Book Illustration

My formal training was in graphic design, with a focus on illustration.  After graduation from college, I found myself working in advertising which involved a bit of illustration, but mostly conceptual design.  I later evolved into a model maker and exhibit designer, with my illustrative work going into graphic panels.  Most of my work became 3-D in nature. Then, my work shifted dimensional gears again as I stumbled upon the world of book illustration...


Dino-Trekking
The Ultimate Dinosaur Lover's Guide
Kelly Milner Halls, John Wiley & Sons, 1995

I got a call from Kelly Milner Halls in Colorado who was writing a book about dinosaur places across the United States.  She wanted to know if I would be willing to describe the prehistoric displays in the Rock Eagle Natural History Museum, where I was working at the time.  After telling her about what limited dinosaur exhibits we had, I asked if she had an illustrator for her book, and offered to do it for free.  She took me up on it, and Dino-Trekking became my first real book.

Since then, I have been fortunate to work on several of Kelly's books; the more recent titles being true collaborations.

Click on book cover to see examples


Dinosaur Mummies
Beyond Bare-Bone Fossils
Kelly Milner Halls, Darby Creek Publishing, 2003

About halfway through this project, he publishers of this book found themselves without an illustrator.  Kelly told the them about me and they requested some samples of my work.  The good news:  I got the assignment!!  The bad news:  I had about a month to do it. 
Well, I did it... my first chance to illustrate a whole book IN COLOR!  Watercolors, to be exact. The pictures turned out ok for a rush job, but I wish I could redo them now that I have improved computer-coloring skills.

Click on book cover to see examples


Tales of the Cryptids
Mysterious Creatures That May or May Not Exist
Kelly Milner Halls, Rick Spears, Roxyanne Young,
Darby Creek Publishing, 2006

What started off as a book about sea monsters spread into an overview of all types of cryptozoological creatures.  Although I got an author credit on this one... well, I DID come up with the title...  Kelly did the main text, and brought in her writer pal Roxyanne Young to handle the "Cryptidictionary" descriptions in the back of the book.  This was the first time I had ever colored my book illustrations on the computer, but I was very pleased with the results.

Click on book cover to see examples


Dinosaur Parade
A Spectacle of Prehistoric Proportions
Kelly Milner Halls, Lark Books, 2008

This project came "by request" from teachers & librarians wanting quality dinosaur books for little kids.  Tell kids that a dinosaur was as long as a bus, and they might get the concept of size... but show a kid their size next to that dinosaur, and it all becomes clear!  Originally, there was a story of how the parade came to be, but the publisher wanted more dinos, so the narrative got cut. With over 60 dinosaurs, by the time it was done, I was a bit "dinosaured-out!"  Not for long, though. I'm ready to do the sequel, now...

Click on book cover to see examples


Honorable Mentions
Other Books with My Illustrations Therein


Mysteries of the Mummy Kids     Kelly Milner Halls, Darby Creek, 07

Guys Write for Guys Read          Jon Sciezska, Viking Juvenile, 05

Fossil Legends                            Adrienne Mayor, Princeton Univ. Press, 05

Evolution of Tertiary Mammals    Janis, Scott & Jacobs, Cambridge Univ. Press, 98

The Complete Dinosaur              Farlow & Brett-Surman, Indiana Univ. Press, 97