Biola University
Kevin Botka and Anna Grace Hodge were drawn to Biola by the renowned Snyder School of Cinema & Media Arts, where they met animating a story for the university’s annual Missions Conference.
Today, Kevin (B.A. ’15) and Anna Grace (B.A. ’14) Botka are writing their own story as the husband-and-wife owners of Botka Studio, a boutique animation and film house. Based near Denver, Colorado, the Botkas create compelling, story-driven projects for clients worldwide. Kevin and Anna Grace are known for their ability to communicate powerful concepts and the deepest of human emotions through animation.
“Animation can simplify complex ideas and portray sensitive subjects with care and privacy,” Anna Grace says. “It tests the limits of imagination and creativity.”
The Botkas’ imaginative, creative animation is introducing children worldwide to the gospel in the vivid frames of The Biggest Story Bible Storybook. This series of short, beautifully animated films tells 104 stories from the Bible, explaining how they all fit together to communicate the overarching story of God’s love and redemption.
The films are based on the book The Biggest Story Bible Storybook written by Kevin DeYoung and illustrated by Don Clark. When Christian publisher Crossway decided to create a film series and church curriculum based on the book, the Botkas were chosen to bring Clark’s original illustrations to life. Working with director Phil Borst, Kevin and Anna Grace were responsible for 70% of the animation on the project, which took more than three years to complete.
From the creation story to the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, the Botkas animated the Bible in easy-to-understand, three- to five-minute segments with a combined run time of seven hours. The inspirational films are used by churches, Sunday school classes and homeschoolers, and serve as ideal family devotionals. Available on DVDs, as free digital downloads and on streaming platforms like YouTube, The Biggest Story Bible Storybook has been viewed by hundreds of thousands of children worldwide.
“The stories we’ve heard from families brought us to tears,” Anna Grace says. “We’ve been told about kids coming to Christ through watching our videos. It’s an incredible gift to not only help kids understand how the entire Bible points to Jesus, but also to hear that through our films, many parents see for the first time that the whole Bible is connected and that Jesus is a part of every story.”
Their experiences at Biola helped prepare the Botkas for The Biggest Story, which they call “the project of a lifetime.”
“We were given a firm foundation in theology at Biola,” Anna Grace says. “How we animated a character could carry vastly different theological meanings depending on which approach we took. In planning meetings, Kevin and I didn’t hesitate to speak up when an idea didn’t line up with the biblical meaning.”
Biola offered the Botkas real-world experience in the film industry as students, and connected them with professors and peers they’ve continued to work with as film industry professionals.
Biola also guided Kevin and Anna Grace in incorporating their faith in all of their work, whether that work is explicitly Christian or not. While Botka Studio’s portfolio showcases work for global ministries like BibleProject and Awana, their clients also include banks, virtual reality games and tech companies.
The footer of the Botka website includes the notation “S.G.D.,” a nod to the great composers like Bach and Handel, who signed the same notation to their works. The letters stand for Soli Deo Gloria, Latin for “glory to God alone.”
“This is a very fast-changing, technology-affected industry. We don’t know what the future will hold,” Kevin says. “We want to give glory to God through the work of our hands. We hope to double down on high-quality, hand-crafted animation as the antidote for the tidal wave of AI-generated material we know is coming. In a future where ‘truth’ will be harder to find and discern than ever before, we aim in our work and lives to point people to the only Truth, Jesus Christ.”
DRAWING ON A FAMILY LEGACY
Kevin Botka’s grandfather, the late Clyde Cook, served as Biola’s president from 1982 to 2007. Cook gave Kevin his first computer, an older model device retired from Biola. Young Kevin used the computer to teach himself Adobe After Effects, a skill he used to create lightsaber movies with his brothers, Bryan (B.M. ’19) and Tyler (B.S. ’25).
