Mike Kunkel

Founder

The Astonish Factory

Mike Kunkel is first and foremost a cartoonist! Writing and drawing cartoons is something he’s wanted to do since he was a kid and now, with over 20 years of experience in the animation industry, Mike has done just that! He’s worked on numerous TV and film projects as a director, story and development artist, character designer, screenwriter, and animator. Mike has worked for studios such as Warner Bros., Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, Sony Pictures Animation, Universal Pictures and Walt Disney Animation Studios.

As a published writer and artist, Mike has been nominated three times for the prestigious Eisner Award and four times for the Ignatz award; he’s the creator of the two-time Eisner Award-winning comic book series Herobear and the Kid. As a designer for TV, he won the Annie Award for Best Character Design in an Animated Television Production. He developed and teaches the Storyboarding Workshops at Animation Mentor.

Portfolio

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See more of Mike’s work

MIke’s Credits

Herobear and the Kid

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Tarzan

Hercules

Films

Wonder Park
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Smurfs: The Lost Village
Americano
Free Birds
Tarzan
Hercules
Cats Don’t Dance
The Pagemaster
Once Upon a Forest

Short Films

How to Haunt a House
The Little Match Girl

Television / Video

Madagascar: A Little Wild
Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?
The Flintstones & WWE: Stone Age Smackdown
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
Tom and Jerry: Santa’s Little Helper
Sofia the First
Special Agent Oso
Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil
Quest for Zhu
My Gym Partner’s a Monkey
Emperor
The Life and Times of Juniper Lee
Bionicle 3: Web of Shadows
My Life as a Teenage Robot
One by One
A Dairy Tale
The Proud Family

See more of Mike’s credits on IMDB

What Mike’s Students are Saying

Amazing Mentor

Mike was an amazing mentor. I really feel like I learned a ton about storyboarding and I’m happy I decided to use AM to do so. Mike’s draw-overs of my storyboards were so illustrative and informative and I was so glad that I could watch the critiques of my classmates as well. Mike is such a knowledgeable, supportive and approachable mentor. I really felt like he was excited to share this information with us and I feel like I learned better as a result of his enthusiasm.

An Exceptional Experience

Mike the mentor was really great. His material, assignments, and feedback really made this an exceptional experience. I was really pleased that this was NOT a software how-to course. The concepts explored in the course could have easily been realized with pen and paper which was very refreshing. The focus was where it should be… storytelling and visual communication. The ability to watch the video critiques of other student’s work was also extremely helpful. Well done Mike and AM.

Learned More in a Few Weeks than on My Own

I loved working with my instructor Mike Kunkel! He is an amazing teacher and I learned more from him in a few weeks than I did in years on my own.

Mike is What Made this Course Great

Mike is what really made this course great! His introduction of new and different ideas and applying critical thinking really helped expand even basic concepts. The many insights to the mentors’ day to day work painted a broader picture of the industry. And all around very supportive of me and other students in the class.

Positive Attitude and Passionate

Mike was always very knowledgeable, patient, and enthusiastic. It’s easy to become a little discouraged when you’re learning something new because you’re always bad at it at first. So having someone with such a positive attitude and clearly passionate about what he teaches helps immensely.

Amazing Mentor

Mike was an amazing mentor. I really feel like I learned a ton about storyboarding and I’m happy I decided to use AM to do so. Mike’s draw-overs of my storyboards were so illustrative and informative and I was so glad that I could watch the critiques of my classmates as well. Mike is such a knowledgeable, supportive and approachable mentor. I really felt like he was excited to share this information with us and I feel like I learned better as a result of his enthusiasm.

An Exceptional Experience

Mike the mentor was really great. His material, assignments, and feedback really made this an exceptional experience. I was really pleased that this was NOT a software how-to course. The concepts explored in the course could have easily been realized with pen and paper which was very refreshing. The focus was where it should be… storytelling and visual communication. The ability to watch the video critiques of other student’s work was also extremely helpful. Well done Mike and AM.

Learned More in a Few Weeks than on My Own

I loved working with my instructor Mike Kunkel! He is an amazing teacher and I learned more from him in a few weeks than I did in years on my own.

Mike is What Made this Course Great

Mike is what really made this course great! His introduction of new and different ideas and applying critical thinking really helped expand even basic concepts. The many insights to the mentors’ day to day work painted a broader picture of the industry. And all around very supportive of me and other students in the class.

Positive Attitude and Passionate

Mike was always very knowledgeable, patient, and enthusiastic. It’s easy to become a little discouraged when you’re learning something new because you’re always bad at it at first. So having someone with such a positive attitude and clearly passionate about what he teaches helps immensely.

Courses Taught By Mike

Courses may vary from term to term.

Story I: Storyboarding
Fundamentals

6-Week Workshop

Learn basic storyboarding techniques and skills.

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Story II: Intermediate Storyboarding

6-Week Workshop

Build a story from scratch, including pitch, script, and animatic.

Learn More

Check Out More Mentors

Mike Kunkel

Portfolio

MIke’s Credits

Films

Short Films

Television / Video

What Mike’s Students are Saying

Amazing Mentor

An Exceptional Experience

Learned More in a Few Weeks than on My Own

Mike is What Made this Course Great

Positive Attitude and Passionate

Amazing Mentor

An Exceptional Experience

Learned More in a Few Weeks than on My Own

Mike is What Made this Course Great

Positive Attitude and Passionate

Courses Taught By Mike

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