John Nez
John Nez
I've illustrated over 60 books for children, books of every conceivable sort. I enjoy doing different styles... from designed digital art in Photoshop to paintings with watercolor and pen-brush. I'm now also writing and illustrating my own stories, which is fun. I work mostly in a whimsical style with the goal of conveying lots of feeling in my artwork... happy, sad, sneaky, mad, hopeful, afraid... or whatever. I'd guess that's about the main point of any illustration.
I work in both traditional & digital mediums... often combining both mediums for best advantage. I find that Photoshop greatly expands the artist's toolbox. The combination of traditional and digital mediums allows for amazing new possibilities... and lots of fun.
I have a degree in English and studied illustration at the Parsons School of Design in New York City with Maurice Sendak, among other wonderful teachers. I've done many book projects with Mercer Mayer and Rosemary Wells, as a ghost illustrator. I live in Seattle, where I enjoy the natural wonders of the Northwest with my family.
Clients Include: Abrams Sterling Jimmy Patterson Books Blue Apple Books InteractiveTouchBooks.com HarperCollins Two Lions High 5 Red Chair G. P. Putnam Albert Whitman Holiday Houser Dutton Children's Books Usborne Pearson Ladybug Magazine Hyperion Price Stern Sloan Golden Books Random House Scholastic Highlights for Children Silver, Burdett & Ginn Jim Henson Associates Mercer Mayer The Wright Group Time-Life D.C. Heath Holt Humpty Dumpty Grolier Kane Press Atheneum Child Magazine Atlantic Records McClanahan & Co. 321 Contact Magazine Grosset & Dunlap Seventeen Magazine New York Times World Book Marvel Family Entertainment Travelers Insurance Bill Smith Studio Pearson MacMillan Sesame Street Magazine Pinwheel CTW
Note to self publishers - I often get letters from people asking me to illustrate a story they have written. Unfortunately, this is not possible since I'm always too busy with my own projects.
Most illustrators can't take on speculative work for individuals without a contract from a publisher or self publisher.
In most cases, publishers want to choose the artist for any given manuscript... so it's best for the author to submit stories directly to a publisher first.
What's the best way to go about submitting a story to a publisher? The first place to look for information about this process is the SCBWI.
Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators
Another good place for information is the Children's Book Council
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