Mark Sloniker is a Nashville based, multi-disciplined artist working primarily in the entertainment industry.  He is, for the most part, an autodidactic artist while also seeking out the knowledge of various mentors.  He began his career in traditional, hand-drawn animation and from there worked in illustration, graphic design, photography, sculpture, hat-making, writing and finally soft fabrication of puppets, animatronics and costumes.  He is currently the art director at Animax, a world-class studio creating characters for theme parks and live entertainment throughout the world.   Mark’s work can be seen on album covers, magazines, on stages of both theater and live touring shows, children’s books, music videos, tv commercials and home goods.  He has been a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators for 11 years and sits on the Illustration Advisory Board at Nossi College of Art and Design.  At the heart of his work is the juxtaposition of the complex forms of nature and the shapes of simplified characters from the imagination.