Peers' & Pro's Sites

As I stumble across examples of websites while searching for Lesson ideas, I bookmark these on my laptop, but I thought, "Why not share them with everyone else?" So here you go:

• Michelle Calimlim's Art Class (Wilson Middle School)

• David Rickert is a professional Illustrator, Cartoonist and Educator. His website includes an interesting take on Cartoons called, "Say No to Stick Figures in Student Projects."

• Doodle Addicts; a Site for Illustrators to show off their work.

• Lili Chin is a Cartoon Illustrator who specializes in crafting dog cartoons for various publications. Her website is doggiedrawings.net

• I've been following Bob Staake for several years; I mentioned him to a fellow Teacher yesterday, looking up his site, so I'm saving it here.

• Catchoo Cutie Pie is a sample site showcasing the magical illustrations of Amandine Piu and Miriam Bos .

• "Drawing For Nothing" Is A Free, Updating Chronicle Of Canceled And Troubled Animated Films Full Of Artwork, Videos, And BTS Stories (added 3/11/23).

• The Art of Nimona (animated feature film, storyboards, etc.)

• I stumbled across Will Terry's Illustration Cartoon Illustration site on 240309a1028. I really like his distinct style.

• James Koenig's website "FreelanceFridge.con" has a really cool look to it.

• Andres Valencia is an eleven-year-old prodigy, selling his paintings for tens of thousands of dollars; he has 274k followers on his Instagram.

• I've been a fan of Keith Haring for about as long as I've been a teacher.

• Don Masse, Interviewed on the Podcast, Teaching Artist (Episode 47) 

• I stumbled across Juan Carlos Valdez's site while browsing the Character Design Reference site.

• Ronald Reichmann's Illustrations are a great example of cartoon animals playing sports, which students can reference for the "TrojAnimals" project. Ron also has copies of his collections on TeachersPayTeachers.com; in fact, you can purchase his "Mega Cartoon Clip Art Collection" for $1,348.15 (over 5,000 pieces of clip art). you might think it's unusual for someone like me, to post links to other Cartoonists' websites (especially since none of them reciprocate), but these are some of my "heroes," and Ron Leishman tops the list of one I want to emulate.

• This Teacher sells Clip Art" on TeachersPayTeachers.com; Her site is called, "Educlips."  (I saved the link here, on October 20, 2023, to remind myself to start selling my art on Teachers Pay Teachers too). She's got 1,000 offerings on TpT!

• Morning Scribbles by Chris Rynick, on Pinterest

• Poodled is a site I stumbled upon, looking for digital portrait ideas. This couple quit their full-time jobs to create, produce, brand and market their unique styles of cartoon portraiture.

• Calvin & Hobbes was one of the most popular strips of it's time

• Good example of an etsy seller, Daryl Young, who illustrates and sells Marvel characters on cards and stickers.

• "American, Born Chinese Author," Gene Yang's website

• CassiyJohnson is a tee shirt Designer, and etsy.com YouTube Influencer

• Craig Driscoll is the father of two of our students here at Clark Middle School. His work is phenomenal! He's a tattoo Artist, but also creates paintings, and sells them as prints on paper, tee shirts, hoodies, etc.

• Christopher Paluso is a phenomenal Artist/Illustrator. He also substitutes in the San Diego School District, and filled in for me on May 30th, 2023. Here's his Instagram page. And here's his etsy site (if you want to buy some of his art.

• Dennis Jones is one of my favorite Illustrators. I have been following his work since I bought a Children's Illustrated Bible for my daughter in 1992.

• Russell Cox is a Children's Book Illustrator with a great Instagram page.

• Jeremiah Alcorn is a Character Designer for the Animation Industry.

• ToonBooks is a company specializing in publishing easy-to-read books, from an article in Smithsonian Magazine, 2015, about using Comics and Cartoons in Education, to motivate students to read (which was the basis of my Masters Thesis in 2009). Lesson Plans

• There are quite a few young female artists who will like this one's style.

• This is another example of a professional Illustrator, and how they sell their services. They didn't identify themselves, so I don't know what their name is.

• I stumbled across the site of Christopher Rouleau looking for ideas on type design, and he shared this worksheet with me called, "Alphabet100," which is an exercise in designing fonts. It could also lead to a logo design. 

• Louis Decrevele is an Illustrator who developed this Action worksheet. I found his work on the ASA File Style, which is described on their website as "A one-stop shop for publishers, advertising creatives, journalists, editors, writers, agents, in fact anyone searching for the very best Australian illustrators." Here's a direct link to Louis' site.

• Gillian Reid's Character Design blog is still active, even though she transitioned to Children's Book Illustration a few years ago. Note his peer links on the right side of his lists and blog posts,

• Boris Maris is another I stumbled upon while researching Character Design.

• Once you become a professional, you can sell your work on sites like Dribble.com, which is a site that  showcases the work of professional Illustrators, Animators, Designers, etc., like this link for Mascot Design. 

• I "met" Ron Leishman several years ago (by sending an email, applauding his website, Toon-a-Day.com). Google Search examples, Cartoon Soccer Player.

• PPLLUV Process, by Von Glitschka (his YouTube channel), who's videos take you through an entire systematic approach to design and illustration. As a result, you’ll glean helpful information you can use in your workflow and grow your skills professionally. 

• Jim Lee is the penultimate comic book Artist (imho); here's a link to his  YouTube channel with his work.

• Kevin Keele is an artist living in Utah who works for Disney Interactive Studios/Avalanche. I came across his unique characterizations on Pinterest, saving it here to learn his style.

• Jackie Druojko is an Animator, looking for work, using LinkedIN (her posting was noted by a friend of mine in the animation industry, and I loved her work so here it is.

• Craig Driscoll is the father of one of my students. I haven't met him, but am hoping to get an interview with him, and possibly ask him to do a presentation in one of my classes, as he is a working professional. (added 5/18/22)

• Ron Leichmann's Illustrations are a great example of cartoon animals playing sports, which students can reference for the "TrojAnimals" project. Ron also has copies of his collections on TeachersPayTeachers.com; in fact, you can purchase his "Mega Cartoon Clip Art Collection" for $1,348.15 (over 5,000 pieces of clip art). you might think it's unusual for someone like me, to post links to other Cartoonists' websites (especially since none of them reciprocate), but these are some of my "heroes," and Ron Leishman tops the list of one I want to emulate.

• Lillian Grey is a South African Artist & Art Teacher. YouTube channel.

• Mercedes Crespo, (A.K.A. "Yema Yema") is a freelance Illustrator. She has a very unique style, best suited to teach how to use basic shapes as building blocks for simple cartoons (hers get pretty complex, though).

• Russ Cox' "Smiling Otis," site + links to his sketchbook, including sketches of animals like this turtle, bear, dogs, pigs, owls, etc. [lessons on his YouTube]

• Preston Blair's, "How to Animate for Film Cartoons," is a classic. This link is to the book, so you don't have to buy it.

• What are Gelli-Prints? Here's a Facebook page I stumbled across while "researching" the medium.

• Huge site for Model Sheets, "Living Lines Library." (Click on a movie, then the Character Development).

• Art P.R.E.P. (Parent-Run Education Program), at Oak Ridge Elementary School, [Download PDF]

• Lillian Grey is an Art Teacher from South Africa: check out her page on "The Elements and Principals : Shape, Form,  (added Nov. 1, 2021)

• Comix Well Spring will print your comic books. They also sell supplies for making comics, and have tutorials.

• I stumbled across Ms. Amsler's Art Room on Oct. 17th, while researching our latest project, a Mosaic Mural. I'm saving it here for easy reference (as I plan to steal, er, borrow ideas from her site for future projects).

• Art by Bala has examples of brightly colored Zentangle examples.

• Memo Angeles is a Clip Art Cartoonist, who sells his illustrations to ShutterStock

• Aziz Majeed's Pinterest page

• Daniel Etok exemplifies the kind of Fine Artist I ridicule to my student Teacher in 2024, as some of his offerings remind me of the writings of the Masters candidates at CSULB from 1982 - 1983 where I took Bachelors-level classes.