Mighty Oak Ed

Learn animation and more from our talented team.

Mighty Oak ED is an educational initiative that offers in-person and online animation classes to the public.

Each workshop is designed and taught by our staff of directors, producers, designers, writers and executives who have created award-winning work for clients like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Adult Swim, HBO, The New York Times, TED Talks and more.

Whether you’re a beginner wanting to learn more about the animation process, or a professional looking to continue your education and hone new skills — Mighty Oak ED has something for everyone.

Sign up for our newsletter and follow us on Instagram to get updates on new and upcoming classes throughout the year.

UPCOMING WORKSHOPS

Stay tuned for upcoming 2025 workshops and follow our Eventbrite for updates!

This virtual workshop offers an introduction and overview of animation production management. Drawing from her experience managing stop-motion productions like SpongeBob and The Cuphead Show, your instructor, Casey Follen, will guide you through the daily responsibilities associated with various production management roles. She will cover key concepts related to team oversight, budget management, and production scheduling. Additionally, the workshop will introduce simple and accessible tools while discussing how the principles of managing a professional animated production can be applied to independent creative projects.

Your instructor: Casey Follen

Casey is a creative producer specializing in stop motion animation, with experience in 2D, 3D, and mixed-media production pipelines. She is also a passionate artist advocate working to create a more inclusive animation industry. Her freelance brand is Catalyst Castle Studios. In addition to her production work, Casey teaches at the College for Creative Studies and the Laguna College of Art and Design. She is a co-founder of Animation Wild Card and co-hosts the Hello Stop Mo podcast.

Date: Thursday, May 8, 2025 from 6:30pm to 9:30pm EST

RSVP for this workshop here!

Must be 18+ to sign up.

Learn to craft a compelling pitch for your graphic novel and get it in front of the right people. Whether you're new to comics or an experienced creator, Ira will provide an overview of the modern comic market to help you find the right home for your story. From there we'll take a look at the anatomy of a good pitch, and review valuable insights into lesser-known aspects of publishing—such as marketing trends, acquisition meetings, and publishing contracts. This class is packed with professional advice, including insights from Ira’s agent and editor!

Your Instructor: Ira Marks

Ira Marcks is an award-winning, New York Times-recommended author and comics educator. His work explores the potential of sequential storytelling and has led an eclectic mix of collaborators, including the Hugo Award-winning magazine, Weird Tales, the European Research Council, and a White House Fellowship Researcher.

Date: Wednesday, May 21, 2025 from 6:30pm to 9:30pm EST

RSVP for this workshop here!

Must be 18+ to sign up.

Children’s publishing isn’t always a straight path. It twists, it turns, and there are often gatekeepers guarding the next step. This class offers a practical guide to finding your way—covering how to craft a pitch, query agents, and work with editors and art directors. We'll also weigh the pros and cons of traditional versus self-publishing, and explore what happens after a book deal to carry your story through to the final page. Along the way, we’ll dive into craft—discovering your story’s theme, shaping the plot, and building characters who bring your book to life. You'll leave with a clearer understanding of the publishing world—and the tools to face the dragons along the way.

Your instructors: Joy + Noelle

Annie-nominated JOY + NOELLE are illustrators, animators, and, as it happens, twins. They are driven to tell stories through illustration, animated short films, and children's books. Joy and Noelle both studied Media Arts at Pratt Institute; their thesis film was their first collaboration and they haven’t looked back. Based in NY, Joy is in the city and Noelle is in the mountains. Living apart yet working together, they keep rooms in each other’s house and nooks in each other’s heart. They also keep an exquisite collection of charming objects and charming pets, from which they draw inspiration. Clients include Anthropologie, NBC Universal, Hornet Inc, Transistor Studios, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, Amazon Studios and Sesame Studios, among others. Ever the visual storytellers, Joy and Noelle are currently creating a middle grade graphic novel with Mighty Oak about twin witches (not at all autobiographical).

Date: Thursday June 12, 2025 from 6:30pm to 9:30pm EST

RSVP for this workshop here!

Must be 18+ to sign up.

In this workshop, participants will get tools to:

Understand Client Needs: Learn to identify and prioritize client expectations along with the pitch’s specificities to tailor your presentations effectively.
Design Engaging Content: Explore techniques for creating visually appealing and informative slides that hold client attention - Fonts, colors, layouts, and visuals that shine.
Crafting the structure: Discover how to organize your deck to tell a compelling story that aligns with client objectives and to drive your deck to victory!
Organizing the visuals: Gain insights into incorporating the right visuals and references - as I like to say, a good moodboard is worth a thousand words.
Case study: Dive into previous real client decks that won pitches - let’s see what works.
Pitching With Confidence: Because even the best deck won’t work if you don’t deliver it with confidence, we’ll cover some tips to plan your pitches right.
1 hour Q&A: We will have an hour to discuss and answer any question participants may have to refine decks.

Your instructor: Lili Boisrond

Meet Lili Boisrond—animator, art director, graphic designer and client-whisperer! With a background in animation, visual arts, and jazz (yes, jazz), Lili has been working as a freelancer along with turning big ideas into compelling presentations that made clients say yes.

Her experience spans NYC studios, graduating valedictorian from the Gobelins animation school in Paris, and freelancing between Europe and the US. She’s worked with powerhouse clients like Chanel, Google, IKEA, Lyft, New Balance, CBS, Apple TV, Elie Saab, and more—bringing their stories to life through animation, stop motion, illustration, and motion design. But it all starts with a client deck.

Date: Thursday, June 26, 2025 from 5pm to 8pm EST

RSVP for this workshop here!

Must be 18+ to sign up.

In this workshop, you’ll discover the ten most important legal issues that impact filmmakers and animators; from contracts to employment, fair use to insurance, life rights to working with unions, you’ll learn how to navigate the problems that are most likely to arise as you navigate your career. The workshop will also touch on artificial intelligence and how it’s already affecting creatives.

Your instructor: Greg Kanaan

Greg Kanaan is the Founder and Managing Attorney of The Legal Artist, a New-England based law firm that focuses on intellectual property, business law, and contract issues for artists, filmmakers, and creative entrepreneurs. Greg is an experienced intellectual property and entertainment attorney and has been representing creative professionals for over twelve years.

Prior to becoming an attorney, Greg was a television producer, working on documentary series for Discovery Channel, Court TV, TLC, and A&E, among others. He studied film and animation at the Rhode Island School of Design where he received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2002.

In 2009, Greg enrolled at Northeastern University School of Law to get a better sense of how the entertainment business worked. He quickly became an expert on entertainment and art law and built his practice exclusively around filmmakers, artists, and other creative people.

Now based out of New Haven county in Connecticut, Greg represents clients across a wide spectrum of creative fields, including film and television production companies, app developers, writers, performers, visual artists, designers, architects, and more. Not only does Greg provide legal services and counsel, he regularly lectures at colleges, non-profit art organizations, and professional design associations where he presents on topics such as contract formation, negotiation, fair use, trademark, and other business-related issues. He currently teaches a law and governance course at the Pratt Institute in New York City. Greg is licensed to practice law in Connecticut and New York.

Date: Thursday, July 10, 2025 from 6:30pm to 8:30pm EST

RSVP for this workshop here!

Must be 18+ to sign up.

This course explores the foundations of sound in animation through practical and theoretical applications, examining how audio and visuals complement one another to reinforce the magic of storytelling. Through a detailed walkthrough of the software and real-time demos, this workshop will examine the basics of audio techniques and how to apply them to animation and film projects. Students will complete this course with an appreciation of the critical function of sound and a familiarity with the tools necessary to execute an auditory and visual story.

Your instructor: Anthony Galante

Anthony Galante is an Emmy-nominated Stop Motion Director and Animator based in New York City. From storyboarding to fabrication, animation to sound design, Anthony has worn many hats in the animation process throughout his decade-long career. With Mighty Oak, he has collaborated with names such as Netflix, Amazon, Adult Swim, TruTV and Nick Jr. as well as Conde Nast, The New York Times, Coca-Cola, Samsung, GE, Etsy, Airbnb, and TED Talks. In the Fall of 2021, Anthony became an adjunct professor at the School of Visual Arts (SVA), teaching one of their required courses, “Sonic Storytelling”, a sound class constructed to remind animation students that “half of a great animation is in the visuals. The other half is in its sound design.”

Date: Thursday August 7th, 2025 from 6:30pm - 9:30pm EST

RSVP for this workshop here!

Must be 18+ to sign up.

This two-session course explores Photoshop’s advanced tools and techniques for illustrators of all levels through the lens of professional retouching studio best practices, providing advanced techniques to streamline their workflows, create more flexible and organized files, and apply high-end finishing touches. The first session (9/9/25) focuses on advanced Photoshop fundamentals, industry techniques, and the strategic use of AI tools where appropriate. The second session (9/16/25) offers personalized feedback, live file adjustments, and tailored guidance to help students refine and elevate their own work.

Basic Photoshop knowledge is recommended but fundamentals will be covered during the class.

Date: Starts Tuesday September 9th, 2025 from 6:30pm - 9:30pm EST

RSVP for this workshop here!

Must be 18+ to sign up.

Want to place your stop-motion puppet into any background? Or extend your scene with multiple layers of extra mountains or buildings? In this Mighty Oak ED workshop, we'll cover the basics on how to plan out, light, photograph, and edit green screen. This hands-on learning experience is the perfect way to add green screening to your skillset. We'll be using seamless paper, C-stands, light stands, a variety of lights, bounce boards, gels, and other common film equipment, as well as Adobe After Effects to edit our scene.

*This course does require some light to medium lifting and active listening. It is important that participants are always aware of the space around them to reduce the risk of accidents and/or injury.

Date: Thursday September 18th, 2025 from 6:30pm - 9:30pm EST

RSVP for this workshop here!

Must be 18+ to sign up.

Your instructor: Anthony Galante

In this hands-on class, students will explore the fundamentals of stop motion animation with a focus on lip syncing using clay mouths. From shaping expressive mouth shapes to timing dialogue with precision, you’ll gain the skills to make your characters speak, emote, and engage. Perfect for beginner animators, this class combines creativity, technique, and storytelling in a fun, supportive environment.

All material will be provided by Mighty Oak.

Date: Thursday October 16th, 2025 from 6:30pm - 9:30pm EST

RSVP for this workshop here!

Must be 18+ to sign up.

Your instructor: Anthony Galante

Join Emily Collins and Michaela Olsen, the founders of Mighty Oak, a women and queer-owned animation studio based in NYC. In this presentation, they’ll take you behind the scenes of their creative journey—sharing how they brought Mighty Oak to life, the magic behind their original animated projects, and their work for clients. Plus, they’ll reveal insider tips and actionable advice on how to launch your own animation career. Whether you're aspiring to animate, create, or simply explore the world of animation, this session is packed with inspiration and practical advice!

Date: Thursday November 6th, 2025 from 6:30pm - 9:30pm EST