Since January 1995 Whitlatch was the creature designer for Episode I. She does traditional illustration and animation to see how the creatures move. Occasionally, she does spot illustrations for Lucas Publishing. Though George Lucas names most of the creatures, Whitlatch has supplied the names for some of her creations.

She has also designed animal-themed ornaments, figurines and other products for the World Wildlife Fund and Willitz Designs. She joined Industrial Light & Magic in 1994 to work on Jumanji. She has also worked on Dragonheart, The Indian in the Cupboard, Men in Black, and Budweiser and Honeycomb commercials and the Star Wars Trilogy Special Edition.

Terryl Whitlatch was born in Oakland, California and grew up in the East Bay. She attended Sonoma State University where she studied zoology. She later transferred to the Academy of Art College in San Francisco. During her last term in college, Whitlatch freelanced for the LucasArts Entertainment Company on The Dig, for which she designed alien creatures.