Who was Derrick J Wyatt? Tributes pour in as Ben 10 and Transformers cartoon artist dies aged 49

Derrick J Wyatt (Image via WB Animation and Infinite Frontiers/YouTube)

Earlier this month, Ben 10 and Transformers cartoonist Derrick J Wyatt passed away at the age of 49. The sad news of his demise was tweeted by his friend Josh Perez, who received the information from Wyatt’s sister.

While no information about the cause of his death has been revealed yet, Perez mentioned that Derrick J Wyatt’s family would disclose further details in the future. The tweet also insinuated that Derrick’s death was unexpected.

Following the news of his demise, several associates and fans of Derrick J Wyatt took to Twitter to share their condolences. Several tweets also included artwork and shared memories of the late artist.

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What is known about Derrick J Wyatt?

Derrick J Wyatt was a cartoonist and worked as a character designer in several popular animated shows. Wyatt also served as a color stylist and art director for many projects.

The Michigan native had attended the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art, now known as the Kubert School. During his course, Derrick J Wyatt was involved in an internship at animation studio Spümcø, where he was later employed after graduation.

The artist left the animation firm around three years before it was closed following a lawsuit in 2005. After leaving Spümcø, Derrick joined Warner Brothers Animation, where he worked on multiple renowned cartoon projects.

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Derrick J Wyatt’s fans and associates tweet tributes to the late artist following his unexpected death

Derrick garnered several fans over the course of his career and worked with multiple artists on his projects. Several people who knew him poured their condolences and recalled their memories of interacting with him at conventions.

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Exploring Derrick J Wyatt’s legacy

The late Derrick J Wyatt worked as a character design artist in many well-known cartoon IPs over two decades. In 2001 and 2002, he worked as a background designer in two Jetson television shorts.

At WB Animation, Derrick’s first project as a character designer was an animated short series titled ¡Mucha Lucha!, following which he worked on the classic Teen Titans series. He later worked on his dream project, Transformers Animated, after being a fan of the original series while growing up.

From 2012 to 2014, Derrick J Wyatt also designed characters in the fourth installment of the iconic animated show, Ben 10: Omniverse. Around the same time, he also served as the lead character designer and character design supervisor for Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated.

In 2013, he received an Annie Award nomination for his character design in Ben 10: Omniverse. According to his IMDb page, the Burbank-based artist’s last project was the second season of Fox’s animated adult sitcom, Bless the Harts.