I’m Dan McHale, a veteran animator, visual artist, and teacher based in San Francisco. I create animated stories and visual designs across formats—feature storyboards, short films, commercials, and music videos—bringing strong classical animation fundamentals and a clear sense of narrative design to every project.…

Dan McHale

I’m Dan McHale, a veteran animator, visual artist, and teacher based in San Francisco. I create animated stories and visual designs across formats—feature storyboards, short films, commercials, and music videos—bringing strong classical animation fundamentals and a clear sense of narrative design to every project.…

Available to hire

I’m Dan McHale, a veteran animator, visual artist, and teacher based in San Francisco. I create animated stories and visual designs across formats—feature storyboards, short films, commercials, and music videos—bringing strong classical animation fundamentals and a clear sense of narrative design to every project.

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Skills

Experience Level

Work Experience

Instructor (Visual Storytelling and Drawing for Animation) at California College of the Arts
December 31, 2019 - May 5, 2026
Taught courses in Visual Storytelling and Drawing for Animation.
Creator/Animator (Independent) at Independent
January 1, 2019 - December 31, 2021
Storyboards for “Love, Murder and Miracles,” a feature documentary directed by Yoav Potash.
Instructor at San Francisco State University
January 1, 2019 - December 31, 2019
Taught Drawing for Animation on the SFSU main campus.
Instructor (Drawing for Animation) at San Francisco State University
January 1, 2019 - January 1, 2019
Taught Drawing for Animation on the SFSU main campus.
Storyboards for feature documentary at Independent (creator/animator work)
January 1, 2019 - January 1, 2021
Storyboards for “Love, Murder and Miracles,” a feature documentary directed by Yoav Potash.
Creator/Animator at Independent
January 1, 2019 - January 1, 2021
Storyboards for the feature documentary “Love, Murder and Miracles” directed by Yoav Potash.
Teacher of Animation Workshop at Lycée Français de San Francisco
January 1, 2018 - December 31, 2018
Led an animation workshop with 3rd grade students.
Teacher (Animation Workshop) at Lycée Français de San Francisco
January 1, 2018 - January 1, 2018
Led an animation workshop with 3rd grade students.
Creator/Animator (Independent) at Independent
January 1, 2015 - December 31, 2015
Created the short film “Splotch,” which screened at the San Francisco International Film Festival 2016.
Creator/Animator at Independent
January 1, 2015 - December 31, 2015
Created the short film “Splotch,” which screened at the San Francisco International Film Festival 2016.
Animator (Independent) at Independent
January 1, 2014 - December 31, 2014
Animation work for the TV commercial “Wolf” for Ffake (Portland).
Animator at Independent
January 1, 2014 - December 31, 2014
Animated the TV commercial “Wolf” for Ffake (Portland).
Instructor (Drawing Fundamentals for Animation) at SFSU-CEL
January 1, 2013 - December 31, 2017
Fundamentals of drawing for students of 2D and 3D animation; included workshops in writing and storyboarding short films.
Animator (Independent) at Independent
January 1, 2013 - December 31, 2013
Created the short film “RGB,” which was featured on Cartoon Brew.
Animator (Independent) at Independent
January 1, 2013 - December 31, 2013
Created a video for a Bay Area printing company (Lahlouh).
Instructor (SFSU-CEL) at San Francisco State University - College of Extended Learning (SFSU-CEL)
January 1, 2013 - December 31, 2017
Taught fundamentals of drawing for students of 2D and 3D animation; included workshops in writing and storyboarding short films.
Instructor (Fundamentals of Drawing for Animation) at SFSU-CEL
January 1, 2013 - January 1, 2017
Taught fundamentals of drawing for students of 2D and 3D animation and ran workshops in writing and storyboarding short films.
Animator at Independent
January 1, 2013 - December 31, 2013
Created the short film “RGB,” featured on Cartoon Brew.
Animator at Independent
January 1, 2013 - December 31, 2013
Created video content for a Bay Area printing company (Lahlouh).
Animation/Storyboard + Video Work (Independent) at Independent
January 1, 2012 - December 31, 2012
Created the short film “Skip This Film Now,” which was featured on Cartoon Brew.
Animator/Director at Corduroy Media
January 1, 2012 - December 31, 2012
Produced a video for data management company Tintri (San Mateo).
Animator/Propane at Propane
January 1, 2011 - December 31, 2011
Delivered layout, Flash animation, and compositing for Hitachi Data Systems.
Animator/Designer (Freelance) at Freelance
January 1, 2010 - December 31, 2010
Animation and design for the independent film “The Activist Within.”
Animator/Designer at Freelance
January 1, 2010 - December 31, 2010
Provided animation and design for the independent film “The Activist Within.”
Storyboard Artist at Iwin
January 1, 2010 - December 31, 2011
Created storyboard panels for JewelQuest 6.
Keyframe Artist at Maverix Studios
January 1, 2008 - December 31, 2008
Created narrative key poses for characters and overlay drawing for the Iwin game Mahjong 3.
Story Leader and Illustrator (Youth Writing/Illustration) at 826 Valencia
January 1, 2005 - December 31, 2009
Volunteered to illustrate stories and lead story-making sessions with 3rd grade students.
Storyboard Artist at Wild Brain Inc.
January 1, 2005 - December 31, 2006
Storyboards for the Disney series Higglytown Heroes.
Storyboard Artist at Wild Brain Inc
January 1, 2005 - December 31, 2006
Created storyboards for the Disney series “Higglytown Heroes.”
Animation Director at Wild Brain Inc.
January 1, 1996 - December 31, 2001
Commercials for Sears and KFC.
Animation Director at Wild Brain Inc
January 1, 1996 - December 31, 2001
Directed animation for commercial work, including spots for Sears and KFC.
Animation Director at Colossal Pictures
January 1, 1992 - December 31, 1996
Directed commercials for Owens Corning, Allstate Insurance, Car X, and Burger King.
Animator at AGF
January 1, 1989 - December 31, 1991
Worked on educational films.
Inbetweener at Gaumont
January 1, 1988 - December 31, 1988
Worked on the Asterix feature “Le Devin.”
Animator (Stop-Motion) at Independent
January 1, 1980 - December 31, 1980
Stop-motion film “Art Time,” screened at the San Francisco International Film Festival.

Education

B.A. in Film at San Francisco State University
January 1, 1983 - January 1, 1983

Qualifications

Industry Experience

Media & Entertainment, Education, Professional Services

Skills

Experience Level