Tim Thomas

“ If it hadn’t been for English, I might never have learned to draw.”

- Tim Thomas, Illustrator/Author

Yes, twelve years of English is how I obtained my formal art training. I use to believe my first love was my art, but discovered what I truly loved was how people respond to my art, especially children. A God given gift, this talent has always founds its way out into everything I do.

After spend years as an airbrush artist on Panama City Beach, FL, I had what is commonly known to most as a “momentary lack of reason” and enlisted into the United States Navy Submarine Forces. I have always thanked the Navy for showing me all but one of the worlds continents, 360-degree sunsets, northern lights, ports-of-call, but mostly for their persistent efforts that finally convinced me that I was destined for some other career.

Becoming the Commercial Art Technology Instructor at our local Technical School is where I went next. During this period I got married and started a family. Like with so many other parents, the birth of my son changed my life. Not just diapers and formula, but how I wanted to do art. I wrote and illustrated my first children’s book, A Manatee Christmas, and the rest is as they say, history.

I was also educated on how the business of art and publishing worked. I distributed the book through the Save the Manatee Club gift catalog and SeaWorld Gift shops to name a few. After years of shaping Americas youth (which still torments my poor mother today) I left the rewards of public schools and entered corporate America. The new millennium saw me meet my life long goal and become the Art Director for a military contractor as well as writting a new book, Buddy Manatee.

I went on to assist over a dozen authors in publishing their books and doing illustrations for them until 2008, where I wrote, illustrated and published a 2-in-1 FLIP book entitled, DIDYANO?(Did You Know?) Animal Families of the Zoos & Aquariums. I won two National Awards with the book. It is an animal Fun Facts and Trivia book loaded with information and features collective nouns detailing the names of animal families. Pride of Lions, Smack of Jellyfish, Kaleidoscope of Butterflies and Knot of Snake to name a few. Also the titles of what the male, female and baby of the species is call, i.e. Peacock, Peahen and Peachick.

In 2014 we closed our publishing company and moved to eBooks and ePublishing. I continue to write and illustrate, and have many titles and ideas ready for online publishing!

So, all-in-all,12 years of English wasn’t so bad. Actually, I am OK with English as a second language. LOL