Mikey Cao

Animator

Pronouns: She/he/they
Pronunciation: mai-kee ts-awh
What I do: 2D Character Animation, Bartending, Producing
What I am: Proud Chinese-American, ATL native, Silliest-cat owner

Born and raised in Georgia, I grew up around the Korea and China towns of Buford, Pleasant Hill, Doraville, and Duluth. Growing up in pockets of Asian diaspora, I’m part of a generation that got to grow up with other Asian kids. Didn't see many others that looked like me on screen though! I’ll forever remember Brenda Song; thanks, Suite Life of Zack and Cody.

I recently graduated with a bachelor’s from Carnegie Mellon University where I studied film theory, computer graphics, everything in-between (plus a little bit of coding), and co-founded the school’s first & only animation club, CGA Studios. Through CGA I worked to provide hardware/software resources, workshops, and industry talks to support the animation community on campus and lower barriers to accessing the joy of the medium. Now I’m a part-time bartender and finally diving into that dream of pivoting into animation, as someone who grew up loving drawing and has Maka Albarn’s opening fight from Soul Eater (2008) forever ingrained in my brain.

My personal work often explores narratives imbued with both grief and ferocity viewed through a culturally queer lens. Though, I also love a good whimsical story with lots of heart! I’ll always be a Spirited Away train scene girlie at heart. Like many people here, I want to critically challenge conventional narratives and structures of the animation industry. Huge thank you to AiA for all their hard work making this opportunity a reality.

Excited to be a part of the lab, work hard, have some fun, and make something we’re proud of!

Link to work

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