has joined mentorship panels that include Netflix, Disney Television Animation and more.
Along with mentoring, Cheyenne has done multiple talks at CTN EXPO, Disney Television Animation, Netflix, Nickelodeon, Titmouse etc. and at schools such as The California Institute of the Arts and Loyola Marymount University. Cheyenne's talks revolve around Storyboarding, Character Design, Show Development/Pitching, and discussing Mental Health for Artists.
If your school or organization would like to consider Cheyenne as a mentor, teacher or for lectures please reach out to her personal email:
'Intro to 2D Character Design for Television Animation'
From June to July 2023, Cheyenne designed and taught a six week curriculum for ProjectCity.tv about the most important skills you need to be a character designer for television animation, a topic she wish she had learned more about in school to prepare her for the industry. Her course was designed to prepare artists with fantastic portfolio pieces by the end of the six weeks.
She gave a one hour lecture with demonstrations and examples from produced TV shows, followed by a one hour homework review session and Q&A. Cheyenne had over 45 students sign up for her class.
"This was an amazing 6 week course. The homework tier was definitely worth it due to the feedback on improving artwork. Cheyenne Curtis is an amazing teacher that approaches work in a friendly matter but gives proper feedback to homework assignments that feel inspiring to improve one’s skills.I definitely recommend anyone aspiring to be a character designer to signed up for it. It’s worth every penny."
- Agustin Macias
"The live homework feedback where we got to see drawovers as they happened were also very informative, even if it was for another's assignment. The feedback too was always incredible helpful, and not only could I feel my own improvement week to week, but I could see it in the other class members as well. It's a class I would happily recommend to any artist interested in character design, especially for the homework tier to gain such valuable feedback." - Alexis Lambert
"It was very educational about details I wouldn't have even thought about! I've never really considered the tiny things that define a shows art style until we really went into the details of what was realistic and what was too far away from a shows style. You were a very cool teacher and I'd love to have you as a teacher again!" - Toby Harry
"I wish the class was longer!! I really looked forward to it each week and was so sad today when I remembered it was over!! 💜😭" - Kati Treu
LMU Animation Club: Self-Care Workshop for Animators
In March 2023, Cheyenne alongside her industry peer Ashlyn Anstee and Therapist Ariel Hirsch gave a presentation to Loyola Marymount University students about Mental Health and being an artist.
We discussed topics that covered negative self talk, scarcity mindset, setting healthy boundaries, how to access a Therapist and more.
Mental Health is an extremely important topic for Cheyenne and helping demystify what therapy is and having vulnerable, honest and healthy conversations about it can change lives.
Titmouse Foundation: Future Directors Mentor at ProjectCity.tv
Cheyenne was a Storyboard Mentor for eight chosen candidates for the Future Directors Scholarship in 2023.
In weekly live online sessions, she would meet with and review the artists personal storyboards and do draw overs and notes with them while explaining her thought process. She also answered Industry questions and gave more in depth Storyboard notes with a specific TV Directors eye to help them build a strong portfolio.
SVA MFA Visual Narrative Mentor - 2022-2023
Cheyenne was chosen to work one on one with a student from the MFA Visual Narrative Program for the Winter and Spring semesters with guidance from the MFAVN Chair Nathan Fox.
Cheyenne met with her mentee to discuss each stage of their thesis project from outline, scripts, character designs, storyboards, animatics and more. Cheyenne also helped to answer questions and concerns about the Animation Industry and guided her mentee with portfolio tips, website construction and first steps to applying for a career in Animation
CalArts Character Animation Visiting Artists Presents "A Conversation About Mental Health for Artists"
Cheyenne worked closely with her good friend and professional Therapist Ariel Hirsch to make a thorough presentation on the importance of Mental Health for Artists.
Mental Health is an extremely important topic for Cheyenne and helping demystify what therapy is and having vulnerable, honest and healthy conversations about it can change lives.
In this talk we discussed specific topics about struggling with negative self talk, insecurities, healthy work habits, boundaries and much more.
Inklusion Comics
presents: INKLUS-A-THON
Cheyenne was invited to do a live-stream discussion about the importance of inclusion, diversity, and representation in the Animation Industry from her general perspective and personal experiences.
Netflix Animation Foundations Program Special Speaker
Hosted by Lynn Wang and Netflix Animation, Cheyenne was asked to join Lynn's Mentorship group sessions and give a presentation about the Storyboarding process; from thumbnails to final cleanup.
Cheyenne also answered questions about the Animation Industry and discussed her own personal journey into starting her career and changing paths.
Disney Television Animation Academy Presents: 'Capturing Humor in Boarding and Design'
Cheyenne and her former Storyboard partner on Amphibia gave a hilarious presentation on capturing humor in Storyboarding and Design at Disney TVA.
This hour long presentation had examples of Cheyenne's funniest moments in her career from script to storyoard to design, and discussed what makes a scene and design funny to an audience.
Disney Television Animation
Presents: Afternoons at CTN / Design & Color Roundtable
During CTN Expo in Burbank, Cheyenne was invited to an hour long talk on a Disney Television Animation panel with Bobby Pontillas about Design and Color.
Cheyenne gave her unique perspective on design and color in her own work and in her professional work, and discussed what made her own artwork come to life and why.