Sandra Equihua is an illustrator, painter, and animated character designer. She was born and raised in Tijuana, Mexico. Her illustration clients have included Sony Pictures, McGraw Hill, WEA, Disney, WB, Nickelodeon, and the California State Fair. Her paintings have been exhibited in various galleries both in Mexico and the US. Equihua won an Emmy Award for her character designs on El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera (Nickelodeon), the highly-acclaimed animated television series she cocreated with her long-time collaborator and husband, Jorge R. Gutierrez. She also won an Annie Award for her character designs on The Book of Life (Dreamworks).