Mike Knapp

About Mike Knapp

Michael Knapp is a veteran Art Director and Production Designer with over 20 years experience in the CGI animated film industry. His responsibilities as Production Designer and Art Director at Blue Sky began with crafting the look of the films to best express the Directors’ vision, but also extended to working closely with artists at every step of the filmmaking process - from Story, Design and Layout all the way through FX and Lighting. It even included overseeing the color grading process (usually in collaboration with the Lighting Supervisor). He leads with an emphasis on inclusivity and teamwork, and always looks to bring out the best in his fellow artists no matter their area of expertise. Michael began his career as a freelance illustrator and commercial storyboard artist, but his love for film and animation eventually steered him to the doorstep of Blue Sky Studios. After designing sets and characters on Robots, environments on Ice Age: The Meltdown, and sets and characters on Horton Hears a Who, he was given his first opportunity to Art Direct on the Academy Award nominated Scrat short No Time For Nuts. He then went on to Art Direct the Blue Sky Studios animated feature films Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Epic, and Ice Age: Collision Course. Most recently, he was the Production Designer on Blue Sky’s feature film Spies in Disguise as well as an unannounced series of animated shorts. His love of visual storytelling can also be found in the anthologies Out of Picture Volumes 1 and 2 of which he was book designer, co-producer and story contributor. His work can be found in The Art of Spies in Disguise, The Art of Robots, The Art of Epic, The Art of Blue Sky Studios, The Art of Ice Age: Collision Course, Spectrum 12 and 13 as well as the Society of Illustrators Annuals 48 and 49. He received awards from the AIGA and Association of Alternative Newsweeklies for his illustration work and has received several Annie Award nominations for his work as a Designer and Art Director. His work has been exhibited at the Society of Illustrators (New York), The Norman Rockwell Museum (Mass.), Galerie Arludik and Le Musée Art Ludique (Paris).

Experience

1. Art Director

   Hornet

   Jul 2022 — Present · New York, NY, US

   Art Direction for animated commercials. Clients include: Kroger, McDonald\'s, Meta, Chipotle

Education

• Ringling School of Art and Design

  BFA, Illustration

  1991 — 1995