Nolen Lee
Nolen Lee is a freelance illustrator, artist, and author based in the Seattle area. He is the creator of his own whimsical and humorous brand, The Punching Pandas, and has self-published two books, The Panda is Fat and The Panda is Still Fat. He has also worked on numerous freelance projects including comics for Disney and commercial illustration for clients such as US Bank, AARP, and the US Census, as well as various charities. He continues to develop his own projects including animation and children’s book illustration.
Nolen developed and mentors students in the 6-week Visual Development: Principles of Design and Intro to Character Design courses at Animation Mentor.
Published Books
Panda is Fat
Panda is Still Fat
Punching Pandas Coloring Book
Inktober 2016
What Nolen’s Students are Saying
A Phenomenal Instructor
I liked the general atmosphere of the class as well as the pace, assignments, and overall layout. Also, Nolen Lee is a phenomenal instructor; his teaching, advice, and critiques were wonderfully helpful!
Teaching, Advice, and Critiques Were Wonderfully Helpful
I liked the atmosphere of the class as well as the pace, assignments, and overall layout. Nolen Lee is a phenomenal instructor. His teaching, advice, and critiques were wonderfully helpful!
Focused around Character Design
I liked that while teaching the principles of design the workshop was focused around building up a character design over several weeks. It allowed me to better understand the materials and refine my ideas by applying what I was learning.
I Learned a Lot from Nolen
The tips and advice I got was really on point. I learned a lot from Nolen. I hope to apply what I learned in my illustrations.
Always on Point and Communicated Clearly
This course was a great introduction to design! I found the mentor was very well prepared and the information he shared was always on point and communicated clearly.
One of My Favorite Mentors
Nolen Lee is one of my favorite mentors I’ve ever had. He’s easy to talk to, which is not something I can say about every AM mentor I’ve had. His lectures were great because he would have spent the whole time just answering our questions if needed, but he also had lessons prepared if questions didn’t take up the whole time. He makes everything clear, easy to understand, and fun to learn. I’d be more than happy to have him as a mentor again.
Very Helpful, the Feedback and Encouragement is Great
He’s very helpful, the feedback and encouragement is great. I haven’t been this happy to do a course that was being taught by someone who speaks the same language, in terms of what my interest are or my goals.
A Phenomenal Instructor
I liked the general atmosphere of the class as well as the pace, assignments, and overall layout. Also, Nolen Lee is a phenomenal instructor; his teaching, advice, and critiques were wonderfully helpful!
Teaching, Advice, and Critiques Were Wonderfully Helpful
I liked the atmosphere of the class as well as the pace, assignments, and overall layout. Nolen Lee is a phenomenal instructor. His teaching, advice, and critiques were wonderfully helpful!
Focused around Character Design
I liked that while teaching the principles of design the workshop was focused around building up a character design over several weeks. It allowed me to better understand the materials and refine my ideas by applying what I was learning.
I Learned a Lot from Nolen
The tips and advice I got was really on point. I learned a lot from Nolen. I hope to apply what I learned in my illustrations.
Always on Point and Communicated Clearly
This course was a great introduction to design! I found the mentor was very well prepared and the information he shared was always on point and communicated clearly.
One of My Favorite Mentors
Nolen Lee is one of my favorite mentors I’ve ever had. He’s easy to talk to, which is not something I can say about every AM mentor I’ve had. His lectures were great because he would have spent the whole time just answering our questions if needed, but he also had lessons prepared if questions didn’t take up the whole time. He makes everything clear, easy to understand, and fun to learn. I’d be more than happy to have him as a mentor again.
Very Helpful, the Feedback and Encouragement is Great
He’s very helpful, the feedback and encouragement is great. I haven’t been this happy to do a course that was being taught by someone who speaks the same language, in terms of what my interest are or my goals.
Courses Taught By Nolen
Courses may vary from term to term.
Visual Development:
Principles of Design
6-Week COURSE
Design appealing characters using shape language and color theory.
Introduction to Character Design
6-Week course
Learn the fundamentals of character design.