#BringTheJoyCards - Josh Cleland - Portland, Oregon Illustrator and Designer

#BringTheJoyCards

Art for kids

During the early days of the COVID-19 outbreak my wife, Rayna, and I started an Instagram movement called #BringTheJoyCards where we illustrated birthday cards for kids (and kids at heart) celebrating birthdays while in quarantine. This project was so much fun that artists from all around the world joined in illustrating cards for people they don’t know.

Here are the cards I illustrated. Most of them were created in Procreate on my iPad in under 30 minutes.

You can see all of the cards by amazing artists here.

Other projects

jingle jolly joy card mockup 1-josh cleland

Christmas Snowman Greeting Card for Trader Joe’s

hiking-bear-josh-cleland

Hiking Bear

i-am-money-featured-image-1

I Am Money

trex flossing 1c

Flossing T-Rex

Rhino skating at Christmas

Christmas Skating Rhino

daddy-o-saurus-featured-1

We Love Daddy-O-Saurus custom book

Find me on Instagram

joshcleland

1,909 41,233

Children’s book illustrator / educator
Rep’d by @advocateart01
Email or Dm for inquiries. Josh@clelandillustration.com
#illustration #kidlitart

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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Dec 24

I haven’t had a lot of time recently to create new artwork (that I can share anyways) so I’m reposting this from last year. I hope you all have a fantastic Christmas and holiday season. 🌲❄️☃️ Thank you for all the love and support this past year. Looking forward to a fun 2025! Lots of great things planned 😀.

#kidlitart #kidlitartist #illustration #christmas #christmasdog #drawing #holidays #winter #joshclelandart #joshcleland

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Dec 17

Some Christmas birdie doodles in @procreate

#illustration #sketch #kidlitart #christmas #holidays #doodle #joshcleland #joshclelandart

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Dec 13

I posted the process reel for this the other day. I figured I’d post the actual artwork. Merry Christmas 🎁 🎄 😊

#illustration #greetingcarddesign #greetingcards #christmas #artlicensing #holidays #catplayingsaxophone #joshcleland #joshclelandart

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Dec 7

I don’t care what your mommy says, Christmas time is near. Drawing on my trusty @wacom Cintiq 27qhd.

#illustration #kidlitart #greetingcards #artlicensing #winter #christmas #saxophone #music #drawing #process #joshcleland #joshclelandart

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Dec 5

Doing some final edits on my course: Character Design for Children’s Books. This course will be releasing very soon, and I’m very excited!! You can still sign up to the waiting list. Link in my bio or on my Linktree. See you there. 😀

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

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Nov 28

Terry the turkey says it’s ok to skip Thanksgiving and go directly to Christmas. He doesn’t mind. In fact, he encourages it. As for me, I say Happy Thanksgiving 🦃🍁

#illustration #kidlitart #happythanksgivng #turkeyart #holidays #christmas #characterdesign #joshcleland #joshclelandart

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Nov 20

A little Christmassy doodle.

#illustration #drawing #kidlitart #cat #saxophone #christmas #holidays #sketch #sketchbook #joshcleland #joshclelandart

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Nov 14

Some @procreate doodles. Just your average armadillo playing the banjo.

#illustration #kidlitart #kidlit #characterdesign #sketch #drawing #armadillo #banjo #joshcleland #joshclelandart

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Nov 11

Here’s a little preview of my latest collaboration with @wonderbly , “Our Family Saves Christmas!”   Christmas is cancelled...unless your family can save the day! A festive story full of laughs and rip-roaring family fun, this riotous read-aloud adventure will bring everyone together this Christmas.   I had a festive blast working on this latest personalized book. See @Wonderbly for info on how you can get your own personalized copy.

#illustration #kidlitart #kidlit #kidsbooks #childrensbooks #picturebooks #booksforkids #christmasbooks #reindeer #workspace #wacomworkspace #photoshop #joshcleland #joshclelandart

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Nov 1

Today @rayna_c and I get to celebrate 21 years of marriage!! I can honestly say that I wouldn’t be where I am career wise without her.

21 YEARS!!!

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Oct 31

In honor of Halloween I thought I’d repost this spooky bat pattern I created a few years ago. Happy Halloween 🎃!

#halloween #illustration #kidlitart #bats #characterdesign #patterndesign #drawing #halloweenart #artlicensing #joshcleland #joshclelandart

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Oct 29

Working on the cover for “The Woofmore is Not Haunted“. Written by @lorihaskinshouran and @dgephartwrites , and published by @abramskids / Amulet Books (and illustrated by me :) ). Available now. Order link in my bio.

Hardware
Tablet: @wacom Cintiq 27qhd,
Mac mini M1
Monitor: Benq 3220u

Software: Photoshop

#kidlitart #kidlit #behindthescenes #childrensbooks #kidsbooks #joshcleland #joshclelandart #woofmore

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Oct 23

Did you know that soon I will be launching my very first course: Character Design for Children’s Books. We will be covering the basics of how I approach designing characters that captivate and delight an audience. I don’t have an exact launch date yet, but if you’re interested I encourage you to sign up to the waiting list to get more info. The waitlist link can be found in my bio. I hope to see you there!

#illustration #kidlitart #childrensbooks #kidsbooks #booksforkids #process #procreate #ipadart

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Oct 18

Meet Hank. He’s the housekeeper at The Woofmore (which is NOT haunted by the way!!! Don’t believe the Yelp reviews. This is a completely normal hotel filled with non-haunted things).

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

#kidlit #kidlitart #childrensbooks #kidsbooks #booksforkids #dogart #woofmore #joshcleland #joshclelandart

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Oct 15

Another spectacularly spooky spiffy spread from “Woofmore is Not Haunted”, written by @lorihaskinshouran and @dgephartwrites , and published by @abramskids / Amulet Books (and illustrated by me :) ). Available now. Order link in my bio.

#kidlitart #kidlit #childrensbooks #kidsbooks #booksforkids #picturebooks #illustration #woofmore #joshcleland #joshclelandart

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Oct 10

More spooky behind-the-scenes. The Woofmore is Not Haunted is written by @lorihaskinshouran and @dgephartwrites , and published by @abramskids / Amulet Books. Out now. Order link in my bio.

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, earlier this year I decided to hire a business coach to help with these endeavors. In March 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.

Earlier today Logan, Vera ( @vera.drmanovski ), and I hosted a webinar where we discussed breaking into book illustration. You can re-watch it through the link in my bio. You can also win a free coaching call with Logan by filling out a short survey (also found in my bio).

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

#kidlit #kidlitart #woofmore #childrensbooks #kidsbooks #booksforkids #workspace #illustration

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Oct 4

Available now. The Woofmore is Not Haunted is written by @lorihaskinshouran and @dgephartwrites , and published by @abramskids / Amulet Books. Order link in my bio.

Hardware
Tablet: @wacom Cintiq 27qhd,
Mac mini M1
Monitor: Benq 3220u

Software: Photoshop

#kidlitart #kidlit #childrensbooks #picturebooks #picturebookillustration #woofmore #halloween #process

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Oct 3

Hey everyone! On Thursday, October 10th, I’ll be co-hosting a FREE LIVE webinar with Vera Drmanovski ( @vera.drmanovski ) and my business coach, Logan Elliott ( @Flammable_Entrepreneur )! We’ll be discussing how to break into book illustration.

Are you considering a career in book illustration, whether it’s children’s books, young adult, or more? Have you been trying to break into the industry but running into roadblocks? Are you not sure where to begin? On October 10, we will be discussing those very topics and more.

We’ll cover:
✔ Why Book Illustration?
✔ Breaking In: How to Launch Your Book Illustration Career
✔ Marketing Yourself for the Publishing Industry
and more!

RSVP link is in my bio. If you can’t make it, no worries. We’ll send you a recording if you’ve RSVP.

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Sep 30

Soon I will be launching my very first course: Character Design for Children’s Books. We will be covering the basics of how I approach designing characters that captivate and delight an audience. I don’t have an exact launch date yet, but if you’re interested I encourage you to sign up to the waiting list to get more info. The waitlist link can be found in my bio. I hope to see you there!

#drawing #kidlitart #kidlit #illustration #characterdesign #sketch #joshcleland #joshclelandart #procreate

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