About the Illustrator

Hello! My name is Amanda Wood,

I am an illustrator based out of Fort Worth, Texas. I love using mixed media ranging from water color and gouache to digital. Art has always been a big part of my life. As soon as I graduated high school, I attended Abilene Christian University, where I graduated with my Bachelors in Fine Arts and minored in Business and Graphic Design. For the first few years I largely experimented with abstract art, but was inspired to shift focus my final semester when I took a class that solely focused on Illustration.

Growing up I read a lot of books and was obsessed with stories, especially the fantasy genre. I could go on adventures in far off places and see other worlds, and yet still always be home in time for dinner. Although the words were usually enough for me to get a full mental image of these worlds in my head, there was a special draw to the beautiful pictures accompanying a book, even if only on the cover. These give the reader a small looking glass into the world they are entering, setting the tone, the colors, and ever so slightly exposing the heart of the story. After talking to my husband I learned that not everyone thinks and dreams in vivid color and imagery like I did, and the desire to be able to give people portals, no matter how small, into other worlds grew. There is a special wonder to the concept of being able to travel through space, time and story, and transport people to other worlds, feelings, and lives, through a single image; starting with only the tools of a blank page and some imagination.

To this day I am home sick for those other worlds, and strive to constantly create windows to them. Illustration is the key, and I want to share it with you. I hope you enjoy the journeys my works take you on, whether it’s having tea with a mouse or meeting up with a dragon.

Bon Voyage!