Information
Personal
Born in Philadelphia, PA, 1979
Lived in NYC 1997 to 2002, Los Angeles 2002 to 2008, Philadelphia 2008 to present
Education
1997-2001 School of Visual Arts, New York, NY, BFA Animation, awarded a Silas H. Rhodes Merit Scholarship
2022-Current Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, MS Digital Media (in progress)
Exhibitions
2004 Meltdown Gallery, “Meathaus Meltdown” group show, Los Angeles, CA
2004 MoCCA Gallery, Meathaus group show, New York, NY
2005 XFUNS group show, Taiwan
2006 Nickelodeon Studios, “Real Life Wizardz” group show, Los Angeles, CA
2008 World of Wonder Gallery, “I am 8-Bit” group show, Los Angeles, CA
2010 Brave New Worlds, “Domo Arigato” group show, Philadelphia, PA
2015 AIGA Space, “Graphic & Novel” group show, Philadelphia, PA
Festivals
St. Vincent “The Melting of the Sun” music video
Happy Valley Animation Festival, Official Selection, 2021, Happy Valley, USA
Linoleum Contemporary Animation and Media Art Festival, Official Selection, 2021, Kyiv, Ukraine
Animasyros International Animation Festival + Agora, Official Selection, 2021, Syros, Greece
Philadelphia Independent Film Festival, Official Selection, 2022, Philadelphia, USA
Short Short Fest, Official Selection, 2022, Philadelphia, USA
Jersey Shore Film Festival, Nominee, 2021, Deal, USA
Aldous Harding “Tick Tock” music video
Festival Cartón, Official Selection, 2022, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Short Short Fest, Official Selection, 2022, Philadelphia, USA
Imaginaria Festival, Official Selection, 2022, Conversano, Italy
AniMate - Australia Animation Film Festival Semi-Finalist, 2022, Newtown, Australia
The ASIFA-East Animation Festival, 2nd Place Music Video Winner, 2023, NYC, USA
Animation Block Party, Official Selection, 2023, NYC, USA
Press
2003 XFUNS Creative & Design Magazine No. 8, feature on “Chris McDonnell” and animation included on CD-ROM
2005 XFUNS Creative & Design Magazine No. 19, feature on “Meathaus Team”
2006 BBC Collective interview on Meathaus, “DIY Comic Genius”
2008 Outline, Illustrators Australia Newsletter interview, “Meathaus SOS: Chris McD Talks”
2008 Unfiltered: The Complete Ralph Bakshi covered in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Playboy, BlackBook, The Soho Journal, Vanity Fair, New York Magazine
2011 Geekadelphia.com, “Brief Q&A with Artist Chris McDonnell”
2012 Chestnut Hill Local, “Mt. Airy Animator/Illustrator Making a Big Impression”
2014 Adventure Time: The Art of Ooo covered in Boing Boing, Paste Magazine, The LA Times, Gizmodo, Kotaku, io9, ICv2, GeekMom
2017 Steven Universe: Art & Origins covered in Autostraddle, io9
2018 BoJack Horseman: The Art Before the Horse covered in The New York Times, IGN, SyFy Wire, Animation Magazine, Buzzfeed, Advocate Magazine
2020 Steven Universe: End of an Era covered in Variety Magazine, Vulture, Gizmodo
2020 The Art of Invader Zim covered in SyFy Wire, Nerdist
Animation
Urban Box Office
Flash animator and designer for a weekly animated cartoon, 2001
Kounterattack Design
Animation and compositing on the music video for “Overdue” by the band The Get Up Kids, 2002
Bakshi Productions Inc.
Concept art and pitch production with director Ralph Bakshi on various projects, 2002 to 2007
Spümcø International
Concept artwork, pitch production for various projects, 2003
Green Beans Productions / Nick Jr.
Compositing and editing live-action characters onto original animated backgrounds and motion graphics for the children’s show Yo Gabba Gabba, 2007 and animation design and production of complete “jingle” sequence and animation production of complete “storytime” sequence, season three, 2009
Tim and Eric LLC / Adult Swim
Animation and editing for the complete two seasons of the show, Tom Goes To The Mayor, 2004 to 2006 Animation and editing for the Tim and Eric mini web series, Steven and Stephen, 2007 Animation design and production for an episode of Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job, 2009
Hawaii Film Partners, LLC / Nicktoons
Wrote and storyboarded two episodes of the cartoon series Ape Escape, 2007
Dakota Pictures / Adult Swim
Animation and illustration for two segments of Eagleheart, 2012
Run and Gun Productions / HBO
Animation Direction for Brody Stevens: Enjoy It!, 2012
Comedy Central
Animation for Kroll Show, 2013
IFC
Animation for Comedy Bang Bang, 2013
Warner Bros. Animation / Adult Swim
Animation for Mike Tyson Mysteries, 2014
Warner Bros. Animation
Character visual development for a series in development, 2016
Funny Trio Productions / Netflix
Animation for Lady Dynamite season 1 and 2, 2015-2017
TriStar Pictures
Character visual development for a feature film in development, 2017
Cycling Project LLC / HBO
Animation for Tour de Pharmacy, 2017
Blue Ribbon Content
Animation and sound for three logo end tags, 2018
Alex Da Corte LLC
“What Does Assassination Mean?” lettering animation for Alex Da Corte feature film, 2018
Doubleday & Cartwright
Animation for campaigns for Red Bull, Apple, WeTransfer, 2017- 2019
Fox Alternative Entertainment, LLC / FOX
Animation for Let’s Be Real, 2021
Loma Vista Recordings
Animation design and direction for the St. Vincent music video “The Melting of the Sun,” 2021
All Ages Productions
Storyboards, character, BG design for Drexel associated video project on juvenile justice, 2021
Animation design and direction for the Aldous Harding music video “Tick Tock,” 2022
Netflix Media LLC
Animation for Netflix is a Joke promotions, 2022
Jonas and Company, Inc. / Nick Jr.
Animation for Face’s Music Party, 2022
Learning Depot LLC / Peacock
Animation for Paul T. Goldman, 2023
Books
Rizzoli International Publications / Universe
Co-wrote, art directed and designed Unfiltered: The Complete Ralph Bakshi, 2007
Design for 10+ art books including: Universal Studios Monsters, Wonder Woman: Amazon. Hero. Icon., Independently Animated: Bill Plympton, TUNES: A Graphic History of Rock and Roll, Constructing Green Lantern: From Page to Screen, The Joker, Corto Maltese: The Ballad of the Salt Sea, The Science Fiction Universe... And Beyond: Syfy Channel Book of Sci-Fi, Variety: An Illustrated History of the World From the Most Important Magazine in Hollywood, Zombies on Film
Meathaus
Co-editing, design and comics created for all nine issues of this independent comics anthology, three issues of the sketchbook anthology and multiple website versions, 2000-2020
Chronicle Books
Wrote, designed, and illustrated Sasquatch’s Big Hairy Drawing Book, 2011
Woolly Pocket Garden Company
Illustrated the children’s book Dudley and Omar’s Moving Garden, 2011
Abrams
Authored and Designed
- Adventure Time: The Art of Ooo, 2014
- Steven Universe: Art and Origins, 2017
- BoJack Horseman: The Art Before the Horse, 2018
- The Art of Invader Zim, 2020
- Steven Universe: End of an Era, 2020
- The Art of El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera, 2024
Dark Horse Comics
Writing for The Art of Castlevania, 2021
TEACHING
Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ
Part time teacher in the Art Department instructing packaging and portfolio classes, 2008 to 2009
Moore College of Art & Design, Philadelphia, PA
Adjunct Instructor in the Photo and Animation & Game Arts departments, 2015 to 2018
University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA (closed permanently June, 2024)
Senior Lecturer, Illustration, 2010 to 2011, and 2016
Senior Lecturer, Animation, 2010 to 2018
Assistant Professor, Animation, 2018 to 2024
Associate Professor, Animation, 2024
Interim Program Director, Animation, 2021 fall semester
Program Director, Animation, 2022 to 2024
Courses taught include
- Sequential Format (in the Illustration Program)
- Principles of Animation
- 2D Computer Character Animation
- Storyboarding
- Sophomore Animation
- Visual Development for Animation
- Junior Animation
- Animation Professional Practices
Published
Meathaus, issues 1-7, published by Meathaus Enterprises, New York, NY
Meathaus 8: Headgames, published by Alternative Comics, Gainesville, FL
Go For The Gold: A Meathaus Sketchbook, issues 1-3 published by Meathaus, Philadelphia, PA
Meathaus S.O.S., published by Nerdcore, Los Angeles, CA
Unfiltered: The Complete Ralph Bakshi, published by Universe, New York, NY
Sasquatch’s Big Hairy Drawing Book, published by Chronicle Books, San Francisco, CA
Adventure Time: The Art of Ooo, published by Abrams, New York, NY
Steven Universe: Art and Origins, published by Abrams, New York, NY
BoJack Horseman: The Art Before the Horse, published by Abrams, New York, NY
The Art of Invader Zim, published by Abrams, New York, NY
Steven Universe: End of an Era, published by Abrams, New York, NY
The Art of El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera, to be published by Abrams, New York, NY
Skills
Storyboard illustration for animation and live-action, video editing and compositing, book design, graphic design, cartooning and comics, animation production, character design, experimental animation, illustration in digital and traditional media, writing, teaching
Tools
Solid proficiency: Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, After Effects, Premiere, Animate (Flash), Audition, Dragonframe, SketchUp, Toon Boom Harmony, Toon Boom Storyboard Pro, TVPaint
Developing proficiency: Maya, Blender, ZBrush, Unity, Unreal, Spline, Womp