Meet Zachary Hunsinger

We had the good fortune of connecting with Zachary Hunsinger and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Zachary, what role has risk played in your life or career?
Risk taking is something that has taken me a long time to get used to. I used to be afraid of taking risks, because I’m afraid of something going wrong or things will make it worse. But now, I’m someone that’s always trying to take risks, because I’m always wanting to see where it can lead me and not feel held back by people doubting me.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
For me, what sets me apart from others is I use my weird sense of humor and ideas to express my point of view on how I see the world and how I want people to see what I see. I’ve made the web series the OutCats by myself. Mostly writing, animating, editing, even writing the music for the show myself. It hasn’t been easy and I’m struggling financially to make income with my art, but I know I’ll get there when the time comes, I’ll get there. And what I’ve learned to be is persistent, calm, and hardworking. And if there is a time when a day doesn’t go my way, I sleep it off, get back up, and try again. I want the world to know about me and my work, because I feel like I’ve been left behind by the world whose always catch up when things are starting off. I’m hoping I don’t run out of time to show people what I’m capable of, because I know I have potential to be great. I just wish other people could see potential within me more. I have a Patreon set up where you can see exclusive artworks, illustrations and more on my Patreon if you wanna show support!

Link: patreon.com/ZachCartoonist

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
For me, I usually like to go to Pasadena and visit the Halloween Locations that were used to film the 1978 classic! I’m a Michael Myers Cosplayer and I love to cosplay. So if they’re into horror, I love to take them there and hang out and dress up as Michael Myers when given tbe opportunity. There’s also Downtown Burbank where the mall is so if I wanna draw people, I go there. But usually I’m pretty much a homebody most of the time, but if a friend was visiting I take them to those places.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to dedicate this shoutout to Jorge R. Guiterrez, my mentor, my 2D Animation Mentors David Pruiksma & Dave Kuhn, Ex-Disney Animators, & GiA Ligammari my storyboard mentor for guiding me through my path. Jorge is my mentor because I met him through his wife Sandra at a Titmouse Animation event and we became friends! I asked him if I could send him my OutCats cartoon and gave me some great feedback on it! Always encouraging and always pushing me to be myself! The two Daves I met when I was at (The College That Will Not Be Named), and I learned so much from them outside of the school and took their mentorship at the now defunct Cat Animation! They taught me the importance of acting, thinking about the character, solid drawing, and everything that they learned from the Nine Old Men and passed on this knowledge to me and other animators that learned from them! And GiA is someone I met on Twitter and met in person at LightBox Expo! She was always honest, very encouraging, and downright helpful and smart in teaching me storyboarding and showing me how to think smart and not hard.

Website: https://zachcartoonist.my.canva.site/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zachcartoonist?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr

Twitter: https://x.com/zachcartoonist?s=21

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@zachcartoonist98?si=8aAsWZSbxbPaExVL

Other: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/zachcartoonist.bsky.social

Image Credits
I took some Myers photos and had a friend take a photo as well. I had my hair stylist hold the phone after getting a haircut. I had a tour guide take it when I was on a studio tour at the Warner Bros. Studio with my dad on my birthday! September 21st!
Fun Fact: I share the same birthday with animation legend Chuck Jones!