Bryan Ballinger (1968–) Biography

Born 1968; Education: Columbus College of Art and Design, B.F.A., 1990; Lesley University, M.F.A., 2005. Hobbies and other interests: Creating novelty Web sites including kookychow.com, luncheonloaf.com, breadwig.com, and suxco.com.

Career

Commercial artist, illustrator, and writer. Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, WA, illustration lead/designer, 1992–97; Big Idea Productions, Lombard, IL, 3-D design lead, 1998–03; Huntington University, Huntingon, IN, professor of digital media arts, 2005–; freelance writer and illustrator, beginning 1991. Freelance illustrator, with clients including Microsoft, Scholastic, Nintendo, Big Idea Productions, Zondervan, PC Family magazine, Macmillan Publishing, Disney, Harley Davidson, Nabisco, EltonJohn.com, and Conagra Food.

Member

Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.

Honors Awards

Big Kahuna Award in Print Category, 3-D Design magazine, 1999, for Eggs and Dodo Redux Illustrations; Society of Illustrators Biennial Dimensional Salon inclusion, 2003, for Tusky the Walrus, 2003; Best in Contemporary Fantasy Art designation, Spectrum, 2003, for The Great Cheese Squeeze; finalist, Gold Medallion Book Award, 2005.

Writings

SELF-ILLUSTRATED

(With Keith Lango) The Great Cheese Squeeze: A Gruntly & Iggy Adventure, Zonderkidz (Grand Rapids, MI), 2002.

ILLUSTRATOR

The Fruit Troop, Multnomah Publishers (Sisters, OR), 1997.

Matt Jacobson, Billy Baseball: Courage, Multnomah Publishers (Sisters, OR), 1998.

Matt Jacobson, Bobby Basketball: Teamwork, Multnomah Publishes (Sisters, OR), 1998.

Matt Jacobson, Freddy Football: Practice, Multnomah Publishers (Sisters, OR), 1998.

Matt Jacobson, Sammy Soccer Ball: Following the Rules, Multnomah Publishers (Sisters, OR), 1998.

God Made You Special, Zonderkids/HarperCollins (Grand Rapids, MI), 2003.

Cindy Kenney, God Loves You Very Much!, Zonderkidz (Grand Rapids, MI), 2003.

Maribeth Boelts, Hot Chocolate for Sale, McGraw Hill, 2005.

Work in Progress

The TV in Me, an early chapter book; the picture books Tusky the Unwakeable Walrus, The Kooks of Clown County, and many more.

Sidelights

Artist and illustrator Bryan Ballinger told Something about the Author: "As an illustrator, my biggest influence was and is Johnny Hart, the cartoonist who created the comic strip "B.C." My favorite all-time artist is Etienne Delessert. Other past illustrative influences include Maurice Sendak and Tom K. Ryan, the creator of the "Tumbleweeds" comic strip. Some artists who I'm currently very fascinated and influenced by include: Michael Sowa, Tomi Ungerer, Barb Nascimbeni, and Babette Cole. Authors who have influenced me a lot include Tomi Ungerer, Daniel Pinkwater, Dav Pilkey, and Arnold Lobel.

"I just want to tell stories that kids (and adults) will find delightful and quirky. Whether that's through my writing, my illustration, or both."