A creative life is a journey. As creatives, and as anyone with a dream or goal, we want it to happen TODAY. Life rarely works that way, especially in a craft we’re developing. There is a richness of expression that only comes with experience and time.
Most children draw. We pick up crayons, markers, paint brushes, and pencils. Scrawling to communicate. Understand the world around us. Express our values and selves. The difference is I never set my crayons down.
I was asked once, “When did you know you were an artist?” Wow. What a great question. I never knew. I never stopped to consider it. The language of line, color and form was a key piece of the foundation of my identity; the threads making up the fabric of who I am.
Words were different. Though I was read stacks of books as a child, a mild dyslexia made reading comprehension difficult. As an educator, my mother’s response was to give me a journal in which to write stories. Through the formation of ideas on paper, words began to make sense to me. The spark was set.
And so, I drew. Through grade school. (Drawing horses made me a hit with the girls. Who knew?) Into high school. (Studio art. Yearbook designer. Set design for our musicals.) A degree in design communication and illustration.
In my professional career, I’ve made a ton of illustration for the kid’s markets. I also go wherever my pencil will take me. Publishing, gaming, editorial, advertising, entertainment, commercial, apparel, apps, greeting cards—yep, I’ve pretty much done everything. Each project along the way informing me. “Deadlines are king.” “This method gets me to final art faster.” “This assignment is not so scary after the ones that came before.”
Story was still my passion. There were early brushes with publishing, glimmers that faded when an editor who showed interest was moved to another project. Submissions that were rejected because I did not have the maturity or understanding of the industry.
Then my path branched—animation. I’d dreamt of going to animation school, but didn’t think I had the chops. Then, an ad in a Texas weekly publication took me to Austin for a tryout. I made the cut! I’ve now worked twice with Richard Linklater, as an animation lead on A Scanner Darkly (2004) and as assistant animation director on Apollo 10 1/2: A Space-Age Adventure (2022).
I was assistant animation director with Minnow Mountain on The Tornante Company’s Amazon production Undone (seasons one and two). I love collaborating with animation teams. I was honored to work with the amazing staff we had at Minnow Mountain; the directors, the producers, and teams at Warner Independent, Netflix, Tornante, and Submarine in Amsterdam. Assistant animation direction, character design, and sequential storytelling are what I honed in, and have to offer the industry. Check out my IMDB page!
I kept illustrating. I’ve illustrated books for Penguin Group Books, Houghton Mifflin, Scholastic, Stone Arch Books, and Union Square & Co., (you can see the full list above.) I love collaborating with art directors and editors. (I especially enjoy the revision process of the book. Weird, I know.) Each project broadening my understanding of the form. And then in 2008, Animal Band—my first book to write and draw.
And now, here we are. Almost three decades ago I stood in bookstore’s children’s section, vibrating at the prospect of having books there. And three decades later I am seeing the fruition of my journey. I could not be more excited to share with you my new three-book graphic novel series from Disney Hyperion, Pet Shop Racers! That and my picture book, WHOA PANDA! from Nancy Paulsen Books come out in 2025. My Big Book of Texas —my love letter to the state in which I was born (7th generation Texan) and live in (Austin)—follows soon. THEN Bison & Bear, a four-book graphic novel series filled with friendship, adventure, laughs, and tons of outdoor nerdery. And I’m JUST getting started!