Please join us in welcoming Jonathan Nelson to Full Circle Literary! | |
Illustrator and designer Jonathan Nelson arrives at Full Circle Literary with impressive achievements in picture books and comics! | |
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Jonathan, who is Diné (Navajo), has earned an American Indian Youth Literature Honor Award for his original comic book, The Wool of Jonesy. His work has been tapped as a Junior Library Guild Selection, a Notable Social Studies Book, a New York Public Library's Best Book, and a Bank Street Best Book.
Jonathan's style blends comic and street art, Diné cultural motifs, the southwest desert landscape, graffiti, and sci fi imagery into an eclectic mix that is utterly unique.
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His picture book work is warm, expressive, and distinctive, and influential reviewers and editors have taken notice! On the American Indians in Children’s Literature blog, Dr. Debbie Reese hailed Forever Cousins, written by Full Circle Literary client Laurel Goodluck and illustrated with Jonathan’s bright, lively images as “one of the best books I’ve read.” | |
His latest book, A Letter for Bob, written by Kim Rogers and published by HarperCollins/Heartdrum, garnered stars from Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, and Booklist, and a “Highly Recommended” from Dr. Debbie Reese, who wrote “I adore this book with a completeness I didn't anticipate. I'll be sharing it at every workshop I do, with librarians, educators, teacher-educators... everyone.” | |
Originally from Hogback, New Mexico, Jonathan brings his heritage to his art and designs. His works often feature Indigenous peoples and culture in authentic portrayals of Indigenous life and reflections of a thriving, adapting, and resilient Diné culture. | |
“I’m grateful Indigenous youth have many more examples of empowering imagery of their culture. As a youth, I latched onto stereotypes created by non-Natives because those were the only images I felt represented who I was. Today, anyone can access my brand, Badwinds, stickers, shirts, and books I’ve illustrated and know they were created by someone Indigenous.” | |
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In his work for children as well as for adults, Jonathan seeks to challenge the accepted norms of Indigenous images and identities.
“Inspired by identity and culture, my work originates from personal experiences. My art is a gateway into the political and racial status I was born into. The colonization I have witnessed begins with my Certificate of Indian Blood, issued by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, that states I am 4/4 Navajo. The American educational system also presents a version of American history that does not detail the plight of Indigenous Peoples through genocide, forced acculturation, and broken treaties. Today, the art I create battles systemic anti-Indigenous racism: stereotypical “Indian” logos, mascots, and graphics.
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“The ICONS of the Diné series shows the complexity of an Indigenous person in the United States. The series shows the cultural identity of the Diné through historical events, attributes, and roles within the tribe, and a resilience tied to the land since time immemorial.” | |
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Jonathan starts off each new project on paper and ultimately delivers high-resolution, press-ready digital files.
“The project begins by rereading the manuscript; I imagine what the characters could look like. I’ll print a hard copy on regular copy paper to jot down some quick sketches. The initial rough sketches are scanned and used as reference for the high-resolution galleys on my iPad Pro.
| “My media can be traditional or a mix of digital and traditional media. For First Laugh – Welcome, Baby, I began with pencil sketches on gallery printouts. I'll scan the pencil sketches, use Photoshop to separate out the line art and change it to blue or red. Then I'll print them out on thicker stock and draw my final art with a ballpoint pen. The final line art is scanned and digitally painted in either Photoshop or Procreate or a combination of the two.” | |
Kirkus said “Nelson is a master at capturing nuance in facial expression and body language.” | |
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While he is gaining renown as a picture book illustrator, Jonathan’s first love is comics.
“I started out tracing Batman and eventually copying the artwork I saw in X-Men, Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, Wolverine, and Spawn, so I was following Jim Lee, Todd McFarlane, Rob Leifield, Marc Silvestri, and Erik Larsen. I did also enjoy reading/drawing Calvin and Hobbes, Garfield, Peanuts, and Looney Tunes following the art from Chuck Jones, Bill Waterson, Jim Davis, Tex Avery, Robert McKimson, Charles M. Schulz, and Gary Larson, to name a few.
“In The Wool of Jonesy #1 I focused on cues like body language and facial expressions that anyone could relate to, instead of traditional dialogue. The main idea was to share an insight to life in the Rez, the Navajo Rez. I’m glad it was so well received by the AILA, and I hope to revisit Jonesy one day.”
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Jonathan would especially love to work on picture books featuring Indigenous characters and story as well as fantasy. He is also looking to work on covers and to tackle black-and-white interior art.
Welcome, Jonathan!
We are thrilled to have you join the Full Circle Literary family!
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We look forward to creating beautiful books with you! | |
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About Full Circle Literary
Full Circle Literary is a literary agency representing children's books from toddler to teen, and creative nonfiction for all ages. We work with both award-winning veteran and debut writers and artists and our team has a knack for discovering and developing new and diverse talent. For more information about all of our Full Circle Literary illustrators, please visit our website and follow us on Instagram @fullcirclelit.
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Full Circle Literary
3268 Governor Drive
San Diego CA 92122
Copyright 2023 Full Circle Literary. Copyright artwork 2023 by Jonathan Nelson
All rights reserved
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