Robert Paul Jr.

By Margaret Lea

If it hadn’t been for a high school football injury, Robert Paul Jr. might never have become an artist. Raised in St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands, Robert loved to draw but had no formal art training. While recuperating from his injury, he caught the attention of Karen Bertrand, an artist and teacher at his high school. Impressed by his drawings, she encouraged him to enroll in her class. This encouragement marked the beginning of his journey toward becoming a professional illustrator and animator, and by the end of high school, he was teaching art lessons. 

After high school, he moved to the US to attend the Savannah College of Art and Design. He graduated with a degree in animation, then continued learning by taking a class with award-winning animator Daniel Arriaga, who was then at Pixar.

He found his first agent by simply posting on social media, “I’m currently seeking representation.” An agent who was following him reached out and eventually made an offer of representation. After five years with this agent, he found a better fit at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency with agent Jemiscoe Chambers-Black.

Robert has illustrated many books for top publishers and has worked on an animated Disney Television show Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur. He still enjoys teaching, and you can find him most Tuesdays at the Bradley McWilliams YMCA in Cypress, near his home, teaching youth art classes. Robert’s favorite medium is digital, but he likes to make it look like traditional pencil or pastel work. He believes one should, “Let happy accidents happen,” and not erase too much. He enjoys doing picture books in color but is equally comfortable with black-and-white art for middle grade books.

His strong Christian faith guides him forward in his work. He believes in learning all you can, believing in your abilities, and in finding a trusted friend you can tell your goals to and who will encourage you. He states that when you do your best and pursue what you know to do, the right person will come along at the right time to further your career. To improve craft, he urges being honest with yourself. Raw talent isn’t enough. It must be developed. For example, Robert has always loved writing stories and poetry, but his punctuation and grammar was “not great.” He sought out tutoring for this and has been learning ever since. He says you must “know the rules before you can break them.” He hopes to soon add “author/illustrator” to his resume, as he is currently waiting to hear about a book he wrote and illustrated that is out on submission.