He earned his A.B. in art and biology from Wabash College and his M.F.A. in medical and biological illustration from the University of Michigan. Trumpey was chief medical illustrator for the College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University. He founded and directs Michigan Science Art, one of North America’s largest groups of science illustrators. The group's notable achievement is the 5,000 illustrations for the award-winning Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia. Trumpey has worked with numerous zoos, museums, and publishers.