Talks

Badass Women Production Designers

Daniela Strijleva joined Pixar Animation Studios in 2008. She has worked on several projects including the Academy Award®-winning features “Toy Story 3,” “Coco,” and “Toy Story 4.” She also worked on “Monsters University,” “The Good Dinosaur” and “Onward,” in addition to several short films including Academy Award® nominees “La Luna” and “Day and Night.” Strijleva is currently the Production Designer on Disney and Pixar’s upcoming feature film “Luca,” which is set to release on June 18, 2021.

As a production designer, Strijleva oversees a team of artists and designers in creating the visuals for the film based on the director's vision. The art that she manages touches all aspects of the production, beginning with the characters and their stories to the environments, graphics, effects, lighting and color design. Strijleva collaborates with her technical counterparts in the final execution and translation of these ideas to the screen.

Prior to Pixar, Strijleva was part of the Canadian animation industry, working in 2D animation for TV commercials and at the National Film Board of Canada.

Spending her early childhood in Bulgaria, Strijleva moved with her family to Montreal, Canada and was an avid film lover from an early age. She went on to study classical animation at Sheridan College in Toronto before moving to the United States.