Leo Matsuda is a Japanese-Brazilian born and raised in Sao Paulo, where he played soccer almost everyday of his life.

Since he was a young child, art has always been Leo’s way of sharing his emotions and feelings that have truly impacted him. From simple and mundane topics to more complex and deeper issues, visual storytelling has always been the tool he’s used to share his perspective of the world. Being somewhat of an introvert, Leo’s art allows him to share an extraordinary side of him that would be impossible to tap into only through words. Leo thinks people can understand and relate to him better through this universal language. For him, the most important focus in storytelling is to portray the soul and essence of a subject. Leo currently lives in sunny California with his partner Kate and their two beloved felines, Chicken Diane and Kimbap.

Leo worked as a story artist on Walt Disney Animation feature films such as Ralph Breaks the Internet, 2016 Oscar-winning film Zootopia, as well as 2014’s Oscar-winning film Big Hero 6. He was nominated for an Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement, Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production for his work on 2012’s Oscar-nominated Wreck-It Ralph. Leo also contributed with story development and character designs for many different studios such as Illumination, DreamWorks, Paramount and Netflix. Recently, Leo was the Lead Character Designer on the Paramount Studios Feature Animated film “Under The Boardwalk”.

Leo also directed the short film Inner Workings that debuted in front of Walt Disney’s Animated Feature Film, Moana and is now developing new ideas for both film and children’s books.