Paul Glenn Boyd was born September 30, 1967, in Pasadena, California. He grew up showing an unusual gift in the visual arts.
He began his career working for the animation company International Rocketship on two Gary Larson specials, before becoming a member of the production team for Cartoon Network's Ed, Edd n Eddy, where he worked as a title sequence animator and director.
During the 1990s, Boyd taught many young animators at the Vancouver Film School. A prize in his honour for the top student in Classical Animation at the Vancouver Film School is funded by his family and presented three times per year.
While in his 20s, Boyd was diagnosed with bipolar disorder that he received effective treatment for almost 20 years.
On August 13, 2007, Boyd was shot and killed by Vancouver police officer Lee Chipperfield. A video recorded by tourists showed Boyd being shot nine times after wielding what was believed to be a bicycle chain, while other witnesses states it was merely paperclips, at officers who came to respond to a disturbance involving him. The ninth shot that struck Boyd was fired as he was on the ground. Chipperfield was allowed to return to work the next day. The excessive force was criticized by many of Boyd's friends and family
May 2012, a video captured by a tourist's video camera surfaced. In the video, which starts just as a the 7th and 8th shots went off, Paul is seen crawling on the road, unarmed. In the time between the eighth and ninth shot, an officer is standing near Paul holding the chain and throwing it to the side providing evidence that Boyd was unarmed at the time the fatal shot was fired.
The Ed, Edd n Eddy episode "May I Have This Ed? / Look Before You Ed!" is dedicated in Boyd's memory, "Paul Boyd 1967-2007. We miss you, you big lug!".