Raquel Coelho was born in Brazil. She moved to New York in 1994, where she attended the School of Visual Arts, earning an MFA in Computer Arts. She is an accomplished animator and writer and illustrator of children's books, which are published in her native country. Her award winning illustrations are made using puppets, collages and found objects. As an animator, Raquel worked for studios such as Blue Sky and PDI/Dreamworks, Wildbrain Inc and Tippett Studio, and with renowned directors Chris Wedge (the oscar winner "Bunny", 1999), Carlos Saldanha, and Henry Sellick (Moongirl, 2005). Raquel worked as animator in films such as "Charlotte's Web", "Hellboy", "The Spiderwick Chronicles" and "Happy Feet". Raquel joined the cinema department of San Francisco State University in 2006. At SFSU, she designed the curriculum for the

academic certificate in 3D computer animation (College of Extended Learning). She joined the faculty of San Jose State University in 2009.