About D Hawk Illustrator Turned Author
I was born and raised in the slums of Detroit, Michigan and by the age of 11 my parents and I moved to the suburbs of Ann Arbor. I went on to get my BFA from the University of Michigan School of Art & Design in 2008. I landed my first real art gig as a children book Illustrator for Sherry O'Neal the author of the children book "LJ and the Dreammaker. Before I got the job I was more interested in logo and graphic design gigs but this job sort of fell into my lap, and my whole life changed from there. After doing my first illustration job illustrating children characters, it was apparent that this was type of job that I wanted to make a full time career I loved it so much.
After working for the author for a number of months, I felt that I had a story to tell and I began to write. Meet Pooky was the first name starting out, introducing a little girl from Detroit. I began to write the whole manuscript, but I put it away while I was looking for other illustration opportunities. But as I fell more and more on this notion of authoring and illustrating my own book, I began to do more and more research on becoming an author and getting published. When I finished the manuscript I began to draw and develop my character Pooky. After setting my manuscript aside for some time, I was encouraged one day to check out the self-publishing company XLibris Publishing and I new in my heart it was The Most High telling me to step out there in faith and get my book published. So I did, and now my book is available to read.
This book is only the beginning of a series of books based on the Pooky character, whose life parallels mine from my childhood. I am now not only an illustrator but also a self-published author of children books.
After working for the author for a number of months, I felt that I had a story to tell and I began to write. Meet Pooky was the first name starting out, introducing a little girl from Detroit. I began to write the whole manuscript, but I put it away while I was looking for other illustration opportunities. But as I fell more and more on this notion of authoring and illustrating my own book, I began to do more and more research on becoming an author and getting published. When I finished the manuscript I began to draw and develop my character Pooky. After setting my manuscript aside for some time, I was encouraged one day to check out the self-publishing company XLibris Publishing and I new in my heart it was The Most High telling me to step out there in faith and get my book published. So I did, and now my book is available to read.
This book is only the beginning of a series of books based on the Pooky character, whose life parallels mine from my childhood. I am now not only an illustrator but also a self-published author of children books.