John Beder
Concept Art / Environments

The Clayman & Associates are happy to introduce Conceptual Artist t associate John Beder. John brings his exceptional talents and decades of experience to our team in the development of our proprietary content.

Backdrop painting by John Beder

John Beder was born in Toronto but grew up in the area of Barrie, Ontario. As a child, he enjoyed skating, building tree forts, and reading. The books of Dr. Seuss fascinated him.

John began drawing at school. He remembers seeing other kids produce great artwork and he wanted to do that as well. His parents always encouraged him to draw.

Today, John is inspired by the challenge to express what he sees in nature and in his imagination. In Grizzly Pete and the Ghosts (2002), his first book with Annick Press, he relied on the local landscape around his home in British Columbia for inspiration. He is usually trying to create a certain feeling on paper. A good story creates pictures in his mind.

Sometimes, another artist will do something great, and John will try something similar but make it his own. Animation artists, for example, are very good at creating action and emotion in their characters. John studies their work, then gives his own characters the same sense of life. Animation was a particular influence on the look of the characters in his latest book, Quackadack Duck (2003).

John is a full-time illustrator, and when not working on picture books, he creates greeting cards. He has also developed a line of RCMP polar bears that are used by the police service. John's advice to aspiring illustrators is to keep at it—to practise and develop and grow.

John currently lives in Victoria, B.C., with his wife. He has a teenaged son who lives in Winnipeg. When not illustrating books, John likes to hobnob with his friends and neighbors. His goals include continuing to experiment with new techniques to create exciting and interesting illustrations. He hopes one day to write and illustrate a book for children.