Uploaded September 2021 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Hey Rise Up Fam! We are honored to have hosted Bryan Konietzko, co-creator of Avatar the Last Airbender, the Legend of Korra, and Rise Up mentor for a presentation on his approach to pitching projects.
Bryan Konietzko was born in 1976 in a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, and started drawing shortly thereafter. He moved to a suburb of Atlanta, then to a suburb of Louisville, and then back to a different suburb of Atlanta. He read fantasy novels, played a lot of guitar, and listened to a lot of Rush. In 1994, he went back to Ohio and did his foundation year at the Art Academy of Cincinnati. He then transferred to the Rhode Island School of Design where he met his friend and future collaborator, Michael Dante DiMartino. In 1998, Bryan graduated from RISD and joined Michael in Los Angeles, where the latter helped the former get his foot in the door of the TV animation industry working on Family Guy, Mission Hill, and King of the Hill. In 2000, Bryan worked at Nickelodeon on Invader Zim as a storyboard artist and art director. When that show ended in 2002, Bryan and Michael were recruited by Eric Coleman to create and pitch their own series to Nickelodeon. The result was Avatar: The Last Airbender, which premiered in 2005. In 2012 they premiered the sequel series, The Legend of Korra. In 2021, Nickelodeon launched Avatar Studios, headed by Bryan and Michael, to produce new feature and series animation in the extended Avatarverse. Along the way, Bryan has released music under the name Ginormous and launched the indie label Cerulean Records, and he’s been chipping away at an original graphic novel series called Threadworlds which will hopefully be released before he dies in some suburb.
Speaker:
Bryan Konietzko | Co-Chief Creative Officer, Avatar Studios | @bryankonietzko
Guest Host:
Kira Rodrigues | Creative Visual Developer, Connected Media | @kcjr.arts
Rise Up Animation Founders:
Bobby Pontillas
Frank Abney
Trent Correy
Monica Lago-Kaytis
Are you ready to Rise Up together? Join the movement by checking out our upcoming panels and visiting our social media!
Website: riseupanimation.org
Instagram: instagram.com/riseupanimation
Facebook: facebook.com/Rise-Up-Animation-111394517713539
Twitter: mobile.twitter.com/riseupanimation
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/rise-up-animation
Inspire. Educate. Create. #RiseUpAnimation #Avatarthelastairbender #Korra #pitching #animation
Hey Rise Up Fam! We are honored to have hosted Bryan Konietzko, co-creator of Avatar the Last Airbender, the Legend of Korra, and Rise Up mentor for a presentation on his approach to pitching projects.
Bryan Konietzko was born in 1976 in a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, and started drawing shortly thereafter. He moved to a suburb of Atlanta, then to a suburb of Louisville, and then back to a different suburb of Atlanta. He read fantasy novels, played a lot of guitar, and listened to a lot of Rush. In 1994, he went back to Ohio and did his foundation year at the Art Academy of Cincinnati. He then transferred to the Rhode Island School of Design where he met his friend and future collaborator, Michael Dante DiMartino. In 1998, Bryan graduated from RISD and joined Michael in Los Angeles, where the latter helped the former get his foot in the door of the TV animation industry working on Family Guy, Mission Hill, and King of the Hill. In 2000, Bryan worked at Nickelodeon on Invader Zim as a storyboard artist and art director. When that show ended in 2002, Bryan and Michael were recruited by Eric Coleman to create and pitch their own series to Nickelodeon. The result was Avatar: The Last Airbender, which premiered in 2005. In 2012 they premiered the sequel series, The Legend of Korra. In 2021, Nickelodeon launched Avatar Studios, headed by Bryan and Michael, to produce new feature and series animation in the extended Avatarverse. Along the way, Bryan has released music under the name Ginormous and launched the indie label Cerulean Records, and he’s been chipping away at an original graphic novel series called Threadworlds which will hopefully be released before he dies in some suburb.
Speaker:
Bryan Konietzko | Co-Chief Creative Officer, Avatar Studios | @bryankonietzko
Guest Host:
Kira Rodrigues | Creative Visual Developer, Connected Media | @kcjr.arts
Rise Up Animation Founders:
Bobby Pontillas
Frank Abney
Trent Correy
Monica Lago-Kaytis
Are you ready to Rise Up together? Join the movement by checking out our upcoming panels and visiting our social media!
Website: riseupanimation.org
Instagram: instagram.com/riseupanimation
Facebook: facebook.com/Rise-Up-Animation-111394517713539
Twitter: mobile.twitter.com/riseupanimation
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/rise-up-animation
Inspire. Educate. Create. #RiseUpAnimation #Avatarthelastairbender #Korra #pitching #animation
