About Bryan

Bryan Ballinger graduated from the Columbus College of Art and Design with a degree in Illustration. He also has a master’s degree in Writing for Children from Lesley University in Cambridge, MA. After moving to Seattle and doing freelance work for companies such as Nintendo Power magazine, he started working at Microsoft as an illustrator. He was lead illustrator for the first version of the award-winning Encarta CD-ROM encyclopedia as well as the Explorapedia children’s encyclopedia series. Bryan was the 3D Design Lead for 5 years at Big Idea Productions, the producers of the VeggieTales children’s videos. Bryan was also a professor of Digital Media Arts at Huntington University in Indiana for 16 years. Bryan does illustrations for children’s books, websites, games, videos, ads, etc. Bryan now concentrates on his picture books, public art projects which include large- and small-scale murals and on toy design. He is also currently the visiting artist for the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis and a current recipient of the Indiana Governor’s Artist Award. You can see some of Bryan’s work at www.breadwig.com and on Instagram @breadwigram.

Artist Statement

My creative work invites the viewer to imagine the unseen story. My art explores inferred narrative through interesting—and, at times, silly—characters and slightly off-kilter landscapes. I create characters that feature fun and amusing animals that represent the absurdity and emotion of what it means to be living in this world.

I am sure that the subject matter of my art is heavily influenced by my background as a children's book illustrator and from having worked for 5 years at an animation studio. Still to this day I love to read picture books. I am drawn to picture books that engage both children and adults. I am also drawn to characters in settings that suggest a story that the viewer can also contribute to. My goal is always to have my art appeal to all age groups and people from diverse backgrounds.

I am also heavily involved in technology and do a lot of 3d printing and 2d and 3d computer graphics. In addition to murals and picture books, my focus now is toy design that utilizes my 2d drawing and design background, 3d computer sculpting skills, and 3d printing experience.