Draw 50 Magical Creatures

About Lee J. Ames

I’ve been married to Jocelyn for sixty-four years (either I’m lucky or I must have been doing something right). I have a son, Jonathan (his wife’ s name is Cynthia), and a daughter, Alison (her husband is Marty). I have three grand kids named Mark, Lauren, and Hilary. And I dare not omit our two magnificent hybrid canines, Missy and Rosie. All of the above are the makings of my lovely adventure!
Me? At eighteen I got my first job, at the Walt Disney Studios. Counting travel time across the country, that job lasted three months. I’ve been cashing in on the glory ever since! I’ve worked in animation, advertising, comic books, teaching, and illustrating books (about 150). I’m the author of more than thirty-five books (mostly the Draw 50 series). All have helped me happily avoid facing reality. We now live in the paradise of Southern California, but I still maintain membership in the Berndt Toast Gang, New York’s chapter of the National Cartoonists Society.

About Andrew Mitchell

Andrew Mitchell writes and draws from his hometown in Orange County, California  He was the recipient in 2008 of  a Tomie DePaola award certificate for children’s book illustration.  He became the first cartoonist in the world to be published on cell phones with his comic strip Hot Rock, finding an audience of readers around the globe.  Mitchell is the president of the Cartoonists of Orange County and his illustrations and cartoons have appeared in newspapers (LA Times; OC Register; Snicker), magazines (Relix; Boing Boing), books (Random House ; Writers Digest Books) and videogames (Activision; Bandai America).  His book Draw 50 Magical Creatures, a how-to art book for kids, hit bookstores across the country in October, 2009.  Mitchell is a founding member of Studio Five.