Dan Tavis began doodling in his first math class in elementary school and was inspired to paint upon discovering Bill Watterson’s Calvin and Hobbes comic strip. Watterson’s work remains a major influence. Dan is the illustrator of Common Critters (Tilbury House, 2020), The Whale Fall Café (Tilbury House, 2021), and Fluffy McWhiskers and the Cuteness Explosion (Simon and Schuster, October 2021) and has a passion to illustrate characters that emotionally connect with the viewer and tell stories through visual narrative. Dan creates illustrations with watercolor, ink, and digital media.