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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REGISTRATIONS FOR MY COURSE ARE OPEN!
✨👇👇✨

Apr 4

Registrations are now open for my “Character Design for Children’s Books” course!

Here’s what’s included in the course:

✅ 3+ hours of video content in full HD
✅ 7 comprehensive modules
✅ Access to a private community of motivated students
✅ Lifetime access to all course materials
✅ Access from any device, anytime
✅ Free bonuses to enhance your learning experience
✅ 30-day money-back guarantee

Link is in my bio!

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Apr 3

Exciting news!! Registrations are open again for my “Character Design for Children’s Books” course! Whether you’re a beginner or looking to refresh your skills, this course is designed to give you a solid foundation in character design and help you create engaging, memorable characters for children’s stories.

Here’s what you’ll get:

✅ 3+ hours of video content in full HD
✅ 7 comprehensive modules
✅ Access to a private community of motivated students
✅ Lifetime access to all course materials
✅ Access from any device, anytime
✅ Free bonuses to enhance your learning experience
✅ 30-day money-back guarantee

🔗 Sign up now and start designing your characters! Link in bio!

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Mar 28

Soon I’ll be re-opening enrollment to my course, Character Design for Kids Books. You can join the waiting list through the link in my bio. Hope to see you there!

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

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Mar 20

Soon, by popular demand I’ll be re-opening enrollment for my course: “Character Design for Kid’s Books”. Join the waiting list now!

What you get:
* An understanding of character design principles for children’s books
* Step-by-step exercises, PDFs, and visual examples
* Support and feedback from me!
* Lifetime access to the course.

Sign up for the waiting list now to receive an EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNT and be the first to know when the course launches!

Link in my bio.

#kidlitart #kidlitartist #childrensbooks #picturebooks

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Mar 20

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It’s now February. That means book 3 of the Woofmore series, The Woofmore on Thin Ice, comes out this month!! Feb 18. Preorder your copy using the Linktree link in my bio.

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

#kidlitart #kidlit #kidlitartist #childrensbooks #kidsbooks #booksforkids #woofmore #welcometowoofmore #joshcleland #joshclelandart

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Jan 22

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

One of the really fun things about illustrating the Woofmore series is getting to draw the opening scenes in different seasons.

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.

#kidlitart #kidlit #childrensbooks #kidsbooks #chapterbooksforkids #illustration #drawing #welcometowoofmore #woofmore #joshcleland #joshclelandart

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Jan 10

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

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

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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Jan 2

Happy New Year!!! Kicking off 2025 here with a quick share of some recent @procreate doodles. This character isn’t for anything in particular—just for fun. What are you looking forward to the most this year?

#kidlitart #kidlitartist #drawing #sketch #dinosaur #characterdesign #joshclelandart #joshclelandart

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Copyright 2025 © by Josh Cleland or respective clients. All rights reserved.