Bradley, Timothy J.

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Bradley, Timothy J.

Personal

Male.

Addresses

Career

Designer, illustrator, and author. Freelance designer, beginning 1988; assistant artist to Syd Mead, 1989; graphic designer and artist for screenwriter J.F. Lawton, 1991-93; graphic and storyboard artist for television; 1993; Dinamation, illustrator, beginning 1994, senior art director, 1998; Hasbro, project designer, 1998; Universal Studios' Jurassic Park Institute, Web site designer and illustrator, 2001; designer of giftware, educational products, and toys for clients including Hasbro, Universal, and Upper Deck.

Writings

SELF-ILLUSTRATED; FOR CHILDREN

The Care and Feeding of Dinosaurs, Millbrook Press (Brookfield, CT), 2000.

Paleo Sharks: Survival of the Strangest, Chronicle Books (San Francisco, CA), 2007.

Paleo Bugs: Survival of the Creepiest, Chronicle Books (San Francisco, CA), 2008.

Sidelights

Timothy J. Bradley's vivid imagination has helped him become a successful designer and illustrator for such large companies as Hasbro and Universal. Specializing in dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures, Bradley's use of vivid colors has set him apart from other artists. As he remarked about his experience as a toy designer for Transformer Toys online, "I have always liked the idea of taking my two-dimensional drawings and seeing them realized in three dimensions. A concept can go from existing on a flat piece of paper to something you can hold in your hand. I always get a kick out of seeing a product I designed hanging in a store—that's really fun." Bradley has designed toys for Hasbro's Transformers, Star Wars, and Jurassic Park toy lines.

In addition to designing toys, Bradley also creates informative books for children and young adults. His approach to writing and illustrating books such as PaleoBugs: Survival of the Creepiest involves a good deal of research to ensure that the text and illustrations in his books are scientifically accurate. As the author/ illustrator told an online interviewer for the Transformer Toys Web site, "Sharks don't fossilize well at all, and neither do insects, so I had to deal with paleontologists to make sure my art and text reflected what is known about those creatures. I actually visited with a paleontologist at the London Natural History Museum for Paleo Bugs, and got to look at their collection of ancient arthropod fossils they keep in the ‘back rooms’ of the museum." In Science Books and Films, Nathan Dubosky noted of Paleo Bugs that Bradley's "nimble prose" makes the book easy to read even for younger children, and the "abundant, colorful illustrations are well crafted, fascinating, and compelling," and a Horn Book contributor wrote that the book's "bug-human comparisions are particularly effective."

Danielle F. Ford, reviewing Paleo Sharks: Survival of the Strangest for Horn Book, complimented Bradley's treatment of his subject, noting that the author/illustrator's "chronologic tour of extinct shark species employs a smart design and sharp graphics." A Kirkus Reviews contributor also commended the book, concluding that Bradley's "introduction to extinct sharks and their relatives is a definite goosebump-raiser."

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, April 1, 2007, GraceAnne A. DeCandido, review of Paleo Sharks: Survival of the Strangest, p. 44.

Horn Book, September, 2008, review of Paleo Bugs: Survival of the Creepiest; July-August, 2007, Danielle F. Ford, review of Paleo Sharks, p. 410.

Kirkus Reviews, May, 2008, review of Paleo Bugs; September-October, 2008, Nathan Dubowsky, review of Paleo Bugs, p. 204.

School Library Journal, June, 2007, Patricia Manning, review of Paleo Sharks, p. 166; July, 2008, Ellen Heath, review of Paleo Bugs.

Science Books and Film, May, 2008, review of Paleo Bugs; March 15, 2007, review of Paleo Sharks, p. 44.