Chuck Pyle
Director, School of Illustration
Mr. Pyle was trained as an illustrator at the Academy, and comes from an impressive freelance career. He is an internationally sought-after artist, working with clients from New York to Tokyo. His past clients have included Microsoft, Pacific Bell, Safeway, Avis, Ask Jeeves, Sun Microsystems, Reader’s Digest, The New York Times, The Boston Globe, Atlantic Monthly, Redbook, Good Housekeeping, McCall’s, Penguin, Bantam, Book of the Month Club, Houghton Mifflin, Seattle Opera, Nisshin Foods, and the Chicago Museum of Science and Technology.
Educational Background: Academy of Art University (BFA-Illustration)
Jeannie Brunnick
Graduate Online Director, School of Illustration
Jeannie is an adept illustrator who has gained national recognition for her work with clients such as: Universal/MCA, MGM Studios, 20th Century Fox Studios, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros. Studios, Disney Imagineering, and Mattel Toys. Jeannie was a featured illustrator in Outstanding American Illustrators and has been awarded by the Society of Illustrators in Los Angeles.
Educational Background: Art Center College of Design (BFA-Illustration)
Lourdes Livingston
Undergraduate Online Director, School of Illustration
From 1977 until 1993, Ms. Livingston worked as an Editorial Graphic Designer, Illustrator and Columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle. Her assignments at the Chronicle included all aspects of visual newspaper reporting, from developing daily political commentaries to backroom action at the Cannes Film Festival and street fashions in Milan. As Creative Director at Women.com, she defined the look and feel of the entire network, working with art staffs in New York and San Francisco.
Educational Background: Academy of Art University (BFA-Illustration)
William Maughan
Graduate Director, School of Illustration
A professional illustrator and fine artist, Mr. Maughan has provided numerous illustrations for such companies as DreamWorks, CBS, Universal Studios, Chevrolet, Doubleday, Oxford University Press, to name but a few. His work has been represented by major galleries and publishers, domestically and internationally. Mr. Maughan’s book, The Artist’s Complete Guide to Drawing the Head, was published in 2004.
Educational Background: Art Center College of Design (BFA-Illustration)
Gordon Silveria
Director of Arts Technology, School of Illustration
Native San Franciscan Gordon Silveria became an instructor in 1994, and has held numerous posts at the Academy, including Director of Illustration, Acting Director of Graduate New Media and 2D Animation, and Director of Alumni and Industry Outreach. As Director of Arts Technology, he primarily works with the Illustration and Jewelry and Metal Arts programs. He illustrated the best-selling children’s math book The Greedy Triangle and holds an MFA in Sculpture and a BFA in Illustration from Academy of Art University.
Educational Background: Academy of Art University (MFA-Sculpture & BFA-Illustration)
Lisa Berrett
Assistant Director, School of Illustration
Lisa earned her BFA in Illustration at Academy of Art University in 1986 and has worked as a freelance illustrator for nearly 20 years. She has illustrated for a wide range of products, including children's books and magazines, games, CD- ROM packaging as well as advertising, food label art, and educational materials for kids. Lisa returned to the Academy in 2001 to instruct future illustrators on the principles of clothed figure drawing.
Educational Background: Academy of Art University (BFA-Illustration)
Gary Amaro
Full-Time Faculty, School of Illustration
Gary has worked in genres ranging from storyboard and comics art to visual development and fine art. His sketches are featured in the book, The Art of Urban Sketching: Drawing on Location Around the World, and his paintings show at Los Angeles’ Gallery Nucleus. His comics work includes The Sandman and Gotham Central, and his video game concept art appears in Darkspore, The Godfather 2, and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Gary’s illustrations have won the New Yorker’s Eustace Tilley contest five consecutive years.
Educational Background: University of California Berkeley (BA-Art, BA-English)
Jason Bowen
Full-Time Faculty, School of Illustration
Mark Jason Bowen is an accomplished fine artist. He has participated in many group and solo exhibitions in Europe and USA. He has won the Best of Show at the Capital Art Show in Utah and 2nd Place at the Tanglewood Art Exhibition. Bowen’s work has also been published in many magazines. He holds a BFA in Illustration from Brigham Young University and a MFA in Painting from American University.
Educational Background: American University (MFA-Painting); Brigham Young University (BFA-Illustration)
Daniel Cooney
Full-Time Faculty, School of Illustration
Daniel Cooney is an artist, writer, and publisher who specializes in sequential art and multi-media. Currently, he is a comic book and sequential art drawing instructor with The Learning Exchange and Utrecht Gallery, a Reading and Writing Tutor with Sylvan Learning Center, and an Illustrator, Writer, Letterer, and Publisher with Red Eye Press. Additionally, Cooney is also a Graphic Designer. Cooney has worked as an assistant editor with Marvel Comics in NY. Cooney holds a BFA in Illustration and Sequential Art from the School of Visual Arts and is pursuing his MA in Education from the University of Phoenix. Cooney is a member of the Cartoon Art Museum.
Thomas Ellsworth
Full-Time Faculty, School of Illustration
Tom Ellsworth received his BFA in Illustration from Academy of Art University. He is an experienced illustrator with numerous years of experience specializing in digital illustration and more specifically, vector art. Current and previous clients have included Biocodex Inc., Hewlett-Packard, Safeway, Performance Computing Magazine, Commish Kit, Space Dog Books, Rebel Bar, Blue Restaurant, Velvet Cantina Restaurant, Tessitura Network, and Truck Bar. Published books include Snark, Inc. and The Amazing Snox Box.
Educational Background: Academy of Art University (BFA-Illustration)
Thomas Gronbukt
Full-Time Faculty, School of Illustration
Thomas Gronbukt has extensive training and education in Illustration, Fine Art, Design and Digital Technology. He designed and created images in multiple mediums. He creates professional illustrations in acrylics, oil, watercolor, pastel, pen &ink, colored pencil, printmaking, computer software and mixed media. Gronbukt received his BFA in Illustration from Academy of Art College.
Educational Background: Academy of Art University (BFA-Illustration)
Steve Kloepfer
Full-Time Faculty, School of Illustration
Steven Kloepfer has more than 20 years of professional experience in Illustration. He has been an instructor/consultant of art with the San Mateo Park and Recreation Department and PDI, copywriter/producer/consultant with DKS Creative, owner/illustrator of Creative Illustrator, freelance desktop publisher and freelance editor. His previous clients have included Atari Games, Pandemonium Pictures, Black Swan Press, Scalawag Studios, Kirson Works, Adams & Allgood, Fearon Education, Apple Computer, Charles Schwab, SKI, and Stanford University. He is an associate member of the California Academy of Painters. Steve is currently Full-Time Faculty in the Academy of Art University’s School of Illustration and School of Visual Development. Prior to becoming full-time faculty, Steve had been teaching at the Academy of Art University since 2002.
Craig Marshall
Full-Time Faculty, School of Illustration
Craig Marshall attended Academy of Art University in 1971 and received a BFA degree in illustration in 1976. He spent several years as a freelance commercial illustrator before becoming a staff illustrator for a small medical publishing company. In 1986 he was invited to teach head drawing and illustration courses at Academy of Art University, where he stayed for 11 years while continuing his freelance work. In 1997 he moved to Burbank, CA and taught drawing classes for Walt Disney Feature Animation, Associates in Art, and Woodbury University.
He returned to San Francisco in 1999 and now teaches Heads and Hands for the Academy's School of Illustration and Character Design & Drawing for Cartoons for the School of Animation. His past freelance accounts include Bank of America, Chevron, Del Monte, Fuddrucker's Restaurants, Macy's California, Oracle Corporation, Pacific Gas & Electric, Safeway Stores, The United States Air Force Art Program, and Walt Disney Feature Animation.
Educational Background: Academy of Art University (BFA-Illustration)
Stephen Player
Full-Time Faculty, School of Illustration
Stephen Player was born in England in 1965. He acquired a first-class honors illustration degree in London in 1985. Since then, Stephen has enjoyed a thriving freelance career. His work has been used in advertising, television, film, promotion, and over one hundred books. These books are mostly in the sci-fi, fantasy, horror, and children's genres, as well as graphic novels. Stephen is a winner of the British Sci-Fi and Fantasy Association Award, received a Substantial Contribution to Children's Literacy Award, and received a Sheffield Children's Book Award. Stephen has been exhibited widely across Europe. He has been teaching at Academy of Art University since 2001.
Educational Background: Camberwell College of Arts (BA-Illustration)
Robert Revels
Full-Time Faculty, School of Illustration
Robert Revels graduated from Academy of Art College with a BFA in Illustration.
Robert has worked as a professional artist since 1994. He has worked on a variety of projects ranging from children's stories to large concert backdrops for artists such as Carlos Santana and U2. Since graduating from the Academy, he has garnered numerous awards. He is the founder of the greeting card company, Rockfish Designs.
Robert has returned to teach at his alma mater to give back to the next generation of artists. Educational Background: Academy of Art University (BFA-Illustration)
Christopher Schenck
Full-Time Faculty, School of Illustration
Christopher Schenck has been in the comic, magazine and book illustration industries since 1988 when he first started his career as Art Director for New Comics Group. While there, he worked on such groundbreaking comics as Asylum, Young Master, and Demon Blade. One year later, Schenck went freelance, concentrating primarily in the comic industry, while also doing magazine and book illustration. He has worked on the Eisner-Award winning Big Book of Urban Legends, and on Steven Spielberg's The Lost World. Schenck's clients have included Bay Guardian, Chronicle Books, HP, and Sun Microsystems. He received his BFA in Illustration from Academy of Art University and his BA in Liberal Arts from the University of San Francisco.
Educational Background: University of San Francisco (BA-Illustration)