New Additions from Shannon Associates

Timothy Banks  is a decorated illustrator from Charleston, SC. His work spans several mediums from children’s books for Lerner, Egmont UK and Faber & Faber to avant-garde magazine covers for Paste, and animation for award-winning apps like Achoo Gaboo.  He has developed character designs for Nike and Nickelodeon, and his work was featured in shows at Gallery Nucleus in LA and Hire An Illustrator’s Showcase 100 in London. Timothy’s illustrations have been recognized by 3×3, The American Marketing Association, Society of Illustrators LA and Spectrum, and were selected to appear in Lürzer’s Archive’s 200 Best Illustrators Worldwide. Most recently, he wrote and illustrated a monster book opus for his hometown of Charleston entitled Monsters In Charleston.  

Toshiki Nakamura is a bon-raised Japanese ilustrator, visual development artist and character designer. Before he pursued his art path, he actually studied politics as an undergrad but he never gave up his childhood dream to work in the film industry. Accordingy he went on to study at Academy of Art University in San Francisco and graduated in 2016. Toshiki is currently working in the animation industry as a freelance character designer/visual development artist. His illustrations have been recognized by SCBWL Bologna lustration Gallery Award and Creative Quartery. When he is not drawing, he enjoys running, cooking and playing the piano. He is currently living in Vancouver, Canada.  

Raised in a Cuban household in Miami, Julissa Mora's main influences and passion stem from her family and culture. Drawing as a child she was no stranger to awards, deepening her desire to develop her skills as a professional artist. She went on to graduate from Ringling College of Art and Design with a BFA in Illustration. Her artwork has been featured in a major motion picture where she portrayed the artist, sharing in a scene with Harrison Ford. With over 8 years of training and building on her skill, Julissa brings a wealth of industry experience. Today she is known for her teen girls and her whimsical, dreamy, and candy-like creations. She has served clients such as American Girl, American Greeting Corp., Duopress Books, Educational Insights, Highlights, National Geographic School Publishing, Oxford University Press, Peaceable Kingdom, Penguin Random House, Scholastic, Target, and many more. Her energy and enthusiasm have also driven her to head up a beaming and successful illustration group of illustrators from all over the world. Having illustrated over 23 children’s books with many more on the way. Her group has been featured in “Where Women Create” magazine along with top industry design blogs Julissa lives and works out of her home studio in Austin, Texas where she finds inspiration on a daily basis.  

Andy Elkerton began his career in illustration in 2003, after spending fifteen years working as a graphic designer in the computer games industry. Since then he has worked for a long list of clients in the fields of Picture Books, ELT, Magazine, Television, Toy, and Character Design. He has been nominated twice in the prestigious Language Learner Literature Awards, illustrated two New York Times bestsellers, a Barnes and Noble bestseller, and has recently ventured into writing with a picture book series based on Norse Mythology.

Tony Mauro graduated from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh in 1991 with a degree in visual communications and a major in airbrush illustration. Tony spent the the first 3 years of his career as an airbrush illustrator for a profession sports apparel company where he designed and illustrated t-shirts for all of the pro-football, baseball, basketball and hockey franchises. This was where Tony refined his airbrush skills and learned many of the techniques that he applies to his digital illustrations today. In 1994 at the age of 23 Tony Mauro left the city of Buffalo, NY where he grew up and spent most of his adult life bound for the west coast to pursue his career as an illustrator. He landed in Los Angeles in November of 94′ and began working in the entertainment industry as an illustrator and designer.  

Sydney Hanson was raised in Minnesota alongside numerous pets and brothers. When she wasn't tunneling through snowdrifts or rescuing frogs from rain gutters, she was drawing. Her illustrations and paintings still reflect these early adventures and are marked by a love for animals and the natural world. In addition to her traditional illustrations Sydney is an experienced 2D and 3D production artist. In 2011 she moved to Los Angeles where she's worked for several animation shops including Nickelodeon and Disney Interactive. In her spare time she enjoys traveling and spending time outside with her adopted brother, a Labrador retriever named Cash.

Marco Bucci is passionate about telling stories with pictures. His career as an illustrator has seen a wide variety of exposure, and he has provided artwork for companies such as Walt Disney Publishing, Lego, Nelvana Animation Studios, Treehouse, and LucasArts. Marco is equally adept in working with digital mediums as he is with traditional pencils and paints. When he isn’t illustrating pictures for publishers, he can usually be found painting outdoors, drawing in his sketchbook, or realizing his own story ideas in his home studio. Marco lives in Toronto, Canada.  

From a young age Kevin Keele has enjoyed creating artwork in many forms: drawing, oil painting, digital painting, even stained glass. His work has been featured in numerous picture books, magazines, board/card games, and video games. Kevin is currently an artist for Disney Interactive Studios.  He lives in Utah with his lovely wife and two sons.  They're the caretakers of one cat, three chickens, and thousands of Italian honeybees.  

John Herzog is an author, illustrator, and character designer. He also teaches illustration classes at Ringling College of Art and Design. His clients include Hasbro, James Patterson, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Mundo Lanugo, and Highlights for Children. John is a member of the Society of Illustrators and SCBWI. He lives in Florida with his wife, two kids, a pair of tarantulas, and a fish.  

David SanAngelo  is an award-winning illustrator and an Emmy nominated director of children's animation. Visual storytelling is his passion - particularly emotionally rich, middle grade stories where kids dare to dip their toes into chilling pools of danger. He's worked with Scholastic, Disney, Adult Swim, PBS, The Boston Red Sox, The Smithsonian, Peter H. Reynolds' FableVision Studio and Mercer Mayer to name a few. A New Englander for most of his life, David currently calls Decatur, GA his home where he works digitally, enthusiastically and typically well-caffeinated.  

David Leonard began his freelance illustration career in the first grade, trading colorings for pencils. He has never stopped drawing. In his efforts to always do better, David Leonard studied graphic design and illustration in school. His goal has never been to put an image on paper, but to capture a moment in time with gestures, emotions and paint strokes while reflecting his own fun, humorous and whimsical personality.

Charles Santoso (Chao) loves drawing little things in his little journal and dreaming about funny, wondrous stories. He gathers inspiration from his childhood memories and curiosities he discovers in his everyday travels. He has illustrated several picture books, including I don’t Like Koala – written by Sean Ferrell, Spy Guy: The Not-So-Secret Agent – written by Jessica Young, Peanut Butter & Brains – written by Joe McGee, Ida, Always – written By Caron Levis and The Snurtch – written by Sean Ferrell He worked at Animal Logic as a concept artist/art director and was involved in various animated feature film and tv commercial projects. Charles Santoso’s work has been exhibited in Sydney and also internationally in North America and France. He currently lives and works in Sydney, Australia.