Kenard Pak

San Francisco-based illustrator and author Kenard Pak is known for his wispy, dreamy, calm, and spacious work. His art features abundant elements of nature, weather, plants, and animals, with a keen sensitivity to seasonal changes, light, shadows, and the rhythms of day and night. His graphic style balances soft and hard edges with painterly texture, evoking a cinematic depth and sense of space.

Describing his journey into children’s books as “love at first sight,” Kenard feels truly blessed to be part of such a magical world. His distinctive style is crafted with digital tools, like Photoshop and Procreate, enriched with many scanned textures. Critics praise his work for its evocative, atmospheric, and dreamlike qualities, highlighted by soft, muted palettes and gentle transitions.

Winning the SCBWI Golden Kite Award for Goodbye Autumn, Hello Winter—the inaugural book in his popular Seasons series with Macmillan—remains Kenard’s standout career highlight. The series has since sold 300,000 copies. Looking ahead, Kenard hopes to create his own original character stories as well as return to occasional book cover illustration.

When not creating children’s books, Kenard enjoys marveling at the golden hills of San Francisco, ballet dancers, watchmakers, and polar scientists.