Tom Fee began drawing when he was nine years old, and kept his imaginative spirit as he grew into adulthood. He received his BFA in advertising design at the University of North Texas. Afterward, he became an art director, designer, and creative director for several design studios in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. It was in the 1990s that he decided to go independent and open Tom Fee Graphic Design, where he had continued working as an illustrator for over twenty-five years. Before working on Reedy’s Monkey Mind Tales® book series, he lent his talents to a variety of children’s books including “A Tree Full Of Animals,” “The King of Camelot,” and “Revenge of The Snowman,” by R. L. Stine.
Reedy was introduced to Fee shortly after giving up on finding an illustrator. Reedy had a vision of what he wanted his illustrations to look like, and he had spent two years trying to bring the book to life with several illustrators. Unfortunately, no one seemed able to understand the look Reedy was trying to achieve. A year and a half before the first book was published, Reedy and Fee worked through a few sketches, and Reedy believed that he had finally found someone that “got him.” Together they spent a year designing illustrations for the first book, drawing inspiration from the black and white children’s illustrations of the late 19th century (the Golden age of children’s illustrations).
Their work then paid off as the illustrations were met with glowing reviews, having captured the feeling Reedy was trying to create. Their collaboration continued for 10 years, where they worked together and created over one-hundred and fifty illustrations spanning over four books.
Reedy couldn’t be more grateful for the time Tom put into these illustrations, which Tom has said were a labor of love, with the final book, Tra-La-La Day, being his opus.
For more information about the illustration style, visit: The Look Of Monkey Mind Tales®
You can also learn more about Tom’s work on the Monkey Mind Tales® Book Series by watching the “Book Launch Party” video.
