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Bob Ostrom

Bob Ostrom

My first semi-professional illustration job came in the third grade when I traded a really lame monster drawing for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. When I got a little older I realized I was pretty good at drawing, so I went to art school in Boston. During my second year I entered a contest for Molson Golden. To my surprise, not only did I win, but I was handed a check for $500.00 and a contract to do more artwork for them. Suddenly I was a professional! After college I worked with several different companies, designing logos, doing paste up, conceptual art, storyboarding, working with licensed characters, and art direction. You name it, I was doing it, but the one thing that kept shining through was my love for illustration... so I took a gamble, quit my job as an art director and went to work for a small toy company in Framingham, Massachusetts, where I could draw all the time! It was a great job but it ended almost as quickly as it started. The company was forced to layoff half of its art staff due to budget cut backs. I was one of the unlucky ones. With no idea where else to find the type of work I truly loved, I decided to go into business for myself. At the ripe old age of 25 I became a freelance illustrator. I took a year or two to learn the ropes and then found myself an agent. I'd always dreamed of becoming a children's book illustrator. Within 6 months I had my first title published and I was on my way! There are few thrills like seeing your art work on the shelf of your local book store, and I was hooked. I spent the next 10 years working in licensed art. I was fortunate enough to work with many of the best: Disney, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, and Warner Brothers, just to name a few. My artwork was being published all over the world and could be seen in bookstores everywhere. After a while I started to get itchy. I wanted to draw my own characters. I began looking around for way to get my stuff out there. I found a small software company in town and they asked me to come join them; I accepted. I started by designing characters for kids' games, pretty soon I was storyboarding again and next thing you know I was promoted to lead artist / art director of the concept department. The company was acquired by Vivendi Universal and we grew quite large. A couple years later and Vivendi's CEO was in trouble, company stock plummeted and we were shut down. I decided to go back to what I truly love. I found a new rep, sold my house and moved with my family down to North Carolina where I am freelancing today. Things are going great! I have clients all over the world and am still just as thrilled to see my books on the shelves at my local bookstore. - Bob Ostrom

About Drawing a Basketball Player

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About Drawing a Cat

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About Drawing a Dog

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About Drawing a Park Ranger

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About Drawing a Parrot

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About Drawing a Stegosaurus

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About Drawing a Zombie

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About Drawing an Alien

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About Drawing an Artist

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About Drawing Hair

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