Meet the Illustrator: Timothy Palmer

Meet Tim Palmer - have a look at his illustration and watch his short animated film. 

Why are you an artist?

I am an artist because I love to create.  I have always enjoyed getting lost in other worlds and stories with different creatures and characters that seemed like they could do anything.  I create because I want to share this passion with other people, in whatever form it may be: children’s books, animation, etc…  I want to create from my own experiences for others to enjoy.  Being an artist has always been a part of my life.  I’ve gone from drawing on the walls to drawing on any parchment of paper I could find.  Art has always been a part of my life and I guess part of the reason I am an artist is just because I enjoy it!

Why do you want to illustrate children's books?  

When I was young, children’s books were a huge part of my life.  (They still are today!)  I had certain stories that I would have my parents read to me over and over again, stories that I still remember.  I want to share that same experience with children today.  Through high school and even college, I worked with younger students and I loved teaching them, sharing things that I love with them, and being a good influence in their lives.  I hope to use children’s books to do the same thing: teach them lessons, be a good influence, and allow them to expand their imagination and creativity.  I hope that with the books I create, children will want to read them over and over again, just like I did when I was young.

"Still"

What does your art offer that is fresh and new? 

When thinking about what is fresh and new about my work I think I’d have to say that a lot of it is my passion behind it.  All of my work I invest myself in with both my emotions and past memories.  All of my work has meaning to me, which allows me to put that something extra into it.  The sense of real emotion in it, allows people to easily connect with it.  I have a hard time classifying my work in a certain style because I work in such a wide range of styles, but most recently I find myself working in a very simple style.  It’s a style that I have found to fit well with my stories, especially for the  children’s books.

What is your dream job? 

 This might seem a little repetitive, but my dream job would be anything that allows me to create stories, worlds for people to get lost in, and characters for them to grow attached to.  That is quite a broad spectrum of jobs, so here is a goal of mine.  I hope to start a company someday based around children’s books, but with a few twists.  It would allow other artists and myself a chance to collaborate and create stories like I have mentioned that children of all ages would be able to love and relate to.  As long as I am creating stories, my job will be a dream job.

Tim Palmer recently received his BFA in Computer Animation from Ringling College of Art + Design where he completed The Projectionist, a short film, as part of his senior year.  He is currently living in the Boston area and is on the hunt for a job.  He has one completed children’s book that he hopes to get published soon and is currently working on a new one.