Najja Porter and Dashawn Mahone's Work Flow

When Najja Porter and Dashawn Mahone met virtually on a comic-book website back in 2011, they had no idea they'd eventually end up working together on two hit Cartoon Network shows. Hired as storyboard artists on the reboot of Ben 10, they landed on Craig of the Creek in 2018, first as artists and later as supervising directors.

"The series changed my life for the better," Porter says of Craig, which has been nominated for Daytime Emmy, Annie and GLAAD Media Awards. "The crew was very close, and the artists were invited to check out how the other departments worked, including the voice records and the animatics room. As a result, we learned a lot about the other aspects of the production, which I don't think is very common."

Created by Steven Universe writers Matt Burnett and Ben Levin, Craig centers on the misadventures of three young kids growing up in fictional Herkleton, Maryland, as they explore their neighborhood waterway. In addition to a fifth season coming later this summer, fans can expect more entertainment from the Creek- verse: Porter is supervising director on Craig of the Creek: The Movie, which will premiere in 2024, while Mahone is the supervising director on a preschool spinoff titled Jessica's Big Little World, which will debut this year.

The duo is tight-lipped about details but excited about taking the original series in new directions. "Jessica's Big Little World is going to be a nice breath of fresh air in the preschool space. It picks up the torch from Craig, and I am proud of what the crew was able to achieve with this new series," Mahone says. Porter adds, "We're trying to push the movie farther and elevate it a bit from the show as well."

While both Mahone and Porter are concerned about recent cutbacks in animation, they're optimistic about the future. "There are more chances for diverse talent than we had about a decade ago, and I believe there's more effort being made today," Mahone says.

Porter adds, "I hope we see more diverse voices in new, original projects moving forward, instead of just reviving old projects that are recycled. I see posts from people on the animation Reddit pages where they're very concerned about the future, and I want to tell them that there will always be a space for them. Just keep on creating your art." 

The interview for this story was completed before the start of the WGA strike on May 2.

This article originally appeared in emmy magazine issue #7, 2023, under the title, "Work Flow."