Jim Benton

Infobox Person
name = Jim Benton


image_size =
caption =
birth_name = James K. Benton
birth_date = Birth date and age|1960|10|31 [ [http://www.simonsays.com/content/destination.cfm?tab=4&pid=343030&agid=8 Simon & Schuster: Jim Benton - Q&A ] ]
birth_place =
residence = Bloomfield Township, Michigancite news |first=Sandra |last=Dalka-Prysby |title=It's Happy Benton! |url=http://www.signaturemag.com/birmingham/content/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=78&Itemid=26 |work=Signature |date=February/March 2007 |accessdate=2007-12-01]
nationality = flagicon|US American
other_names =
known_for =
education = Western Michigan University
occupation = Illustrator, author
spouse = Mary K. Hart
children = 2


website = http://www.jimbenton.com/
footnotes =

Jim Benton (October 31, 1960-) is an American illustrator and writer. Licensed properties he has created include Dear Dumb Diary, Dog of Glee, Franny K. Stein, It's Happy Bunny, Just Jimmy, Just Plain Mean, Sweetypuss, The Misters, Total Trouble, and Watashi Baka Da! .

Biography

Early life and education

Jim Benton was raised in Birmingham, Michigan, graduating from Seaholm High School in 1978. He studied fine arts at Western Michigan University.

Career

Benton began his career in a custom design T-shirt shop where he started designing his own characters. At the same time, Jim did illustrations and artwork for magazines and newspapers. [cite news |first=Janis |last=Campbell |title=Jim Benton, artful writer |url=http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070925/YAK03/709250415/-1/print |work=Detroit Free Press |date=2007-09-25 |accessdate=2007-12-01] "People" magazine named him "the most visible cartoonist in America" in 1989.

Benton also created greeting cards and worked in the magazine and publishing industry. In 1998, his SpyDogs characters became an animated series, "The Secret Files of the Spy Dogs", that aired on Fox Kids. Licensing his own creations brought them widespread attention on products, such as It's Happy Bunny, which he created in the mid 1990s but licensed in 2002. [cite news |first=Elizabeth |last=Holmes |title=How Licensing Helped an Artist Pull a Rabbit Out of His Hat |url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118221752024739956.html?mod=SmallBusinessRunningABusiness_RelatedHeadlines |work=Wall Street Journal |date=2007-06-19 |accessdate=2007-12-01]

Benton currently lives in Michigan where he operates out of his own studio. He is married with two children.

Published works

* "Dealing With the Idiots in Your Life" (1993)
* "Cherise The Niece" (slated for summer 2008)

Dear Dumb Diary

* #1: "Let's Pretend This Never Happened" (2004)
* #2: "My Pants Are Haunted!" (2004)
* #3: "Am I The Princess Or The Frog?" (2005)
* #4: "Never Do Anything, Ever" (2005)
* #5: "Can Adults Become Human?" (2006)( New York Times Bestseller )
* #6: "The Problem With Here is That It's Where I'm From" (2006) ( New York Times Bestseller )
* #7: "Never Underestimate Your Dumbness" (2008)( New York Times Bestseller )

=

" (2007)

It's Happy Bunny

* "Love Bites" (2004)
* "Life. Get One" (2005)
* "What's Your Sign?"
* "It's Happy Bunny Does Su Doku" (2006)
* "It's Happy Bunny Poster Book"

Awards

*2004: Gryphon Award honor book, Center for Children’s Books, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ("Lunch Walks Among Us") [ [http://ccb.lis.uiuc.edu/gryphon.html#pastwinners Gryphon Award - Center for Children's Books ] ]
*2005: LIMA International Licensing Award, Best Art Brand License (It's Happy Bunny)
*2006: Eleanor Cameron Award, Golden Duck Award Committee ("The Fran That Time Forgot")
*2006: LIMA International Licensing Award, Best Character Brand License – Soft Goods (It's Happy Bunny)
*2007: LIMA International Licensing Award, Best Character Brand License – Hard Goods (It's Happy Bunny)
*2007: Austin ADDY Awards (with Partnership for a Drug-Free America, Texas Alliance) [cite news |title=It's Happy Bunny wins public service awards |url=http://www.licensemag.com/licensemag/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=417121 |work=License! Global Weekly E-news |date=2007-03-27 |accessdate=2007-12-01]
**Silver award, Public Service Campaign
**Silver award, Public Service Direct Marketing
**Bronze award, Public Service postcard

References

External links

* [http://www.jimbenton.com/ J.K. Benton Design Studios]
* [http://www.blackjackinc.com/ Blackjack Inc.]
* [http://www.jkbenton.com/ J.K. Benton Gallery]
* [http://www.bentonbooks.com/ Benton's Books]

Persondata
NAME = Benton, Jim
ALTERNATIVE NAMES = Benton, James K.
SHORT DESCRIPTION = American illustrator and children's writer, known for It's Happy Bunny.
DATE OF BIRTH = Birth date and age|1960|10|31
PLACE OF BIRTH = Michigan, United States
DATE OF DEATH =
PLACE OF DEATH =