Kenneth Shue was born in 1953 on Coronado Island, before it was connected to San Diego by a bridge. He began his creative career by drawing cartoons and performing magic tricks for friends and family, delivering newspapers, and painting houses.
In 1974, a fellow worker encouraged him to show his drawings to a company that developed industrial training films. He was hired and became a full-time working artist.
In 1977, Shue moved to Palo Alto, where he began managing the design and illustration of math, science, and reading textbooks for elementary and secondary school markets.
These works won numerous trade awards. He also contributed graphic design and illustration to the emerging tech industry in California’s Silicon Valley, including work for Apple. His clients also included the Stanford Heart Disease Prevention Program and the Joan Baez Humanitas International Human Rights Committee.
He illustrated Hiawatha Passing, a children’s picture book published by Henry Holt, which earned a starred review from Kirkus and was named one of The New York Times’ ten best picture books of 1995. That same year, he was invited to join The Walt Disney Company, where he remained for over 27 years.
As Vice President of Global Art and Design Development, Shue oversaw the design and illustration of Disney Publishing content for Walt Disney Animation, Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm studios, as well as select projects for Walt Disney Imagineering. His work earned him both a Disney Publishing Worldwide Leadership Award and a Walt Disney Inventor Award.
Kenneth and his wife, Janice, enjoy life with their wonderful family: Jonathan, Olivia, Katie, and Ollie. In 2023, he designed and built a studio at their home in Monterey, where he now maintains a daily practice of drawing and painting.
