Nicholas Panesis was born in Middleboro, Massachusetts on Dec. 9, 1913. Earlier in his career he painted portraits and other fine art. Panesis studied art at Syracuse University, New York, and then taught ceramics at Alfred University, New York. He lived in San Francisco, California in the early 1930s shortly before settling in Los Angeles where he worked for different animation studios as a layout designer. He also illustrated the cover of the book, "Fair Stood the Wind for France" in 1944. Panesis died in Los Angeles on Nov. 17, 1967.