K9 Academy Artwork for Highlights Magazine

I’m really excited to show my latest artwork for July’s issue of Highlights Magazine. This illustration features my dog, Frodo, and my parent’s dog, Macy (see photo below). Sadly, both have passed away since drawing this.

Highlights k9 academy artwork by Josh Cleland — Frodo is the gray dog on the left. Macy is the black and white dog on the right.

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Children’s book illustrator / educator
Rep’d by @advocateart01
Inquiries: Josh@clelandillustration.com
Registrations for my course are closed

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Apr 22

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Haven’t posted anything in a few days so I thought I’d share a little behind-the-scenes of a character exploration I’m currently working on. A personal project. More to come later.

Hardware/Software:
Tablet: @wacom Cintiq 27qhd
Computer: M1 Mac Mini
Software: Photoshop

#kidlitart #kidlit #characterdesign #drawing #behindthescenes #joshcleland #joshclelandart

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Apr 10

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Found these explorations recently when going through my old archives. Figure I’d post them to see what people think.

#doodle #doodles #goldendoodle #labradoodle #kidlitart #kidlitartist #joshcleland #joshclelandart

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Apr 6

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Quick live session showing a little behind-the-scenes look at how I explore a character for #childrensbooks and other things. Remember, registrations for my course, Character Design for Children’s Books closes at 9pm tonight PDT. Link is in my bio.

#kidlitart #kidlit #childrensbooks

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Mar 28

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Mar 20

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Mar 20

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3 tips to help troubleshoot your drawings and sketches. Obviously this isn’t an exhaustive list. What are some of the things you do to fix your drawings?

#illustration #kidlitart #kidlitartist #characterdesign #joshcleland #joshclelandart

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Mar 16

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Tomorrow, March 17, I will be hosting another FREE character design workshop at 1pm PDT/4pm EDT. I will be walking everyone through a simple yet powerful way to conceptualize a lot of different characters in a short amount of time. It’s really fun! Did I mention it’s free? Register link is in my bio. Hope to see you there!

#kidlitart #kidlitartist #characterdesign #drawing #education #joshcleland #joshclelandart

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Mar 13

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A piece I did for the March issue of @highlightsforchildren ’s High Five Magazine. It’s always fun working with the fun people at Highlights. Who’s in the mood for cheese?

#kidlitart #kidlitartist #kidlit #illustration #drawing #joshcleland #joshclelandart

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Mar 4

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Some characters I’m working on for a personal project. More details soon.

#kidlitart #kidlitartist #childrensbooks #kidsbooks #booksforkids #illustration #characterdesign #hippo #drawing #procreate #joshcleland #joshclelandart

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Feb 24

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Heads up. In case you missed it the first time I’m running another free character design webinar this Wednesday at 1pm PST/4pm EST. Link is in my bio to register. I hope to see you there!

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Feb 21

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The work is mysterious and important.

The tablet is a @wacom Cintiq 27qhd.

The hat is @wonderbly

#illustration #kidlitart #kidlitartist #workspace #wacomworkspace #childrensbooks #kidsbooks #kidlit #joshcleland #joshclelandart #behindthescenes #severance

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Feb 18

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Woof Woof!! Book 3 of the Woofmore series: “The Woofmore on Thin Ice” is out today!!!

Written by @lorihaskinshouran and @dgephartwrites , and published by @abramskids / Amulet Books (and illustrated by me :) ). Available now. Order link in my bio.

(This illustration was done in @procreate using mostly the 6B pencil. The book was illustrated in Photoshop on my Mac using my @wacom Cintiq).

#kidlitart #kidlit #welcometothewoofmore #woofmore #thewoodmoreonthinice #childrensbooks #picturebooks #booksforkids #kidlitartist #joshcleland #joshclelandart

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Feb 10

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I’ve been illustrating children’s books for several years now, and it has been a fantastic experience. However, lately I’ve been looking for ways to grow my illustration business and offerings. So, last year I decided to hire a business coach to help with these endeavors. In March of 2024 I started working with Logan ( @flammable_entrepreneur ) and his team, and the results have been fantastic. We took a hard look at my core business strategies, target markets, goals, mindset, and more.

In fact, because of the coaching I received I finally hit a huge milestone late 2024 and launched my very first course!! This has been something I’ve been wanting to do for a very long time, and it feels so good to have finally accomplished it.

On Wednesday, February 12 Logan, Vera ( @vera.drmanovski ), and I will host a workshop where we discuss marketing for book illustrators. RSVP link is in my bio. If you can’t make it, no worries. We’ll send you a recording if you’ve RSVP.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering about my setup in this photo, here are the details:
Computer: Mac Mini M1 16 gigs of ram 1Tb HD
Tablet: @wacom Cintiq27qhd
Monitor: @benQ 3220U

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Feb 9

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Feb 1

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Jan 22

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I just learned that Banana Hunt has been included in the long list of titles for 2025 @childrenslitfests #cflbookawards ! Happy dance! Fellow congrats to @suzysenior and @templarbooks

#childrensbookaward #kidlitart #kidlit #kidsbooks #childrensbooks #kidlitartist #joshcleland #joshclelandart #bananahunt

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Jan 14

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Jan 10

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Drawing a parasaurolophus (spelling that Dino took longer than the actual drawing 🤣). Illustrated in @procreate

#illustration #kidlitart #kidlitartist #dinosaur #characterdesign #behindthescenes #process #joshcleland #joshclelandart

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Jan 8

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I found these old sketches from a couple years ago while going through my @procreate library. Maybe I should do something with them? It’s funny how time gives you a different perspective on your work.

#illustration #sketch #kidlitart #kidlitartist #drawing #joshcleland #joshclelandart #monsters #artlicensing

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Jan 6

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Book 3 of the Woofmore series: “The Woofmore on Thin Ice” is available for pre-order! This snowy installment releases in just over a month (Feb 18). Pre-order link is in my bio.

The Woofmore book series is written by @lorihaskinshouran and @dgephartwrites , and published by @abramskids / Amulet Books.

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K9 Academy Artwork for Highlights Magazine

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