Fruitful Life

Zachariah OHora is the Show Creator and Executive Producer of the ground breaking new animated show on PBS KIDS Carl the Collector. It follows an autistic raccoon who loves to collect things along with his neurotypical and neurodiverse friends. The show features autistic actors, writers, and neurodiverse people on all levels of production.He is the illustrator of the New York Times best selling book Wolfie the Bunny. And the author and illustrator of a number of award-winning books including the parent trap for cats epic Niblet & Ralph featured on The Today Show and Whale Song a non-fiction picture book about jazz musician Paul Horn and his inter-species communication with orcas. OHora’s books have been translated into over a dozen languages worldwide including; Russian, Chinese, Korean, French, German, Finnish, Spanish, Turkish, Dutch, Arabic and Farsi.He is the creator of the Gear Guard dashboard character for Rivian electric vehicles. He lives in Pennsylvania with his wife, two sons, two cats and their dog Waffles.

Since graduating from Glasgow School of Art Fiona is lucky enough to have always earned her living from drawing.She started her career working in animation, but now specialises in picture books. Fiona’s debut book ‘Hiding Heidi’ with Simon and Schuster and Illustrations for ‘A Dot in the Snow’ written by Corrinne Averiss, published by Oxford University Press, were both nominated for The Kate Greenaway Award.A perfect project would combine her love of storytelling, pattern, character design and hand drawn typography. Fiona works in her London based studio, drawing with children’s blo pens, rubber stamps, cutting stencils and experimenting with printing techniques. She finds this playful approach and embracing collaboration brings about fresh and fun ways to visualise ideas.

Benji Davies is a picture book writer and artist. In his work he aims to capture how it feels to be a child. By immersing themselves in the stories he writes and illustrates, Benji hopes that children will find a quiet confidence with which to navigate the noise and bustle of the real world.Since hailed a modern classic, his first self-penned picture book, The Storm Whale, won the inaugural Oscar’s Book Prize and was Dutch Picture Book Of The Year. His second, Grandad’s Island, garnered similar plaudits, winning the children’s book category of the AOI World Illustration Awards and being crowned Children’s Book of the Year at the Sainsbury’s Children’s Book Awards. In 2020 he won Oscar's Book Prize for a second time with Tad, a story about a tadpole making its way in the big, wide pond. All three of these books have been adapted for the stage.

Jim Field is an award-winning illustrator, character designer, and animation director. From music videos and title sequences to advertising and picture books, Jim has worked on a variety of projects.

I talked with Matthew LeBaron, agent and founder of Much Creative, about his experiences and lessons learned from representing artists for over a decade. We dive into the ins and outs of having an agent and explore the state of the illustration industry in our current economy.

Tad Carpenter is a designer, illustrator and author based in Kansas City. He run the Carpenter Collective with his wife Jessica with the focus of bringing powerful messages to life through branding, packaging and illustrative based design. Carpenter’s studio has created campaigns for Macy’s, Target, Old Navy, MTV and Adobe to name a few. Tad is the author and illustrator to over a dozen children’s books in our market today including “Sad Santa”, “Ninja, Ninja Never Stop” and the “I Say, You Say” series. Carpenter has also taught Graphic Design at the University of Kansas since 2009.

Don Clark is an illustrator and cofounder of Invisible Creature, a widely respected and award-winning design studio based in Seattle, Washington. He has worked with clients such as Target, Pixar, NASA, The New York Times, LEGO, and Apple. Don and his wife, Erika, have three children and live on a small farm just outside Seattle.

Dave Bain is a Bristol based Illustrator and Muralist. His work spans across the editorial and advertising world. His approach is distinctively colourful, expressive and inspired by screenprinting, jazz and electronic music. Check out his work here: https://davebain.com

Maser, truly embodies the centric spirit of contemporary visual art in Ireland today. Creating artwork since 1995, over the last 25 years Maser has generated a large and dedicated following both in Ireland and Internationally, through his seamlessly imaginative and unique graphic style.Having exhibited at the National Gallery of Ireland, Irish Museum of Modern Art, Sotheby's and National Print Museum, Maser is now one of Ireland's most collectable contemporary artists.Al aka Maser is a prolific Irish Artist. Maser's unique artistic style draws upon numerous influences including optical and mid-century art, using bold colours, pattern and text to complement his paintings. Through his use of contrasting colours and flowing patterns, Maser's work offers the viewer an opportunity to become fully immersed in an almost hypnotic state. As an artist, Maser is clearly ambitious and unafraid to experiment with any artistic format. 

Dapo Adeola is an award-winning illustrator and designer who creates characters and images that challenge expectations around race and gender in a fun and upbeat way. He is the co-creator and illustrator of bestselling picture book Look Up! - winner of the Waterstones Children's Book Prize and the number 1 debut picture book of 2019. London born and bred but of Nigerian heritage, when he's not busy cooking up new characters and adventures, you can find Dapo running illustration and character design workshops with children or organising events to help highlight the possibilities of a career in illustration to underrepresented members of the Black diaspora.