Speaker Profile - Merrill Rainey

Illustrator and Writer

Region:	Ohio: North
Age Levels:	5-10 and 11-13
Will Travel:	< 25 miles
Skype Visit:	Yes
SCBWI Profile:	Member Profile
Speaker Email:	merrillr@littlerainey.com
	Publications

Bio:

Growing up, Merrill Rainey spent most of his Saturday afternoons watching monster movies, drawing superheroes, and going on imaginary adventures with his brothers. Today, he is a cowboy-boot-wearing, award-winning illustrator, designer, and paper engineer. Merrill likes to experiment with tools and uses marker, cut paper, or water soluble graphite to create his illustrations. He has served on faculty at the Highlights Foundation and is currently the illustrator coordinator for the Northern Ohio chapter of the SCBWI. Merrill lives in the historic village of Whitehouse, Ohio, with his editor (his wife), subject matter experts (his kids), and very opinionated coworkers (one pup, one goldfish, a toad, and a crabby hermit crab).

Books:

ROAR! I'm a Dinosaur • Harper Kids (Summer 2022)
Color, Cut, Create! - Horses • OddDot (Fall 2020) an imprint of Macmillan
Color, Cut, Create! - Dinosaurs • OddDot (Fall 2020) an imprint of Macmillan
Asteroid Goldberg - Passover in Outer Space • Intergalactic Afikoman (Spring 2020)
Super Hero Color - Cut - Create! Paper Toy Activity Book • Self Published (Summer 2018)

Presentation Description:

SCHOOL VISITS:

Hey, I draw all day and LOVE IT! • Students will learn what I do, how I create my work, and why I started illustrating! They will get to see samples of each stage of my process and the steps I take to get to my final piece. They will also see why a good education is important, even for people who just draw all day! :-) My presentations also include a portion where students will help me create an illustration that will be given to the school to keep.

Rates:
Skype/Zoom session (30 mins) - $75.00
Half Day (Two sessions) - $350.00
Full Day (Three-Four sessions) - $600.00
(Each session last about 45 minutes to an hour.)
* Visits over 60 miles away are automatically considered “all day” events due to travel time involved.
* Travel and lodging expenses will be added to initial rates for in-person visits outside of North West Ohio/Southern Michigan.

* Payment must be received prior to scheduled school visit.

WORKSHOPS:

COLOR! CUT! CREATE! Paper Toy Basics • Have you ever wanted to know how to use paper to build toys based on your own designs? Join Master Doodler Merrill Rainey as he challenges your creativity and guides you through the process of designing and building your very own 3D paper toy character!

- Workshop duration: 1 hours

- All supplies included

- Ages 8+ (20 children max. recommended) • Adult workshops available

- Price $600.00 (Payment must be received prior to scheduled date.)

* Travel and lodging expenses will be added to initial rates for visits outside of North West Ohio/Southern Michigan.

* Payment must be received prior to scheduled workshop.