"It's great going to work in gymshoes."

Where do I start... well, my artistic beginnings can be traced to the crayon-colored walls of my family home on the southwest side of Chicago. In my day, I've delivered newspapers, cut lawns, flipped burgers, painted houses, washed dishes, loaded planes, cut down trees, driven a bus, worked steel saws, guarded a gallery, stacked books in the library, worked the docks, stocked warehouses, stuffed chickens in deli cases, and emptied meat fat in a hot metal garbage shed in the middle of the summer. So, when I finally received BA's in both Business and Fine Arts at St.Xavier University at age 22, I thought, "Hey, why not become an illustrator?"

Upon graduation, I continued my studies at the American Academy of Art in Chicago while working full-time at an art studio. I then did a one-year stretch at a greeting card company, and have been busy freelancing ever since. I now maintain a studio in downtown Chicago's historic Fine Arts Building, where I divide my time between projects for children's media and commercial accounts. Aside from many educational and storybooks, I've also done numerous promotional and activity books for restaurants, drug companies and corporations; puzzle and game books, pop up-brochures, musical sound books, print ads, game boards, storyboards, packaging, and toys with clients such as Colgate, McDonalds, Kellogg's, AT&T, Readers Digest, Hallmark, the American Cancer Society, Disney, Coca-Cola, Fisher Price, Milton Bradley, and Visa/MasterCard. I've worked on things as small as pocket-sized greeting cards and icons to full-sized billboards. Over the years I've received numerous awards and honorable mentions, but probably the one recognition that meant the most was a hand-made thank you card I got about 12 years ago from a bunch of kids from the Special Olympics. I did a t-shirt design for them. I can't for the life of me remember what I drew, but I still have that card in my files.

I currently live in the southwest suburbs of Chicago with my wife, Jean, and our 3 kids (not goats), Katy, Mike, and Jake. I enjoy spending time with the family, coaching little league and soccer, camping, picnics, sports and movies. I don't enjoy cutting the lawn (but I do it). Though I still enjoy the burger-flipping thing, I think I'll stick with cartoons instead. It doesn't really matter if an assignment is black and white or color; full page or spot, as long as it's something fun and interesting to work on. My best advice for aspiring artists, is that whenever you're working on a job, remember to always concentrate. Don't let your mind drift. Always stay focused on what you're doing, and...Hey, I think I just saw a red car drive by!

View artist's personal website: www.mikedammer.com

	A Party for Pedro by Maria Santos (Author), Mike Dammer (Illustrator) Pearson Scott Foresman
	Bubbleology: A Hands-On Science Kit Mike Dammer (Illustrator) Innovative Kids Purchase this book HERE
	Caterpillar Picnic (My Very Best Coloring & Activity Book) Mike Dammer (Illustrator) School Specialty Publishing Purchase this book HERE
	Electrical Inventions by Lisa Benjamin (Author), Mike Dammer (Illustrator) Macmillan McGraw-Hill Purchase this book HERE
	Hippo Dance (My Very Best Coloring & Activity Book) Mike Dammer (Illustrator) School Specialty Publishing Purchase this book HERE
	Meet Tom Paxton - An Interview With Tom Paxton by Tom Paxton (Author), Tom Reed (Author), Mike Dammer (Illustrator), Jon Reed (Illustrator) Good Year Books Purchase this book HERE
	My Robot by Nathan Katzin (Author), Mike Dammer (Illustrator) Zaner-Bloser, Inc.
	Phonics Comics: Cave Dave by Carol McAdams Moore (Author), Mike Dammer (Illustrator) Innovative Kids Purchase this book HERE
	Say "Hi!" Up High by Dana Meachen Rau (Author), Mike Dammer (Illustrator) Compass Point Books Purchase this book HERE
	Show & Tell by Lucas Barr (Author), Mike Dammer (Illustrator) Zaner-Bloser Purchase this book HERE
	SUPERDAD by Yana S. Barton(Author), Mike Dammer (Illustrator) Troika Publishing 2011 Purchase this book HERE
	The Case of the Missing Corn by Anna Keyes (Author), Mike Dammer (Illustrator) Zaner-Bloser Purchase this book HERE
	What the Dog Saw by Gregory Grissom (Author), Mike Dammer (Illustrator) Pearson Scott Foresman