On a computer screen in a Grand Junction classroom, a small drawing begins to move. Frame by frame, a character begins to take shape. For the fourth and fifth-grade students watching, it’s a moment they realize their ideas can come to life.
Behind the animation is Jacob Below, a CMU Tech alum and artist who now mentors elementary students interested in animation — helping them bring their drawings to life and encouraging them to share their own perspectives with the world through art.
For many of the students, Below represents something even more meaningful: he understands them in a way few people have.
Below is on the autism spectrum. That perspective has shaped both his work as an artist and the way he connects with the students he teaches.
For Below, art has always been more than creativity.
“Art is my primary form of communication,” he said. “Animation lets me share ideas and emotions in ways words can’t.”
He believes the emotional response people feel when viewing his work reflects art’s deeper purpose — to create connection, something he discovered early on.
Below’s love of art began long before college. At age 3, he was filling pages with sketches and characters. By age 6, after watching the movie Bambi, he told his mother he wanted to create animated movies.
As someone on the autism spectrum, art gave him a way to communicate ideas and emotions that were sometimes difficult to express. That passion eventually led him to CMU Tech through the concurrent enrollment program, where he began taking college-level animation classes at age 14.
“I wouldn’t be here without Brigitte, the people and the connections I made at CMU,” Below said. “It was a big step in my journey in becoming who I am today.”
Brigitte Sündermann, vice president of CMU Tech and one of Below’s early mentors, remembers his determination and curiosity.
“Jacob is an amazing young man and the definition of resiliency,” she said. “His curiosity and passion for animation and the artistic world are insatiable.”
After completing his associate degree in animation at CMU Tech, Below continued developing his craft at the Kubert School of Cartooning and Graphic Art in New Jersey, where he studied illustration and animation. Today he works as an illustrator and commissioned painter while continuing to pursue opportunities in the animation industry.
Recently, however, his journey has come full circle. Once a student learning and being mentored at CMU Tech, Below is now the mentor himself, helping the next generation bring their ideas to life.
Nina Incorvaia, an occupational therapist in Mesa County Valley School District 51, had been working with a group of autistic fourth and fifth-grade students who were learning about neurodivergence and self-advocacy. Together, they had an idea: create an animation that could help their school community better understand autism.
There was just one problem.
“I have no animation skills,” Incorvaia said. “So, I did a Google search.”
That search for animators in Grand Junction led her to Below.
Although he was living in New Jersey, Below jumped at the opportunity. Soon he began meeting with the students remotely, guiding them through the process of bringing their drawings to life through animation. Rather than changing their work, Below focused on helping students develop the skills to express their own ideas and perspectives.
For Incorvaia, his patience and genuine connection with the students stood out immediately.
“I believe this is a project that will stay with my kids for life,” she said. “They had never interacted with an autistic adult. Below made them feel seen and heard in a way that I never really could. I am forever grateful for that.”
For the students, animation quickly became a way to share their experiences and help others understand them.
Soren H. said what excites him most about animation is “the joy of creating something that I would be able to share.” Through the project, he hopes classmates will gain a better understanding of what some students may be going through.
“To show more patience and respect for the people around them that might be struggling and having a hard time dealing with their emotions,” he said.
Maddie M. said working with Below helped her grow as an artist. “My art style has gotten way better,” she said. But beyond developing her skills, seeing an autistic artist mentoring the group was especially meaningful. “It feels important because I feel like I’m not the only one around who is autistic.”
For Below, watching the students discover their creativity has been one of the most meaningful parts of his journey. And while mentoring has become a powerful part of that story, his work as an artist continues to take him in new directions.
Beyond the classroom, Below continues to pursue his work as a professional artist. Among his accomplishments, he has illustrated several children’s books and creates everything from animated characters to commissioned portraits and caricatures. His work has also gained international recognition, including a feature in the art publication ArtistCloseUP, which highlights emerging artists from around the world.
His creative outlook has also been shaped by experiences far beyond the studio. Having traveled to more than 30 countries, Below has found inspiration in art and culture across the globe. From standing beneath the glass pyramid at the Louvre in Paris to seeing Michelangelo’s David in Florence, encounters like these have reinforced something he has long believed: that art has the power to connect people across cultures and perspectives.
Looking back, Below acknowledges how far his journey has taken him — from a young artist discovering animation to someone now sharing that passion with others. Along the way, he has come to see his autism not as a limitation, but as a strength that shapes the way he observes the world and expresses it through art.
“A lot of systems divide people,” he said. “Artists try to break free from that.”
That perspective guides the way he mentors students, encouraging them to explore their creativity and tell their own stories.
“Don’t be afraid to share your successes,” he said. “Being humble is a virtue, but so is being confident. The world does need you as an artist.”
It’s a message shaped by his own journey and one he now carries into the classroom — helping young artists bring their own stories to life, one frame at a time.
Explore more of Below’s work online:
Website: jacobbelow.com
Instagram: @jbelowproductions
YouTube: @Jacobbelow
