We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jime Wimmer a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Jime, thanks for joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

Today, creating children’s books is the most meaningful work I do. I develop my characters with a deeply personal touch, drawing from my own childhood experiences and fears. Growing up, I often felt like an outsider, which fostered a sense of introspection and isolation. At the same time, being surrounded by the woods, fields, and ponds of rural northeast Pennsylvania provided the perfect setting for my imagination to flourish.

Jime, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I always dreamed of becoming an illustrator or an animator, but dreams often come with limitations—geography and financial circumstances can shape the opportunities available. So, I adapted my path. It’s been a long, unconventional journey to where I am today as an illustrator.

For 10 years, I taught middle and high school art in public, charter, inner-city, rural, and suburban schools, giving me a broad perspective on the challenges facing today’s youth. Over the past nine years, I’ve taught at the college level, working with students from freshmen to graduate programs in courses ranging from drawing, illustration, and storyboarding to environment and character design, life drawing, and beyond.

My diverse experiences have strengthened my sense of storytelling and self-drive. As an independent publisher, I am my “own client” and I bring together all my skills—writing, illustration, and design—to develop book projects. I’ve also learned to market my work and successfully generate crowdfunding, enabling me to launch these projects and get them into stores and schools. My goals are to create the books that I would have loved as a child and hope to bring joy to others.

As a creative, I have no choice but to create—it’s how I solve the storytelling challenges in my mind. My work revolves around emotive characters on a journey, navigating adventures that unfold along the way. At the same time, I want these books to resonate with an audience that craves hand-crafted illustrations and stories filled with charming, authentic, and fully realized characters.

Today, I have a loving creative environment with my husband and partner in life and art. I met Mike in grad school where I graduated with my MFA in Illustration. Together we are “WimmerStudios” and share our love of art with others.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

One of the most challenging moments in my life was when I had to put my education on hold at a young age. I had completed two years at a junior college for art and was accepted as a transfer student into the Illustration program at the School of Visual Arts in NYC. At the time, I didn’t fully grasp how important that opportunity was for my future. But financially, attending wasn’t an option.

Like many young people, I went to work. For nine years, I worked for Procter and Gamble in a paper-making factory, driving forklifts to unload railcars, grinding 20-foot blades, mixing chemical batches, and eventually learning how to start, run, and shut down a three-story paper machine. All while working 12-hour swing shifts and raising two young boys. If it sounds challenging, it was!

The real challenge was a hard decision—six years into that job—should I pursue a new goal of becoming an art educator? I went back to college while working full time, and in my very first semester, I found out I was pregnant with my second son. Can you imagine? Working full-time, going to school, raising a five-year-old, and expecting another baby. What was I thinking? Hah! It took a little longer than 3 years but I felt an immense sense of pride walking at graduation with both of my sons there to witness it. I have to admit the hardest thing was quitting a “secure” job at Procter and Gamble. I had been there for nine years, most of my 20’s and it was scary but I pull the trigger and was hired right away at a high school in Susquehanna, Pa.

But I didn’t stop there. I went on to earn my Master of Fine Arts in Illustration and finally discovered what I had missed. Regret and hindsight can weigh heavily when your journey doesn’t follow a traditional path, but they shouldn’t hold you back. Keep dreaming—it’s never too late to achieve your goals. My path wasn’t as predictable as I once imagined as a young artist, but it has made me wiser. I now know that I can do this—and always could despite the challenges! I enjoy showing other illustrators that you can choose to be anything you want in this advancing world, you do not need to wait for someone to give your permission.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

Oh my! What can society do for artists? The most important thing we can do is nurture children’s imagination. Today’s devices create a constant stream of noise in their small, personal worlds—a distraction driven by a larger macro system. And it’s devastating. This is why I love making children’s books! Attention spans are changing and instead of eliminating the problem, we try to work around it to compensate. I find that disheartening. We should be providing them ample time to create, imagine and play. They are our future.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.prettylines.com , www.wimmerstudios.com
• Instagram: @myprettylines @wimmerswoods
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jime-wimmer/

Recent Illustration Awards and Recognitions:  

• 2025: Tomie dePaola Mentorship Portfolio Award, SCBWI
• 2025: Society of Illustrators Los Angeles (Gold & Bronze Medals, Children’s Market)
• 2024: Society of Illustrators Los Angeles (Gold Medal, Children’s Market)
• 2024: American Illustration 43, Chosen Award

Image Credits

My bio photo was taken by Rachel Owens.
All the other images should be ©Jime Wimmer