Eric Siebenaler

This article is about . For other uses of "Eric", see Eric (disambiguation)|The name or term "Eric" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Eric (disambiguation).}}
"I see what you did there."—Siebenaler at BotCon 2005

Eric J. Siebenaler is a Hasbro designer who worked on the Transformers brand for several years. He graduated from Purdue University with a degree in Industrial Design. Siebenaler joined the Transformers team in 2002, and his first design was Armada Laserbeak. Siebenaler was largely responsible for developing the Transformers Animated series, serving as its lead designer.

Siebenaler did not attend BotCon 2008 personally as he was in Australia on a working holiday. However, Hasbro provided a life-size cardboard cut out of Siebenaler that fans could write messages on, which Hasbro would then mail to him. The non-cardboard Siebenaler briefly appeared on the Australian children's program Toasted TV on August 8, 2008, to talk about designing Animated toys. He also appeared on Network Ten's TTN and men's magazine FHM for similar interviews.

On November 8 and 9, Siebenaler returned to Australia as part of a promotion by Hasbro Australia, the Cartoon Network Australia and K-Mart Australia. He drew Transformers designs by children who had won a Cartoon Network competition.<ref>OzFormers forum news post about the promotion and Siebenaler's brief return to Australia</ref>

BotCon 2011 was his last as a member of the Transformers design team, as he had already moved onto the Star Wars brand within Hasbro a year prior. Following a brief stint as design manager for the Littlest Pet Shop brand, Siebenaler quit Hasbro in 2014 and went freelance under the name EJS Design LLC. Siebenaler continued to work with the Transformers brand as a freelance artist, notably contributing a significant portion of the concept design work for the Transformers: Cyberverse franchise.<ref name="linkedin">Eric Siebenaler's Linkedin profile</ref>

In December 2021, he became head of character design for independent art studio Superplastic and subsequently retired from freelance work in February 2022.

On October 25, 2025 during his and Aaron Archer's toy design panel at TFCon Chicago, Siebenaler annouced that he is returning to the Transformers toy design team and will be working with Mark Maher on the Generations line. <ref>[1]</ref> Then on March 30, 2026 he annouced he would be returning to work at Hasbro full time though which department he's currently working on remains to be known. <ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/DWhVmk7EibE/?igsh=MWJoNnJrYWkxZGE0MA==</ref>

Known design projects

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Super-Cons Max-Cons
Laserbeak


Energon Class
  • Duststorm / Wideload
  • Insecticon
  • Sky Shadow / Terradive
  • Treadshot / Windrazor
  • Combat Class
  • Prowl
  • Roadblock
  • Rodimus
  • Steamhammer
  • Storm Jet
  • Tow-Line
  • Energon Class Arcee
    Combat Class Hot Shot
    Mega Class Command Class Leader Class Supreme Class


    Scout Class
  • Overhaul / Brushguard
  • Ransack
  • Scattorshot
  • Shortround
  • Deluxe Class
  • Landmine
  • Override / Override GTS
  • Red Alert
  • Thunderblast
  • Thundercracker
  • Leader Class Optimus Prime
    Voyager Class Ultra Class Leader Class Supreme Class



    Deluxe Class
  • Rodimus
  • Mirage
    (with Alex Kubalsky)
  • Ramjet
  • Starscream
  • Voyager Class Box Sets
    Voyager Megatron


    Deluxe Class
    Voyager Class Leader Class
    Deluxe Payload


    Deluxe Class
    Voyager Class Leader Class
    Deluxe Lockdown
    Voyager Wreck-Gar
    Entertainment Packs


    Scout Class
    Voyager Class
    Scout Class Dirt Boss


    2-packs
    5-packs
    Grimstone with Dinobots 5-pack


    Deluxe Class
    Voyager Class Leader Class
    Voyager Skyhammer


    Deluxe Class
    Voyager Class Entertainment Pack
    Deluxe Vehicon


    Convention appearances

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    Hasbro Pulse livestream appearances

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    Fiction

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    Mini Mayhem!

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    Eric assured everyone that, though the Transformers Animated toys wouldn't be out until June 2008, they would be worth the wait. When Cyclops wound up getting kicked out of his house for watching too much Transformers Animated, he wound up crashing at Eric's house, and oggled Blackarachnia off his big-screen TV. Later in the year, at BotCon, Megatron attempted to track Eric down so he could use the upcoming toy designs to conquer the Autobots! But Eric was hanging out with Unarchy in Australia at the time, and so Megatron's plan fell to shambles.

    Eric met negative-polarity Rodimus and Ultra Magnus, and pleaded with them to deactivate their aggressor units to avoid getting beaten up by the two of them. Whether he swayed them to spare him or not, he definitely didn't succeed with Snarl, who left him groaning on the floor in pain after socking him in the gut.

    On Thanksgiving Day, Eric enlisted Derrick J. Wyatt to cook a turkey for dinner. But Derrick got too distracted by his new designs for Transformers Animated, and wound up burning the bird. Derrick and Eric were later seen eating a pie together, but Optimus had something much more exciting to show off... Sunstreaker and Hot Rod eating a pie! Mini Mayhem!

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    Extended Eric Siebenaler gallery

    Notes

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    References

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    <references />
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    Interviews

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