Like most artists out there in the world, Jason Platt was known as that kid in the class who could draw. He was the one who could draw Charles M. Schulz or Jim Davis’ characters on a dime and make the other kids smile. (This did get him in trouble during recess once. Apparently selling your sketches on the playground is frowned upon? Who knew?)
As Jason grew older, his tastes expanded. He became enthralled with Mad Magazine’s Mort Drucker and famed movie poster artist Drew Struzan. He would always pick up his copy of Mad at the grocery store and study Drucker’s amazing line work before he even read a word of copy. He would find himself admiring Struzan’s work for what seemed like ages, wondering what adventure the movie was going to be about. He realized how much art affected him.
Also being a kid who loved to write, Jason would often find himself imagining what would happen in the book he was holding after his eyes feasted on its cover art. You could say he was that person who would buy a book for its cover. That, and a natural born storyteller.
Later working as both a professional actor and puppeteer, Jason focused on the art of illustration and graduated from Savannah College of Art and Design (or SCAD, for those in the know). While trained in several styles, he’s particularly drawn to the art of humorous and children’s illustration (no pun intended).
Jason tells people he’s in the business of making people happy. He can’t think of a better way to spend his days, can you?
Jason grew up in Durham, NC and he and his family live in Davenport, IA with their cat (who insists on being his co-worker).
“The visit was very valuable! Multiple students stayed after Jason’s presentation to talk to him personally– to ask advice, to share how inspired they were by his story, and to share their own work. I spoke to one student, an aspiring graphic artist and author, who heard the presentation but didn’t have the confidence to speak to Jason afterwards. She was inspired and encouraged. Another aspiring artist said to me afterwards, “That was exactly what I needed to hear!” Additionally, our creative writing teacher talked about inviting Jason back to speak about the process of getting a book published. Many of her students were interested in this topic as Jason touched on it and would love to hear more. The story of his journey as an artist was powerful for our art students but would also be motivational for other students. And, like I said above, writing students could be a great audience as well. I think we would also have an audience for a cartooning workshop. Jason is an excellent presenter, and though his readership is younger kids, he customized his presentation for our age group. Many of our high school students love graphic novels, and hearing from someone who creates them for an audience they were recently part of (and thus still understand and feel close to) is more powerful than hearing from someone whose work may be over their heads” — Mary Mendelin, Rock Island High School Librarian, 2026
