Tamisha is an illustrator working for various clients such as Penguin Random House, Macmillan Publishers, Little Brown, and Chronicle Books. She finds that educating little ones or the young at heart always inspires her art. She has been an educator for the past several years teaching at institutions such as the New-York Historical Society and the Harlem School of the Arts. Currently she is teaching an art history + illustration class called Redrawing Black History with Lilla Rogers for Make Art That Sells. She writes and illustrates the article “Spilling the Tea with T” for Uppercase magazine. And writes her own whimsical picture books stories she looks forward to publishing in the future.
Originally from Texas, she received her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Visual Arts from Rice University and moved to New York City for her Master’s Degree in Computer Art from School of Visual Arts.When she isn’t illustrating, you can find her enthusiastically and joyfully swing dancing with her husband! Or you can find her snuggled up with her pets reading a book and drinking tea. She adores vintage clothes, gardening, and singing sweet jazz standards.
Find her online, and on Instagram at @tamisha.anthony
My Journey:
I knew early on that I loved writing and illustrating – I was always creating stories in my spare time – but I didn’t know quite how to be part of the publishing world. My pathway was not straight but I always focused on art. I began by making greeting cards and selling them at different Nyc markets and fleas.
I was open to meeting new people and asking questions about all different walkways of the illustration world, not just publishing.
And I constantly created and shared my work whether that was on my website, socials, or just in conversation with kindred spirits. This gave me opportunities to freelance for some smaller illustration gigs. But it was during the pandemic when in lock down that I really focused on building a children’s book specific portfolio. I began taking classes online from Make Art That Sells to get a clear understanding of what work I needed to show art directors, editors and agents. And I posted regularly to socials. It was at the end of 2020 that my agent, Anne Moore Armstrong, found me through a post on twitter and I was signed to Bright Agency.
Who/What Inspired Me:
My family members are a great inspiration for me. Not only emotionally supporting me in my dream job but also just by being themselves. They are a charming and loving bunch. I enjoy adding my family as characters in the books I illustrate. In “On Our Way, What A Day” I included illustrations of my mom, brother, niece and myself – but we are all depicted as children!. It was a particular delight to illustrate my big brother, Philip, as the youngest child in the book – I was finally able to make him do the silliest things. My niece and nephew thought this was hilarious and the best idea ever! I also find inspiration in teaching. There is nothing quite as uplifting as teaching children and having those children teach me – they constantly remind me and inspire me to stay young at heart. They encourage me to see the world with their eyes so I can keep joy, hope, and playfulness at my core and share that positivity in my books.
How I Work:
My process pretty consistently starts the same. I read the manuscript several times – at different times of the day, in different locations, sometimes upside down (I’ve really done this!), just to get a different perspective of the story. Hopefully to develop different feelings, ideas, and reactions to the manuscript. Then I begin sketching. I sketch whatever naturally flows from my hand in relation to the story. This usually begins with characters – what they are wearing, how they wear their hair, what they like to do… in general, their vibe. 
Once I get to know the characters of the story, they usually lead me along the way. I create Pinterest boards for the book’s color palette and style inspiration. And from there, I begin making thumbnail sketches either digital or just paper and pencil.
Once I have pretty rough sketches of the layout I begin building the world of this delicious new book.
