Jim Carson holds a BFA from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He started work as a freelance illustrator in 1979. He has worked in advertising, editorial, corporate, institutional, and publishing markets. His work has been in Society of Illustrators shows and he was a panelist at their symposium for illustration educators. He got his first Mac in 1989 and by 1997 he had also added graphic design to his business. He has done design and illustration for the web.

Jim has been an instructor at The Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University, Massachusetts College of Art, R.I.S.D., Gordon College, Syracuse University, and the University of Hartford. He has lectured at Graphic Artist Guild Conferences and several other design forums, as well. His widely demanded business course for graphic artists was singled out in the Art Institute of Boston's alumni magazine saying "most art colleges do not offer any course that compares." Jim teaches a course entitled "The Business of Illustration."