Born in London in 1970 and raised on a diet of Richard Scarry, Hergé, Judge Dredd and Albert Camus, Jarvis studied Illustration at the University of Brighton and the Royal College of Art, graduating in 1995. Since then he has gone on to establish himself as a graphic artist of international repute.In 1998 Jarvis designed the iconic toy figure 'Martin', unwittingly helping start the 'designer' toy phenomenon.
In 2003 Jarvis, together with Russell Waterman and Sofia Prantera, established a company, Amos, to independently promote Jarvis' designs. To date Amos has released nearly 100 character toys, icluding the iconic King Ken and the mysterious and existential YOD. In 2006 Amos published the comic-book adventure story Vortigern's Machine and the Great Sage of Wisdom, co-written with Waterman. In 2007 Amos published a collection, James Jarvis Selected Drawings.
