Life & Work with Mike Kunkel

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mike Kunkel.

Hi Mike, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Hi!
Thanks so much for letting me babble today. haha
You know, i tell everyone . . .all i ever wanted to be was a Cartoonist.
I’d draw all the time as a little kid. Collected comic strips out of the newspaper. Clipping them and saving them. Read cartoon book collections and comic books. Watched classic cartoons on TV. Saturday Morning, of course! And scribbling on any bit of paper i could find.
I drew cartoons for my friends and family. And in my school newspaper in high school.
One day, in junior high… i saw an interview with a Mad Magazine cartoonist named Sergio Aragones on a TV show. He was(still IS!) an amazingly talented artist and so inspiring. I loved seeing this story/interview about someone drawing cartoons all day. Watching him sketch and have so much fun and joy with it. By the way, this was an old TV show called Real People. A loooong time ago. I think we watched it on my cave wall in caveman days. haha
Well, something clicked with 7th-grade-me when i saw that episode. I came back to school and talked with my friends about it. Some of them had seen it too and we were all inspired to sneak out of school and down to the 7-11 store, buy some Mad Magazines and other comics and draw at recess. It became like a movie montage . . . on the first day there was a whole group of us drawing on the lunch tables. Every day a few people left to go play other stuff, until finally by the end of the week i was the only one at the table feverishly drawing.
And I never stopped. I had found something that clicked with my soul. Drawing cartoony drawerings <— real word.
My hope was to be cartoonist when i grew up. And get to write and draw comic strips and cartoons forever.

From then on, I drew all the time. On all my homework. All through school.
Drew comic strips in the high school newspaper. Cards for family and friends.
I went to school for Illustration/2d- Art in College.
Studied Animation at the Cartoonist Union in Hollywood.
Finally, my best friend, writer/director Jason Lethcoe helped me get my foot in the door in animation. I’d known Jason since 10th grade. He’d gotten the chance to work on Disney’s Roger Rabbit shorts and The Little Mermaid. He’d been mentoring me in cartooning and how to animate. I’d been trying to learn all i could from him and hopefully raise my skills. I look back now, and oof. I had a lot to learn still. haha But, it was a awesome to just be studying cartooning from someone that had some experience.
I’m a big believer in the phrase, “Iron sharpens Iron.” And have tried to learn from every creative person i’ve every encountered. Stay inspired always. And i hope that i pass that gift on to others too. I think we can learn from all levels…someone that is brand-new-green in the industry to someone who’s a veteran artist.

Launching into the industry of animation, i was hired at Hanna-Barbera/Turner Feature Animation for my very first job as an assistant animator. Actually, it was as an “inbetweener.” This the artist that is a beginner and is asked to put in all the drawing in-between the main ones created by the lead animator. You have to study the artist you are following. It was my apprenticeship. And i loved it. I got to work for Dave Michener, who had been an assistant to the legendary Milt Kahl. One of Disney’s Nine Old Men.
From there i worked with(and learned from) 2 specific amazing animators. . . Bruce Smith and Frans Vischer. They mentored me and i couldn’t be more grateful for the artistic guidance and teaching. And eventually i found myself animating for the amazing director Mark Dindal on the film “Cats Don’t Dance.” I had become a full-fledged animator. On paper with pencil no less! Wahooooo! Old schoool!
After this, I was invited to join Disney Studios on Hercules and Tarzan as an character animator working for such Disney Heritage Directors as John Musker and Ron Clements. It was a dream to work there. So much history to be part of in Walt’s House of Mouse. And to be able to be part of that history is amazing. So much dang talent there.
I’ve been blessed to work with amazingly talented artists and mentors that have taught me and inspired me. And i’ve tried to be a bit of a artistic sponge to soak up the lessons and experience and knowledge. Never be so proud to think you know everything. Remember . . . iron sharpens iron.

Ultimately, it’s lead me to a journey in Animation and Film on numerous Television and Film projects as a Director, Story and Development Artist, Character Designer, Screenwriter and Animator. I’ve found myself working for such studios as Warner Bros, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, Sony Entertainment, Riot Games, Netflix Studios, Universal Pictures and Walt Disney Studios.
As a Character Designer, I’ve been able to lend my skills to animated TV shows and features, where my designs in television have won the Annie Award for “Best Character Design in an Animated Television Production” for the show “Juniper Lee”, created by the super talented Judd Winick. I also designed the main character in the Disney game “Where’s My Water? and worked to help bring vision to many, many different projects over the years.

As a Director I’ve had directing TV and Developing Films. I had the best time ever when i directed Season 2 episodes of the show Madagascar: A Little Wild. And shortly after that i was invited to be Supervising Director for Sesame Workshop to oversee nearly 150 shorts for kids that went worldwide. It was so much fun to get to work on classic Sesame Street characters. Cookie and Grover are most definitely favorites of mine. 🙂

In Books and Print, as a published creator, i was happy to be help to relaunch the SHAZAM/Captain Marvel franchise for DC comics as an all-ages comic series. And throughout my book career, I’ve been blessed to be nominated four times for the prestigious Eisner Award and am the creator of the two-time Eisner Award-winning comic book series “Herobear and the Kid” graphic novel series.
“Herobear” is now my main focus of books as i am working on new stories for PaperCutz/Mad Cave Studios. The chance to get to draw my own characters and share them with the world is a bit of a full circle for me to be focused on my own creations. It has also led me to work on a brand new book based on the Flash Gordon character and world. But, this one is even more special . . . i get to create it with my son. AJ Kunkel. We came up with the story together, he’s writing it and i’m drawin’ it. How amazing is that?! So grateful for the chance to work together and bring some good all-ages fun out to the world. Look for “Flash Gordon Volume 3: Dopple-Day Disaster” arriving next year! We’re so excited to share it with everyone. It’s a fun project for kids AND any kid at heart fan. 🙂

Throughout it all . . . my path has lead to now be an independent cartoonist. I work for studios doing development and story still, but mostly i write and draw cartoon stories for my own books and creations.
All i ever wanted to be since i was a kid. A cartoon drawer. 🙂

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Nothing is ever perfect. Getting into the industry had its ups and downs. I remember getting turned down number of times at Disney. Until finally the right opportunity presented itself to be invited.
Persistence and patience. hat’s what i tell my students.
I often tell my students about my path and how we can train for things but still not know what to expect until you’re tossed into the opportunity. ( I teach cartooning, story, and animation)
The way to explain it to them easiest is to remind them that most of us artists were probably the main, sometimes “best”, artists in our schools growing up. Not from a bragging point of view, it was just how things worked out. You were known as the artist of your grade/school. The best one of the time.
Well, when you get to Disney, or anywhere in the industry of animation or comics, you learn quickly . . . EVERYONE was that artist at their school or neighborhood. So, it is humbling and a good reminder of how much you can still learn. And how much talent is out there swirling around us. Again, my favorite phrase has come to life in this realization . . . “Iron sharpens Iron.”

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
As a cartoonist, i’ve been able to work on all kinds of all-ages animation and print projects. At the core, i hope that i’m always seen as someone who brings a fun and heartwarming outlook to a project. .
My friends say i don’t quite draw everything the way it’s supposed to be to keep it “on model” or match the existing design if there is one. Usually i “Kunkel-fy” it. hahaha Which means i bring my style to the project hopefully add a little more of my take on things to plus it and add some goodness. At least i try to!
My goal is to bring a clear vision and definitive style/brand to whatever i’m working on. And mostly, i strive to encourage people to see fun and remind them of the joy of being a kid again in the projects i create and guide. Herobear and the kid is something i’m so grateful for as a storyteller. I landed on something that gave me a chance to tell all-ages stories with heart and hopefully encouragement for the audience.

What matters most to you? Why?
My Faith and my Family. No question.
I’ve been blessed to have an amazing family in my life. It is something i thank God for everyday. Their support and care, and ultimately the joy they bring into my world and daily life is something that is priceless. Nothing is perfect. But, i’m blessed beyond description. There’s a great quote in film/story “The Count of Monte Cristo.” The side character to the Count says, “Once more God sees you out of the corner of His eye. ” I love that and am so grateful for the blessings in my life and to seek Him through every aspect of my journey.
My goal is to encourage others to be creative and find that joy in seeing creativity come to life and making it shareable with the world in a way that uplifts and inspires the audience.

Pricing:

• Art Commission Requests- Little Less than $1,000,000
• Book Illustrations-Little More than $1
• Story Consulting- must be paid partially in donuts

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.theastonishfactory.com
• Instagram: @artofMikeKunkel