Instagram story viewer> @elyjenna> Posts

Jenn Ely

@elyjenna

4.5K

followers

3421

following

Production Designer · Art Director · Visual Development · Director · IP Development | Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio | Henry Selick's Wendell & Wild

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Download All

It's been really gratifying to jump into my first Co Directing job with @housespecialpdx I'm genuinely grateful to the leadership at House, and especially to my Co Director, @destroyanimation as well as our Producer, @jennfeecat83 for bringing me in! I'm really proud of the work we've been creating.

That said-- I'm winding down on this project, so coming up for air before we're totally wrapped to say that I'll be fully available as of April:)

Open to Vis Dev, PD/ AD, and Directing opportunities<3 by @elyjenna

231

15

2 years ago

Art by Jenn Ely @elyjenna
Dolly Parton with Kermit the Frog
.
.
.
#dollyparton #dolly #dollypartonmuseum #dollyart #dollypartonmuseumofart by @elyjenna

84

0

a month ago

by @elyjenna

179

5

a month ago

Spotted at the Alcatraz gift shop in the San Francisco Bay last week: this beautiful narrative nonfiction picture book from @charlesbridgepublishing @emmasmithsf @elyjenna. My kids were actually drawn to it first, and pointed it out to me 🩷 #kidlit #childrensbooks #writerslife by @elyjenna

34

3

2 months ago

ABLA illustrator spotlight on Jenn Ely (@elyjenna)!

Jenn is an illustrator specializing in color, environment, and character design for animation, advertising, and children’s book projects. She loves inclusive stories that encourage empathy and acceptance.

Jenn Ely is represented by Analía Cabello (@analiarcabello) and is interested in illustrating picture books and nonfiction.

For more of Jenn’s portfolio, check out her illustrator page on our website! 🔗 by @elyjenna

387

5

3 months ago

A new archive episode of the Story First Podcast is up today.

This week we’re revisiting a conversation with director, production designer, visual development artist, and illustrator Jenn Ely.

Jenn’s credits include Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, Wendell & Wild, The Boxtrolls, and numerous projects in animation, publishing, and commercial production.

In A Path of Her Own, Jenn and Brian McDonald discuss storytelling, visual development, mentorship, artistic growth, and the winding road of building a creative career.

A thoughtful conversation about craft, persistence, and finding your own way.

Link in bio. by @elyjenna

95

2

4 months ago

A new archive episode of the Story First Podcast is up today.

This week’s guest is Jenn Ely.

Jenn has worked with some of the best storytellers in animation, including Henry Selick on Wendell & Wild and Guillermo del Toro on Pinocchio. She’s also contributed to projects at Laika, DreamWorks, Netflix, and beyond.

What I enjoyed most about our conversation was hearing about the path she took to get there. Jenn started as a painter, found mentors, kept learning, and built a remarkable career one opportunity at a time.

We talked about storytelling, visual development, artistic growth, and the dedication required to keep improving at your craft.

Link in bio. by @elyjenna

97

3

4 months ago

Spent today in the hospital with my husband @patricjreynolds (he had a scheduled surgery, but it went well and he's doing great. There's still some heavy recovery to get through, but today is almost behind us🥲). In a weird way this has been a surprisingly optimistic day, just thinking through all the possibilities and where we are vs. where we could be...
The world has felt pretty heavy the last several years. It overwhelms and fills me up sometimes and it can be hard for me to focus on the light spots -- but when I look around, I feel really lucky for my family and the days that I have with them <3. So glad things went well today, and he can breathe a little easier. I'd be lost without him. by @elyjenna

241

25

4 months ago

Another from the Pitch Graveyard.
This one was for a self-care app — the ask was cute, simple, & apocalyptic. I think we nailed it. Alas, they did not agree this time.
Still proud of the address joke detail:).
Honestly the hardest part was choosing which disasters to include. Turns out illustrating “the world feels overwhelming in every direction” is not a creative stretch right now. I had too many ideas.
“Have a day.” by @elyjenna

36

0

5 months ago

Just finished illustrating my next picture book — Sculpting President Lincoln: Vinnie Ream Carves Out Her Future, out in 2027, written by the wonderful @bandersonwriter.
Vinnie was a teenage girl who convinced Abraham Lincoln to sit for her, carved his likeness from marble, and became the first woman ever commissioned by the US government to create a statue of a president — despite enormous pushback about her age and her gender.
It felt like an important story when I started it. It feels even more important now.
Huge thanks to my agents @ksonnack and @analiarcabello of @andreabrownlit, and to my editor Carolyn Yoder at Astra Publishing House, for getting this one into the world. Can’t wait to share more. 🤍 by @elyjenna

71

9

5 months ago

Here’s an early image from Wendell & Wild— this was actually made for our story beats exploration. Most of those, because I made literally hundreds, were quicker pencil sketches, but in this case I took a little extra time to explore this space and push on a more forceful / graphic stylization approach to partner with the amazing character work that was happening from @pablo.illus :). I was also heavily leaning on the look that @louromano50 was setting into place at that time as PD. by @elyjenna

127

11

5 months ago

Dust Bunny is now out on HBO Max and if you haven't seen it, you should absolutely give it a go! Especially if you've enjoyed other Bryan Fuller projects like Pushing Daisies & Hannibal:)

Small warning- it DOES feel like a fever dream throughout, but I swear it comes together and pays off at the very end in a really beautiful way.<3 by @elyjenna

97

7

6 months ago